Mar 20, 2014 - 1 min read

Kiddy Kabuki

Where young children in Yamagata take up Kabuki roles

By Janessa Landry

Community writer

Children, parents, visitors, and residents pour into the shrine grounds to see the performance.

This shrine stands at the entrance to the grounds.

The curtain of the children Kabuki performance.

It is so incredible to see how professionally they do things not just from the dance but what happens after they dance, like cleaning off the inside of the mask.

Bowing to the crowd to thank them for watching.

Even with their faces covered it is easy who will play the woman character and who will play the male character.

The demon in this production shows off his tongue for more effect.

An interview was given after the performance to learn about the young children playing the roles.

Another story this time accompanied with an adult.

Their cloths and make-up are so professional.

The sign outside the shrine giving the schedule of the Kabuki performances about to happen that day.

This children's Kabuki festival traces its young origins to a current Kabuki performer born and raised in Akita. This performer heard that the shrine in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture where I believe he lived, was coming on hard times. To help stabilize the shrine financially and in construction he donated some money. In order to show their gratitude the residents in Sakata set up the festival. This festival is not just in honor of the actor, however, it is also to encourage young children to keep up the art and to keep the culture of Japan alive.

This festival is completely amazing. It is not only adorable to see little children act out the iconic characters from traditional stories in Kabuki, but it is also incredible to see how well the children are able to pull off these really difficult characters. I would highly recommend to go see the ultimate cuteness and talent this festival can offer. Read more about the festival here.