Hita Mikuma River Boat Moon Festival

2021.12.03 composite

Date	December 3, 2021 (Fri)

venue	Hita hot spring town Mikuma River

Hita Onsen's Yakatabune (houseboat), which has a 200-year tradition, is as large as the Nagara River in Japan, and the party on the river is considered the best hospitality in Hita Onsen. The "Hita Mikuma River Moon Viewing Festival" is a great way to enjoy the autumn moon from a houseboat. This time, a stage boat circled around the houseboat, and it became a night to enjoy food and drinks while watching a first-class performance. (This event was held as part of the Regain! Oita Art Series)
Rgain! Rgain! Oita Art Series:
Oita Art Series: Rgain! Oita Art Series is a project to create opportunities for arts and culture groups that have lost their venues for presentation due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, and to provide the citizens of Oita with opportunities to appreciate the arts and restore the excitement of arts and culture in the prefecture.

From a total of nine performances, this site includes six performances.

Contents Katsuhiko Sato (Baritone)/Aoi Tokuhisa (Piano)
The Bell is Ringing
Like a River Flowing
Umekawa Ichinosuke (Dance) / Asarai Yoshikazu (Violin)
Sanbaso
Sonata for Solo Violin No.1 in G minor
Uchiage Fireworks
Dogwood

CAST & STAFF

Katsuhiko Sato (Baritone)
. Born in Hita City, Oita Prefecture. Currently in his second year of graduate studies (opera) at Tokyo University of the Arts. After graduating at the top of his class from the piano course at Prefectural Geijutsu Midorigaoka High School, he switched to vocal music. She graduated first in her class from the vocal music course at the Prefectural College of Arts and Culture. She then went on to study voice at Tokyo University of the Arts. Currently, she is studying under Eijiro Kai and Hiroshi Mochiki.

Ichinosuke Umekawa (dancer)
Born in Oita Prefecture. Graduated from Niigata University and joined the Tokyo Ballet in 2005. While performing as a ballet dancer in Japan and abroad, he left the company in 2006 out of a strong desire to return to Japan. He then entered the National Kabuki Actor's Training Institute at the National Theatre of Japan, where he learned the basics of kabuki, tachimawari, nagauta, shamisen, and other traditional Japanese music. After graduating from the institute in 2010, he made his stage debut under the stage name Nakamura Shjiro in the Nakamura Shido clan. Since then, he has been actively involved in overseas performances. He is an up-and-coming dancer who does not limit himself to the world of Japanese dance, but creates many works that fuse classical and contemporary art.

Keiichi Asarai (violinist)
Born in Oita City. Born in Oita City. After graduating from the High School attached to the Faculty of Music of Tokyo University of the Arts, he graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts with a major in violin. He began performing while still in school. She has been invited to perform at music festivals in Japan and abroad, including the Argerich Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival (USA). She was invited to perform at the 1st Midori Goto Lecture Concert, the national roadshow movie "Maestro! She has appeared in NHK's serial television series "Yale", and is widely known as a musician from Oita City, having played an active role in JR Kyushu's "Natsusei in Kyushu".

MESSAGE

I am a graduate student in opera, so I will be singing a mixture of opera, Japanese songs, and foreign songs. I am very happy that Oita Prefecture has planned this kind of initiative, as there are no performance opportunities nationwide due to Corona. I've been studying in Tokyo, so it's nice to have a chance to come back to my hometown and be heard by the people who have helped me.

Ichinosuke Umekawa (Dance)
I wanted to perform with a variety of songs, so I started with the classic "Sanbaso". After that, we changed the atmosphere and performed music perfect for moon viewing and "Uchiage Hanabi", a song that everyone knows. At the end, we will dance "Hanamizuki" to wish everyone a happy new year. We were worried about the wind because it was a moving water stage, but we are happy when the audience is happy. It is also a challenge for us. We are happy to have the opportunity to dance in front of the public after so many postponements and cancellations due to Corona, and we can't stop feeling “excited”to be able to dance again in such a beautiful and elegant setting.

Kaichi Asarai (violin)
I have been working with Mr. Umekawa for about three years. This time, I was very much looking forward to seeing her at the Kangetsu Festival in Hita. Mr. Umekawa is a Japanese dancer, but he has been doing creative performances for a long time, so he has changed the structure of the violin as well as the sound of the violin for this performance. I hope that you will be able to see that part of his performance.