[Nichibunken-IHJ Forum] Japanese Performing Arts in the Spanish-speaking World: Their Reception and the Role of a New Web Encyclopedia

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  • Lecturer: Mauricio Martinez Rodriguez (Visiting Research Scholar, Nichibunken)
  • Commentator: Richard Emmert (Professor, Musashino University)
  • Date: Wednesday, June 5, 2019, 6:30-8:00 pm (Doors open at 6:00 pm)
  • Venue: Lecture Hall, International House of Japan
  • Coorganized by International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken)
  • Language: English (without Japanese interpretation)
  • Admission: Free
  • Seating: 100 (reservations required)
  Spanish is a language spoken by 577 million people. Japan is known to those speakers through the publications of Japanese classical and modern literature and on other subjects, but the prints on performing arts are very rare, and considering the geographical range of countries where Spanish is spoken, distribution is not easy. To fill this gap, Prof. Martinez has been establishing a Web Encyclopedia of Japanese Performing Arts in Spanish, which introduces to the Spanish-speaking world Japanese traditional music, dance, theater, intangible heritage, and the Okinawan and Ainu cultures.
  In this lecture, Prof. Martinez will talk about the concept and process of this ambitious undertaking, as well as the charm of Japanese performing arts he is trying to convey to non-Japanese speakers.

Mauricio Martinez Rodriguez (Visiting Research Scholar, Nichibunken)
Mauricio Martinez RodriguezAfter studying music at the National University of Colombia, Prof. Martinez was awarded an Indian scholarship for research and a Chinese scholarship for postgraduate studies at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, due to his involvement in the introduction of Asian performing arts in Spanish. Subsequently, he has been awarded research fellowships (Tokyo, Hokkaido, Okinawa and Kyoto) by the Japan Foundation and has been at Nichibunken as a Visiting Research Scholar. Prof. Martinez’s projects include the Web Encyclopedia of Japanese Performing Arts in Spanish, Asian Performing Arts YouTube channel, Artes Escénicas de Asia on Facebook and Musicas de Asia Internet Radio, among others.
Richard Emmert (Professor, Musashino University)
Richard EmmertProfessor of Asian performing arts at Musashino University, he is a certified Kita school noh instructor. Author of several books on noh published by the National Noh Theatre, Tokyo, he directs the summer intensive Noh Training Project UK at Royal Holloway, University of London, and organizes the Noh Training Project Tokyo conducted by the Kita School and Theatre Nohgaku. Founder of Theatre Nohgaku, he has composed and directed English noh productions and led noh projects and workshops throughout the world.