Naomichi Hanazono’s “20th Anniversary Dinner Show” Revives the Masterpiece “Vessel of Sand” with “Dance” in a Remarkable Performance

Toshio Ishikawa, entertainment reporter, tells us what’s going on behind the scenes at …….

Butoh dancer and singer Naomichi Hanazono, who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut, held a birthday dinner show. I have known him for 15 years since he held a show at the Mitsukoshi Theater in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, on the 5th anniversary of his debut, when he was 20 years old.

He has certainly gained a fan base and grown a lot, but he still remains humble and ambitious. At the show, he showed us several quick changes of clothes and his appearance drew loud cheers and sighs of admiration from the fans in the audience.

Among the guests were Mrs. Devi and actor Kon Omura. There were also faces of fashion designer Yumi Katsura, popular popular theater actor Kotaro Ryu, and Tatsuo Umemiya’s wife, Claudia.

The highlight was a dance based on the theme of the movie “Vessel of Sand,” written by Seicho Matsumoto. The dance was based on an original story conceived by Mr. Hanazono about two brothers who are separated from each other after the Great East Japan Earthquake and walk away from their respective destinies, and was accompanied by the theme song from “Vessel of Sand. The duet with butoh dancer Kotoomi Hanayagi was wonderful, and the audience seemed breathtakingly moved.

It was exactly 50 years ago when I was a publicist for Shochiku. I remembered the time when I was in charge of this film directed by Yoshitaro Nomura and shot by Tetsuro Tanba, Go Kato, Ken Ogata, Kensaku Go Morita, and others.

The film is about a dead body that was found one day in the premises of the Kamata rail yard of Japan National Railways in Tokyo’s Ota Ward. The identity of the victim is unknown, and the investigation is a difficult one. The story was that Mr. Tamba, who played the role of a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department detective in charge of the case, and Mr. Morita, a detective from the local police station, continued their diligent search and found the culprit.

At the time, the catchphrase for the movie was.

The film’s catchphrase at the time was, “A heart-wrenching journey into the pursuit of human destiny!

A blockbuster film that will move you with emotions and vivid images never seen before in Japanese cinema history.

The words “A blockbuster that will move you with emotion and vivid images never seen before in Japanese film history” were printed on the film’s cover.

I was watching Mr. Hanazono’s dance while thinking about that movie, and it was still very moving to me.

I had a conversation with Mr. Morita, who served as governor of Chiba Prefecture, a few years ago,

He is so famous that he said, “If it weren’t for that movie, I probably wouldn’t be an actor. ……

He said, “If it weren’t for that movie, I wouldn’t be an actor. I was really bowled over by Mr. Hanazono’s spirit of challenge to express it in dance, and his skill in performing a dance that moved the audience.

During the show, Ms. Hanazono also unveiled her new song “Kita Iraku,” which will be released on October 4. Fans were entranced by the sight of her singing in a tuxedo, a gift from Yumi Katsura.

Also backing Ms. Hanazono was a special appearance by the “MIKAGE PROJECT” of shamisen, koto, and shakuhachi. Mr. Hanazono himself performed “Pipeline” by The Ventures on the shamisen, creating a Japanese atmosphere.

Mr. Hanazono is fighting to spread Japanese “Japanese entertainment” culture. Next April, he is scheduled to perform “Hanazono Castle! All Together” at the Meijiza Theater in Tokyo next April.

She seems to feel that her steady efforts, which have included a series of shows in Los Angeles, France, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, and other countries, are beginning to bear fruit. From now on, we will probably have more and more opportunities to see Ms. Hanazono in action, both in Japan and abroad.