Yudai Kamisato (Japan/Tokyo)
Yudai Kamisato (born in 1982 in Peru) is a director, playwright, and head of Okazaki Art Theater, based in Tokyo and Kawasaki. In his teens, he lived in Paraguay and the United States. His artworks were built upon his self-identity, followed by an in-depth exploration on the issue of immigrants and workers, the relationship of individuals and national identity, as well as communication with other contemporary issues.
He established Okazaki Art Theater in 2003. His theatrical works combine everyday matters with the detailed bodily aspects to highlight the abilities of the actors. From this uniqueness, he earned various awards in the Japanese theater scene. Kamisato was the youngest winner of the TOGA Directors Competition in 2006 and winner of the Kishida Prize for Drama in 2018. Moreover, Kamisato started his career as a novelist in 2013.
“RYUKYU KAIDAN- The Horror Stories from Ryukyu” (2021)
2-channel video
16:9, 21 min & 24 min
The story comes from a book titled “Ryukyu Kaidan” written by Takeshi Kohara. Each story contains layers of Okinawan present relationships with their ancestor belief and their mental state through ghost stories. In Okinawa, people believe they live co-existing with the ghosts and it’s common to hear the stories daily. This subject is interconnected with the history of Okinawa itself as a site which was affected by the Pacific war.
In Okinawa, like any other cultures, people accept the existence of ghosts or specters naturally, and such stories are said to come up frequently in daily life. Yudai presents 8 stories in collaboration with actors. Yudai believes that to see death and mysterious things is to know the culture. Because these things express how they live.
Cast: Chiho Takara for “Shiisaa(シーサー)” and “the border(境目)”, Nana Aragaki for “Mr. Oshiro(大城部長)”, Yuto Iwata for “visiting(墓参り)” and “Fire(鎮魂の火)”, Hiroki Uechi and Maiko Yamamoto for “test of courage 1 & 2 (ガランガラン)、(トントントントン), Miki Uejo for “Don’t follow me”
