American Student Kabuki in Portland, Oregon!

This is Nathan Shiga and my job is to write on what's happening in/on/to Japan. This episode has to do with what's happening "on" Japan, so barely clears the norm. It's something on Japan happening in Oregon, U.S.A. So, here we go.

The stage is Portland State University campus and what's happening is a serious performance of Kabuki's masterpiece "Chushingura" (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers) by 50 PSU students of Japanese culture and dramatics under the guidance of a Japanologist Laurence R. Kominz. I'll fill you with extra data on Professor Kominz later on.

Now, as said a moment ago, this is a dead serious Kabuki stage done by a group of students undoubtedly with plenty of love for Japan. Otherwise, such a performance couldn't have materialized - never. It's that good, folks. The story is awfully popular, so popular that it's told, staged, recited in the last month each year in Japan - of a group 48 samurais revenging their lives on their lord who died a spiteful death.

Professor Kominz has his way of teaching the students the culture of a nation:

"The best way is to have them 'live' that culture. In case of Japan, the best is to have them 'perform a Kabuki stage' which embodies Japan's culture."

The result turned out to be a huge success. A dramatics major Colin Cane learned to freely perform in rigid style and "that should help my study of Shakespeare plays".

Professor Kominz believes the students have learned so much and the audience must have found what Kabuki is and its power and beauty.

Professor Kominz is a student of Donald Keene at Columbia University. He has written a few books on Japan, specifically on drama, and himself taken performance lessons in Japan in noh, kyogen, kabuki, etc.

Kominz is currently Director of the PSU Center for Japanese Studies and teaches courses in Japanese language, literature, drama, and film.