TRADITION 2026 | Sounds of Kabuki Return to OC Japan Fair | “Kotobuki” Presented by Fuji Japanese Music | October 18, 2026
COSTA MESA, CA – Under clear autumn skies on Sunday, October 18, 2026, Fuji Japanese Music presented “Kotobuki: Celebration in the Sounds of Kabuki” on the outdoor stage of OC Japan Fair, one of Southern California’s largest Japanese cultural festivals. The program featured nagauta and hayashi, the classical music of the kabuki theater.
Fuji Japanese Music, led by founder and artistic director Mariko Watabe (Katada Kimisen), performed the hayashi. Nagauta Shiki no Kai, led by Kineya Yasoyo, provided shamisen and uta (vocals) as guest performers.
The program included four celebratory works:
- Hinazuru Sanbaso (雛鶴三番叟): festive music praying for peace, a good harvest and prosperity
- Echigo Jishi (越後獅子): lively music of traveling lion performers from Echigo on the streets of Edo
- Tsurukame (鶴亀): auspicious music of the crane and the turtle, wishing the emperor a long life
- Fuji Musume (藤娘): the tale of the wisteria spirit who appears as a lovely young maiden
Fuji Japanese Music’s ties to the fair go back to 2017. That year, organizer Mr. Taguchi visited Watabe at her home. He explained that the fair drew more than 30,000 people over three days, most of them non-Japanese visitors drawn by modern Japanese culture. Visitors had told him that classical and historical arts were missing. He asked Watabe, who teaches shamisen and hayashi, to perform, and the group joined that October.
After the pandemic, the group presented Yamatogaku at the fair through 2025. In 2026, it finally brought nagauta and hayashi to the outdoor stage, the classical music the organizer had hoped for from the start.
This year’s fall fair ran October 16–18 and offered more than 65 food booths, sake tastings, anime and pop culture zones, taiko, and other traditional arts. The Friday program was canceled for safety because of Santa Ana winds.
“Anime and pop culture grew from Japan’s classical arts,” Watabe said. “We want to introduce that classical music here at this festival, and keep creating good performances.”
OC Japan Fair is held every April and October. More information: oc-japanfair.com