::: Yoshi Amao's World :::

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Samurai Sword Soul had another success at the Japan Festival

Samurai Sword Soul appeared as the last group performance at the Japan Festival, which was held at Brooklyn Williamsburg Publik House on Saturday, May 24th. The story was about how the three main samurais got together. The title was èThe Samurai Scout Service.î The scout man, Yoshi Amao, went on a trip to look for real samurais, and whenever he found out an excellent candidate, the strange voice, è You passed!î was deliveredÑThey finished with big round of applause and lots of laughter. Samurai Sword Soul made two continuous success featuring sword fighting scenes with a taste of comedy. Now what?s next?

Thank you again for coming to see Samurai Sword Soul's performance during "Sakura Matsuri" at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden! We had a great time. Hope you enjoyed the show.

Samurai Sword Soul's next performance will be on Saturday, May 24th !!!

Photo by Jose Sanles, Photo by Erika
The next performance for Samurai Sword Soul will be on Saturday, May 24th in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. We will join the Japan Festival event hosted by Big Genius. Details are as follows.

Event:
Date:
Place:

Phone:
Subway:

URL:

Japan Festival hosted by Big Genius
Saturday, May 24th, 2003, 10:00PM
Brooklyn Williamsburg Publik House
365 Union Avenue (Bet. Grand St. and Powers St.)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-599-3002
L line Lorimer Station / G line Metropolitan Avenue
3 blocks - (Between Grand St. & Powers St.), 2 minutes walk
http://obento.to/

"Samurai Sword Soul" - "Great Success" in Sakura Matsuri at Brooklyn Botanic Garden !

Photo by Jose Sanles, Photo by Erika
"Sakura Matsui", Cherry Blossom Festival, at Brooklyn Botanic Garden is one of New York's rites of spring. The 22nd annual festival was held on Saturday, April 26th and Sunday, April 27th.  Although it was drizzling on Saturday, it still attracted many people on the first day. On Sunday, it turned into a beautiful sunny day and the temperature rose up to 70F (around 21C). It was absolutely perfect conditions for flower viewing and picnicking. Thousands of people gathered for this event as if they couldn't wait any longer for the arrival of spring and a chance to bathe in the sunlight.  Even though the events at the Cherry Esplanade didn't start until 12:00 noon, the main outside stage area was already crowded with audience members since morning.

Yoshi Amao, the Master of Ceremonies for this event, commenced the opening of "Sakura Matsuri" at 12:00 noon and the audience got excited with Yoshi's instant Japanese language lesson. Yoshi had a very busy schedule on Sunday.  Besides being an MC for the entire event, he performed the "Lion Dance" ("Shishimai") with Minbu (The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York) at 1:15pm. The audience seemed to be thrilled with Yoshi's swift and subtle "Japanese Lion" movement during his solo dance.

At 4:00pm, Samurai Sword Soul performed a samurai sword fighting comedy. They received such a big applause on Saturday, and as people got to know this samurai sword team through word-of-mouth, people were trying to get places to see them one hour prior to their show. The main stage area was expanded due to the large crowd of people. People started to yell and fight just to get the spots to see them.

In the midst of this intense, uplifting excitement, with the scent of fresh cherry blossoms in the air, Samurai Sword Soul's play started. As soon as the sound of Taiko (Japanese drum) and Shamisen (Japanese guitar) started, the audience focused on the stage and Yoshi Amao, the storyteller of the play appeared on the stage with a big, red Japanese fan ("Harisen") and brought the audience to the world of the Edo-period with his deep, booming voice.

The audience showed a very clear reaction to the performance. When the heroes fought against the bad guys, they clapped so hard. When the princess' maids were surrounded by the bad guys, they booed.   When the monster princess appeared, they all burst into laughter. The audience and the performers were in rhythm with each other.  For Yoshi, it was an unforgettable experience, not only as the director but also as an actor. That's why they are all so addicted to performing on the stage.

Samurai Sword Soul Production:
Playwright: Showko Tokumoto, Choreographer: Hiroshi Ishii, Assistant Choreographer: Bob Yoshi Kuwayama, Shamisen: Yumi Shindo, Shamisen & Japanese Flute: Seiichiro Koizumi, Sound Effect: Naomi Watanabe, Sound Coordinator: Tenpei Iwakiri, Voice Over: Anna Kato, English Speech Instruction: Shawn Mullin, Jose Ortiz, Stage Design: Miho Tsuji, Aika Aikawa, Costume: Showko Tokumoto, Tenpei Iwakiri, Video Crew: Jose Ortiz, Charles Huang, Tod Nickens,

Cast:
Princess' Maids: Atsuko Jingu, Aika Aikawa, Takae Matsuo, Misato Kasai, Miho Tsuji, Security Girl: Misato Kasai, Killer Cat: Miho Tsuji, Red Cat Bandits: Taku Hirai, Parihito Kawasumi, Ippo Okuda, Takeshi Yamada, Nobu Mizushima, Princess: Manon, Monster Princess: Keiichi Kondo, Red Cat Boss: Toru Ohno, Goro: Bob Yoshi Kuwayama, Mamezo: Kon Tanaka, Seinosuke: Hiroshi Ishii, Storyteller: Yoshi Amao

Yoshi Amao was interviewed by the New York Times.

Yoshi Amao was interviewed by the New York Times and talked about the philosophy of the cherry blossoms and the samurai. Part of this interview was published on Friday, April 25th.

Sat. April 26th & Sun. April 27th - SAKURA MATSURI

Samurai Sword Soul will be performing at the Cherry Blossom Festival (Sakura Matsuri) at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Cherry Esplanade, on Saturday, April 26th and Sunday, April 27th starting at 4:00pm.

Yoshi Amao will be the Master of Ceremonies for the entire event and will also perform his breathtaking Lion Dance (Shishimai) at 1:00pm on Sunday, April 27 in Minbu (Traditional Dance) with the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York.

Don't miss the opportunity to experience this spectacular Samurai Sword fighting show along with Yoshi's Lion Dance under the cherry blossoms!!!

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, Sakura Matsuri, will take place
on Saturday, April 26th, and Sunday, April 27th, 2003. This New York City spring tradition celebrates the flowering of the 'Sekiyama' (Kwanzan) cherry trees on the Garden's famous Cherry Esplanade, as well as more than three dozen varieties of Japanese cherries which will create a magnificent
sea of pink and white throughout the Garden.

Events are free with Garden admission and will be held rain or shine.

Schedule of Events:

Saturday, April 26
http://bbg.org/exp/cherrywatch/sakura_saturday.html

Sunday, April 27
http://bbg.org/exp/cherrywatch/sakura_sunday.html