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"Ladies and Gentlemen from the East to the West"
A Japanese showman in a changing world
FOREWORD
By Kent W. Dahl
The photos and the stories about the photos in this book were originally displayed at my photo exhibition in Hokuonotakumi Scandinavian Arts & Crafts / Gallery in Tokyo in 2018.
They feature veteran chindonya leader Kojiro Hayashi and his Osaka-based chindonya troupe, Chindon Tsushinsha (Tozaiya).
Born in Denmark, I came to Tokyo as a foreign correspondent and photographer in 1980. It was a golden time for Japan. Japan's fortunes were on the rise. Over the coming decade, the country flooded the world with cars and electronics. The economy was booming. Real estate prices in the big Japanese cities were among the highest in the world. The stock market skyrocketed.
The rest of the world all wanted to learn from Japan.
Nevertheless, the country was still transitioning from the postwar period and various traditional popular cultures continued to flourish.
One day I heard some unusual music when changing trains at Ueno in Tokyo. I crossed the road and saw three musicians in front of the main station. Dressed in kimono, wearing wigs and make-up they looked like actors from a samurai movie. The bandleader was playing an unusual drum set, which he carried as a kind of backpack, but on his chest. The other musicians were playing a saxophone and a big drum. A fourth person was distributing advertisement flyers.
Thus started my interest in chindonya.
I was later introduced to Kojiro Hayashi, who was a bit different from the other chindonya. The latter mostly working independently in small groups, Hayashi had started a company with his own employees. He also had an interesting background. His own introduction to the chindonya world started in the biggest slum in Japan.
Apart from doing regular chindonya work, Hayashi started to train his members to be able to do other kind of performances. This took place in the old dilapidated OS Gekijo theatre in Osaka.
I found this transformation fascinating, and I started to follow the fortunes of Hayashi and his troupe.
Most of the photos in this book were taken during Chindon Tsushinsha (Tozaiya)'s performances at the OS Gekojo theatre.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The book contains 56 black and white photos. Each photo is accompaigned by an explanation about the photo and the background of the performer.
Fumika Hayashi performing at the OS Gekijo theatre. She is the daughter of Kojiro Hayashi.
Photo: Kent W. Dahl©
Copyright
All photos, articles and other material displayed in Eyefish Media's homepage are covered by copyright protection. No use or reproduction is allowed without prior consultation with Kent W. Dahl
Tozaiya Homepage:
http://www.tozaiya.co.jp/
Kojiro Hayashi watching members of his chindonta group perform at the OS Gekijo theatre.
Osaka, December 2007 Photo: Kent W. Dahl©
Street in Kamagasaki in Osaka
Kojiro Hayashi's first job as a professional chindonya was in the Kamagasaki area in Osaka. It was the biggest slum in Japan. Kamagasaki was primarily occupied by day labourers, homeless men, gangsters and ladies in the adjoining red light district – another biggest in Japan. The area did not figure on most official Japanese maps and few average Japanese people ventured there.
Hayashi Kojiro, Shinnusuke Kobayashi and Fumika Hayashi working as chindonya in the Shinseikai area in Osaka.
Takayoshi Kouichirou preparing for a sword fight in OS Gekijo theatre.
Masaki Ukai in the wing of the OS Gekijo theatre listening to the actors on stage