Profiles of Giants of the Ryukyuan Music Performing Arts ③
Tamagusuku Chokun (1684 – 1734)
The father of the Kumi Udui, or classical Ryukyuan Theater was born in Shuri in 1684. He was sent by Shuri with a delegation to Satsuma in Kyushu as a dancer.
Profiles of Giants of the Ryukyuan Music Performing Arts ③
Tamagusuku Chokun (1684 – 1734)
The father of the Kumi Udui, or classical Ryukyuan Theater was born in Shuri in 1684. He was sent by Shuri with a delegation to Satsuma in Kyushu as a dancer. The magistrate at Kagoshima was very impressed by Chokun`s mastering of traditional Japanese song and dance in his short stay. So much so, a few years later, Chokun was called upon again to accompany a tribute mission to Edo. On this trip, he saw kabuki, Noh, and the rest of Japanese classical performing arts.
After returning to Ryukyu, he thought of the novel idea of doing Classical Theater with no closing curtains completely in the Ryukyuan language. He studied Classical sanshin under Tansui Uekata. Chokun mixed traditional Ryukyuan dance and music with elements of Japanese Noh and Kabuki. His first pieces had a revenge theme embedded in Ryukyuan History. He would call this new performance style, Kumi Udui. The first performance was before a Chinese diplomatic mission to Shuri Castle. It was a great success, and the rest is history.
It could be said that the 18th century was a time when the Ryukyuan art flourished. Indeed, it was a golden time for the arts, even though there was not much gold coin in the treasury of Shuri.