Hokusai's life becomes a play. In Bologna on June 30 and July 1

The life of Katsushika Hokusai (Edo, 1760 - 1849), one of Japan’s greatest artists, becomes a theatrical performance. On the occasion of the exhibition Yōkai. Ancient Japanese Monster Prints, Bologna is hosting for two days, for the first time in Europe, the show The Life of Hokusai, a major performing art show created to commemorate the 260th anniversary of Katsushika Hokusai’s birth. Two days of performance, June 30 and July 1, 2023, with four performances, at the Arena del Sole Theater, to tell through dance, music and poetry, the life of the great master, father of Japanese painting.

Magic and colors arrive on the Bologna stage with the impetus of The Great Wave of Kanagawa, Hokusai’s masterpiece, with the intention of taking viewers on a journey through the valleys, mountains, rivers and majesty of nature that so deeply inspired his art, as well as through the demons and shadows that made it the enterprise for him to devote himself to until his death.

The show was conceived by producer Shin Sugimoto and performer Katsumi Sakakura, with the participation of director Kento Shimizu and the collaboration of Takashi Okazaki, a character designer popular for his work on the legendary hip-hop samurai anime “Afro Samurai” and the DC Comics film “Ninja Batman.” It is a Global Business Labo production in collaboration, for Italy, with Vertigo Syndrome.

The project had been prepared in 2020, but due to the outbreak of the pandemic, it was necessary to temporarily stop the theatrical production and it was decided to have director Kento Shimizu make a documentary, recording the artists’ performance in front of a stage with no audience. The documentary is available from April 6 on the Amazon Prime Japan, US and UK platforms.

Tickets for the show have five price ranges (Gallery 15 euros, Second Order Boxes 25 euros, First Order Boxes and Stalls 35 euros, Vip Gold Ticket 84.53 euros and Vip Premium Ticket 93.87 euros) and can be purchased directly at the exhibition, at the Yōkai box office. Ancient Japanese Monster Prints, in Palazzo Pallavicini, or online, with pre-sale fees.

With the purchase of a VIP ticket, visitors to the show, in both the afternoon and evening replication, will be able to participate in a sake tasting led by a kikizakeshi, or sommelier of the Rising Sun’s most representative alcoholic beverage. Participants in the tasting, to be held at 7:30 p.m., will discover all its most important characteristics as well as the “most Japanese” way to enjoy it.

On the day of Sunday, June 25, the show’s protagonist and artistic director Katsumi Sakakura, who is a choreographer and performer of budō, the Japanese martial art in which “movement, rhythm and spirit” converge in a unique and distinctive style, will give a masterclass on his personal interpretation of budō related to dance and theater. To the small number of participants, he will also talk about the influence of Wabi-Sabi, the Japanese aesthetic of imperfect beauty, and the visual arts, particularly the work of master and genius Katsushika Hokusai. The mastercass will be held at Teatro del Baraccano, also in Bologna, will last 2 hours (10 a.m.-12 p.m.), will be in Japanese with Italian and English translation, and will cost 100 euros.

Tickets for the show and those for the masterclass can be purchased on the show’s Italian website(https://hokusai.world/ITA.html), on the show’s website(www.mostrigiapponesi.it) or on Tickettando(www.tickettando.it), with special promotions for those attending both.

Hokusai's life becomes a play. In Bologna on June 30 and July 1

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