Kaguyahíme: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter by Jo Kanamori, music by Debussy

Dancer and choreographer Jo Kanamori brings Japan's oldest surviving literary tale to life on the ballet stage: the tenth-century masterpiece Kaguya-hime (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), in a sublime imagining with the Tokyo Ballet, set to the music of Claude Debussy. The story of a beautiful and mysterious young princess with cosmic origins who captivates a host of suitors—including the Emperor of Japan—Kaguya-hime has inspired many artistic creations, including the 2013 Studio Ghibli film The Tale of Princess Kaguya, directed by Isao Takahata. Kanamori’s three-act work, which evolves through the seasons and alternates between contemporary and traditional settings, is supremely interpreted by the world-renowned Tokyo Ballet. Akira Akiyama interprets the delicate role of Princess Kaguya in dances created to some of Debussy's most sumptuous music, including the Suite bergamasque that gives us the famous Clair de lune—which, fittingly for our lunar princess, means "moonlight."

Photo © Shoko Matsuhashi