This year, Koishikawa Korakuen garden is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a designated Important Cultural Property of Japan. To mark the occasion, a number of traditional cultural events are taking place at this central Tokyo garden.
On February 23, you can watch a face-changing dance from the Sichuan Opera, featuring music played on the two-stringed Chinese instrument erhu. There’s also a Hokushin Ittoryu sword-drawing performance on February 25. Both shows are free and take place at 1.30pm and 3pm.
You can see some Japanese performing arts on February 24 with traditional kogan and rakugo Japanese storytelling by Shinku Kanda and Seiko Tatekawa at 11am and 2pm. Kagura, a type of Shinto ceremonial dance, will be performed by Shachu Ishimor on February 25 at 10.30am and 12.30pm. There’s also gagaku (Japanese classical music) and bugaku (traditional Japanese dance) performances on February 26 at 11am, 1.30pm and 2.30pm.
Seats are limited to 150 people each session and must be booked in advance via Asoview.