reading & script:

music:

lecture (9 & 11 Oct):

Actor

Guitarist/MusicianProfessor, the University of Shimane;Great-grandson of Lafcadio Hearn

Shiro Sano

Kyoji Yamamoto

Raised inMatsue.
Shiro wasa founding
member of“Shakespeare
Theatre”, atroupe established in 1975. In 1980, he joined
another troupe “Gekidan Jokyo
Gekijo”, which was headed byJuro Kara. He made his screen
debut in 1986. In 1999, he produced his first movie Karaoke.
He has acted in more than 110
productions, including foreign movies. Interested in thefantastic since childhood, hehas long had a fascination withthe works of Lafcadio Hearn,many of which are related toMatsue. Through his activities
and engagement with visualworks, he has developed a deep
interest in, and passion for,the world of Hearn. He began“The Lafcadio Hearn Reading
Performance” in Matsue in2006, and this project has now
come to occupy a central placein his life and work. His partnerin this performance is the guitarist Kyoji Yamamoto. Shiroand Kyoji were classmates at
Matsue Minami High School,and deepened their friendshipthrough their mutual affection
for music. In 2009, Shiro donated a first edition of The Writingsof Lafcadio Hearn: In Sixteen
Volumes to the American
College of Greece.

Born andraised inMatsue.
Kyoji began
playing theguitar at theage of fifteen,and enrolled
in the Yamaha Nemu Music
Conservatory three years
later. His reputation as anextremely talented guitarist
was established right from thestart of his career, and he wasappointed as the lead guitarist
and vocalist of BOW WOW.
The band quickly gained
popularity through touringwith both Aerosmith and Kiss.
Kyoji’s dynamic playing andexceptional technique led himto become one of the forerunners of the Japanese rock scene.
He later formed VOW WOW.
Based in London, the band
recorded and performed in theUK, around Europe and the US
for four years. Highly regarded internationally, Kyoji has
influenced some world-famous
artists, and is ever-active on the
global stage, demonstrating his
wide range of musicianship. In
addition to releasing several
instrumental albums, he holds
sessions with jazz-fusion musicians, performs in acoustic recitals, and creates the music forthe “Lafcadio Hearn Reading
Performance” in collaboration
with Shiro Sano. He is also arenowned producer for otherinternational artists.

calligraphy: Nanami Nanasawa

Lafcadio Hearn
Reading Performance

Bon Koizumi

Born andraised inTokyo, Bonmajoredin folklore
at Seijo
Universityand Graduate
School of Seijo Universityin Tokyo. His work involves
the research and discovery ofcultural resources for tourism
development. For twelve years,
he has led the Summer School
for Children—Super Hearn
Course—, a workshop aimed at
nurturing the five senses of its
participants.
In addition, he has produced ghost tours in Matsue
and several other locations inJapan, and contributed to thepromotion of cultural tourism and education. Recently,
he has been following in thefootsteps of Lafcadio Hearn,
travelling around the world
and producing various eventsin cities related to the writer,that focus on Hearn’s openmind. Such activities have led
to the successful developmentof partnerships with thosecities. Besides his professorship,
he is adviser to the Lafcadio
Hearn Memorial Museum inMatsue, and director emeritus
at the Yaizu Lafcadio Hearn
Memorial Museum.

design: Kiyoharu Ishikawa©Lafcadio Hearn Reading Performance

Visitors from the World BeyondDublin

Fri 9 Oct, 1.30pm
St. Ann’s Church

Waterford

Sun 11 Oct, 3pm
Garter Lane Arts Centre

GalwayTue 13 Oct, 6.30pm
Nun’s Island Theatre
on.fb.me/1eEEdcj

original text : Lafcadio Hearn
reading & script: Shiro Sanomusic: Kyoji Yamamotosuperviser & navigation: Bon Koizumi
organiser: Sanin Japan-Ireland Association
co-organiser: Embassy of Japan in Irelandsponsors & supporters: TOYOKO INN,

KINKODO LTD., FEXCO, Matsue City,
St. Ann’s Church, Garter Lane Arts Centre,
Nun’s Island Theatre, Embassy of Irelandin Japan, Galway 2020, Galway ArtsCentre, Wa Café, The San-in Chuo Shimpo
Newspaper Co., Ltd.
cooperators: Fáilte Ireland/TourismIreland, Toshinobu Takashima

Message
I would like to express myheartfelt gratitude to havebeen given the opportunity
to perform 稀人 MaraudoVisitors from the World
Beyond, a show comprising
works by the great Irish writer Lafcadio Hearn.
We perform through thespoken word and music, withmyself, Shiro Sano, in the roleof the storyteller, and Kyoji
Yamamoto playing the guitar.
We have been performing
Hearn’s works regularly
over the past nine years inour hometown of Matsue
City, which is known as The
Province of the Gods, andalso in Tokyo.
In July, 2014, we performedin Greece, Hearn’s birthplace,on the occasion of the 110th
anniversary of his death.
Hearn was separated fromhis parents at an early age.
He felt much affection for his
Greek mother, but did notthink well of his father, who
moved the family to Ireland
before separating from hiswife and then leaving thecountry. Even so, I think
Hearn’s sensitivity was developed through the fairytalesof Ireland, and Celtic culture, and this is reflected in
his writings.
Hearn may not havethought well of his father.
However, when I read Hearn’sworks, I feel that in some way
he is making an offering to hisfather, and trying to come toterms with his relationshipwith the parent whom hewould not meet again.
We hope that, through our
performance, Hearn’s father
can appreciate the profoundworld of his son.
Our performance is inJapanese, with English subtitles. We hope you do not findthis too much of a burden.
We would like you to immerse yourself in the soundsof Japanese, a language Hearn
loved, and the music, whichtranscends the boundary between the East and the West.
We hope you enjoy ourperformance!

Shiro SanoOctober, 2015

Commentary
Just as Ireland has the Hillof Tara, so does Japan haveancient stone circles. Whatlies beyond such circles? Withmusic as our guide, we transcend time and space, dreamand reality, and journey into
the mind of Lafcadio Hearn,to perhaps glimpse the world
beyond.
1. Lafcadio Hearn’s Brother(Atlantic Monthly, January
1923)
Lafcadio Hearn was born in
Greece and spent his childhood in Ireland, the birthplace of his father. He later
moved to the USA, where heearned a living as a newspaper
reporter and journalist.
Hearn was deeply hurt
by his parents’ divorce andthe breakup of the family.
However, his family remainedin his thoughts, and he felt
deep affection for themthroughout his life.
A letter written by Hearn
to his brother expressed his
inner conflicts regarding hisfamily. At the time Hearn wasliving in New York, a symbol of modern civilization.
However Hearn preferredolder, more traditional values
over modern life.
We aim to express his feelings towards Ireland, Greeceand his family as he battledwith loneliness.
Our performance is inJapanese, with English subti-tles. We hope you do not findthis too much of a burden.
We would like you to immerse yourself in the soundsof Japanese, a language Hearn
loved, and the music, whichtranscends the boundary between the East and the West.
2.	Hi-mawari(Kwaidan, 1904)
This story is from Kwaidan,
a work which is synonymous with Hearn in Japan.
Kwaidan consists mainly of
old Japanese tales, but in“Hi-mawari”, which means“sunflower”, Hearn recalls aday from his childhood inIreland. He and his cousin
Robert were playing in thewoods, and while there, hetold Robert an old Welsh
story about a fairy ring. In hislater years, Hearn saw a sunflower in the village of Takata
near Tokyo, and was perhaps
reminded of that day in thewoods in Ireland.
The memories of that daywith his cousin suggest that,
despite Hearn’s fear of fairies,ghosts, wanderers and otherunworldly beings, in them, healso sensed a kind of freedom.
3. My Guardian Angel	(The Life and Letters ofLafcadio Hearn by Elizabeth
Bisland, 1906)
Hearn was brought up by hisgreat-aunt, who was a strict
Catholic. Every autumn, ayoung woman, known as
Cousin Jane, came to stay in

Hearn’s great-aunt’s house until the following spring. Jane
had wanted to become a nun,and had strong beliefs which
she preached in earnest.
When Hearn asked her why
he should try to please God
more than to please anybody
else, Jane’s reply terrified him.
From then on, Hearn hated
Jane, and wished her dead.
As if he had cursed her, Janeactually died.
However, Hearn was
unaware of Jane’s death, andone day, he saw her walking
in the house, dressed in black.
He followed her and tried to
speak to her, but she did not
reply. He recoiled in horror
when, trying to look at her
face, he realised that she had
no face! Then, right before
Hearn’s eyes, Jane disappeared. Perhaps Hearn washaunted by the thought thatby wishing Jane dead, he had
killed her. Our performance
includes requiem music forthe repose of Jane’s soul.
4. Mujina(Kwaidan, 1904)
This story is from Kwaidan.
It takes place in Edo, the city
now known as Tokyo. In thosedays, the city at night was not
the bright place it is today, but
was covered in darkness.
One night, an old merchant was walking up a slope
which ran alongside a moat.
There, he noticed a woman,
who appeared to be from agood family, crouching andweeping bitterly. He stopped

to see if he could help her, butwhen she turned around, hesaw that she had no face! The
terrified merchant panicked
and ran away. He ran towards a light in the distance,
which turned out to be thelantern of a soba noodle stall.
Breathlessly, he told the soba
noodle seller what he hadseen. The seller listened to thestory about the woman withno face, but he did not seemat all frightened. He turnedto the merchant, to show him
his face…
The merchant’s experience
parallels the trauma Hearn
experienced from the death ofCousin Jane.
5. Chin Chin Kobakama(The Japanese Fairy Tales,1903)
This story is from The Japanese
Fairy Tales. The book wasmade as a souvenir for people
from overseas, and was printed on traditional Japanesepaper.
A girl from a respectablefamily married a noble samurai warrior. She had beenbrought up with maids andservants attending to herneeds, and thus had no experience of doing anythingfor herself. Her husband wasoften away at war, and left
alone for long periods of time,
she became lazy and idle.
One night, hundreds offairy folk appeared in herroom. She was terrified, andasked her husband to help
her…but who were these folk?

And why did they suddenly
appear? The answer lies in theyoung wife’s actions.
This story demonstrates
that the fairies of Ireland andthe fairies of Japan may havequite a lot in common.
6. A Living God	(Gleaning in Buddha-Fields,1897)
The earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan on
11 March, 2011 caused hugedamage and claimed the livesof many victims. The cleanupof the damaged Fukushima
nuclear power plant continues to this day.
A devastating tsunami ona similar scale to this recent
disaster struck Japan in 1896,
a few years after Hearn’sarrival. Perhaps Hearn had apresentiment that a similardisaster would occur in thefuture, when he wrote “ALiving God”.
This story is based on actual
events from 1854, when alarge earthquake struck Japanand triggered a tsunami. In
telling this story, Hearn used
the reporting skills he honed
while working as a journalist in the USA. Hearn had
previously written about thedamage caused by a storm on
the Grand Isle of Louisiana
where he lived before comingto Japan, in his work Chita: A
Memory of Last Island. Hearn
was very conscious of natural
disasters, and I think there isa lot we can learn from his insights into these occurrences.

How does Ireland, a country with no nuclear power
stations, perceive Japan, anation that while prone toearthquakes, has many suchplants? And, if Hearn could
see Japan now, what would
he say?
If we consider that international society is focused on
economic benefits, there canbe no going back for Japan.
It is true that Japan enjoys
the benefits of such a society
but it is because we are living
in such a world that we candream of peace. We have thechance to learn lessons fromthe past. We could harnessthe power of imagination
to comprehend all things innature, and avoid making thesame mistakes again.
How can we accept ourcurrent reality and turn ourdreams into a new reality? Ifeel that this is the question
Hearn is asking us.
7. Hi-mawari(Kwaidan, 1904)
We end with a further passage
from “Hi-mawari”. However,
the words which float in the
air are unspoken. Let’s imagine that inaudible voice, andthe figure we cannot see.
Maybe the face of theharper who appeared in theforest of the fairies resembles
that of Hearn? Or maybe it isa face with no features? Who
can say?
Anything is possible because
this is Ireland and the world
beyond is never far away.