Shubukai Celebrates 50 Years with Free Performance at Edge Theater Sept. 19

Asian Improv aRts Midwest (AIRMW) presents Shubukai 50th Anniversary celebratory performance at Edge Theater, 5451 N Broadway at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19. Joining Artistic Director Yoshinojo Fujima (aka Rika Lin) and the dancers of Shubukai will be special guests Koryu Nishikawa V, director of the Japanese puppet theater company Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo, and Japanese classical dancer Kanshichinao Fujima and with support from Tsukasa Taiko & Toyoakimoto Shamisen.

Shubukai is a leading representative of Japanese Classical Dance in Chicago and Chicago's Japanese American community and works closely with other traditional groups to incorporate core aesthetics into contemporary Japanese cultural performances. Shubukai's performances are rooted in classical and neo-classical styles, reflected in music and costuming and has played a significant role in raising cultural awareness within the Japanese American community, Chicago, and the greater Chicagoland area for five decades.

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The Fujima style dance school was established in Japan over 300 years ago during the Hoei era by choreographer Kambei I and is maintained to this day by descendants of the Fujima clan. Until his death in 2024, the Fujima school in Chicago, named Shubukai, was led by founder and artistic director, Shunojo Fujima, who taught in Tokyo for several years before introducing the legendary Fujima style to Chicago in the 1970s. Fujima Sensei had appeared internationally and throughout the U.S, performing in major venues such as the Tokyo National Theater, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Chicago Cultural Center, Orchestra Hall and the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2005, he became a resident artist at Japanese American Service Committee (JASC), helping to establish the organization as a leading center for Japanese and Japanese American cultural arts. Today Shubukai is lead by Yoshinojo Fujima (aka Rika Lin). For more information, please contact Rika at yoshinojo7@airmw.org.

AIRMW presents Shubukai 50th Anniversary celebratory performance at Edge Theater, 5451 N Broadway at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19. Admission is free. For more information visit airmw.org/event-details/shubukai-50th-anniversary-performance.