ISLAMABAD: A cultural performance, featuring a medley of popular Japanese music, dance and sport, was held to celebrate the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan on Saturday.

The event was organised by the Embassy of Japan and the Pakistan National Council of Arts.

The programme began with a powerful wadaiko performance by Masanori Yasue, Yukiko Nakaie, Kenji Ogashara, Wawoi Ohkushi and Rie Ikeda.

The percussion instruments sounded like rumbling thunder, while performers used dramatic gestures to expand their stage presence.

Japanese Ambassador Takashi Kurai welcomed the guests, saying: “The Embassy of Japan has been hosting various Japanese cultural activities in Pakistan for many years. Such events not only help us in sharing Japanese culture with Pakistani people, but they also help in promoting cultural harmony between Japan and Pakistan, and in providing a joint platform for the artists of both the countries.”

The first segment of the show consisted of demonstrations of three forms of Japanese martial arts: Kendo, Iaido and Karate.

Kendo was presented for the first time in Islamabad by Mr Yasue, Mr Hisabayashi, and Mr Hisaki.

Kendo loosely translates into ‘the way of the sword’, and is a form of Japanese duelling using bamboo swords and protective armour. Each swing in kendo is accompanied by a loud call or shout, and as the demonstration continued the younger children in the audience joined in, to the amusement of many.

The Karate demonstration was given by Teruki Nagasawa and his students, and Raja Faisal and his students. Some of the older students simulated a fight, sparring like pros.

Mr Yasue volunteered to give the Iaido demonstration, which also centred around sword fighting but in a way entirely different from the kendo demonstration.

Mr Yasue demonstrated being aware, quickly drawing the sword and responding to a sudden attack from various directions.

With controlled movements, he would draw his sword from the scabbard, strike down his opponent, wipe the blood from the blade, and then replace the sword.

The musical segment of the programme began with karaoke by two Pakistani students who performed Japanese songs.

Ujala Ali, a 14-year-old who was born in Japan, performed Fujiyama, Fujisan, a song about Mount Fuji. Maryam Ansari, an undergraduate student, sang the more modern Orange by 7.

The next performance, by the students of Modernage School, stole the show.

Their principal, Sumeera Wahid, said: “Life has strange ways of creating learning opportunities for us. Last year I saw a performance of the Japanese Fishermen Dance arranged by the Embassy of Japan where my colleagues and I saw dance as a display of physical fitness.

“That experience set a benchmark for us and we tried to implement it in our school in Abbotabad. Today we have brought a delegation of 56 teachers and students presenting the Japanese Fishermen Dance and an amalgamation of three local dances of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

The evening continued with performances by the Japanese band Noor Japan alongside Pakistani musicians who presented a few select Pakistani and Japanese musical pieces and a wadaiko dance prepared by the students of the Islamabad Japanese School.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2017