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July 21st 2021 Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay feat.our Kabuki guide, Kazui and her mother!
For more information and watching the video, please visit "About your guide"!
●My name is Kazui Yabe, and I am a female National Government licensed guide-interpreter and a
volunteer Japanese language teacher. I have seen Japanese traditional stage arts
such as Kabuki, Bunraku puppet play and Noh, over 1,000 times.
●My National Guide Certificate registration number is EN0245 by Governor of Tokyo Metropolis.
●I live very close to the Kabuki-za theatre, Shinbashi Enbujyo Theatre and Tsukiji,
so I love the traditional neighborhood there, and know a lot of about it.
The following is a sample of my weekend life:
-Shopping for fresh whole fish at the Tsukiji wholesale fish market in the morning
-Lunch at a casual restaurant or sushi-bar at the Tsukiji inside or outside markets
-Cooking fish for dinner
-Walking to Kabuki-za theatre, Ginza shopping area etc.
【Hobbies】
●Seeing Kabuki, Opera and other stage arts
●Travelling
●Hiking (the picture above shows me in Norway)
●Driving
●Cooking
●Finding and enjoying delicious food, from street stalls to the Michelin starred restaurants all over
the world
Kabuki is very a very fascinating performing arts. I have enjoyed Kabuki for many years! I love all performing arts such as opera and musicals. I wish to share my many experiences and knowledge; to show guests a part of the Japan I love as a Japanese person.
According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter is “an individual who escorts foreigners and gives them guiding services concerning travel with the use of a foreign language”. It is a national qualification that is a challenging certification to obtain. One needs to have a very good understanding of Japanese history, culture, geography, current affairs, and be able to explain all of it in a foreign language. According to the Japan National Tourist Organization, 7,651 people took the exam in 2017 but only 753 passed. Until the beginning of 2018, the qualification was a legal requirement for individuals who wanted to provide guided tours. In order to respond to the increasing demand for a variety of travel services in Japan, the Japanese government waived this legal requirement, thereby increasing the pool of people who could work as guides. However, the national qualification still exists and now acts as a seal of quality.
Please allow me to share with you some information about the torch relay (lightning ceremony) of Tokyo Olympic Games in case you would like to watch.
Our Kabuki guide, Kazui's mother, Masako, age 83, was selected as a torchbearer in Shinagawa City, Tokyo and will pass the flame from one torch to the next, in a process known as “kissing” on July 21st, 2021.
The relay was originally scheduled to took place on public roads but all Tokyo municipalities except for the islands decided to reorganise the event into lighting ceremonies to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
You may be interested in how Masako became involved and if she is/was an athlete. The answer is “No”! She was selected from the public by writing an essay regarding her reasons for wanting to be involved. So Kazui would love to share a bit of background on her mother. Masako moved to Tokyo from Wakayama Prefecture, where she was born and raised, to marry my father (who has since passed away). She started her new life with a big family including his grandmother, parents, sister and brother and helped with his family business in Tokyo. It was common for a woman to marry someone who has their own family business at that time in Japan.
Kazui was a baby on Masako's back when she saw the Air Self-Defense Force's Blue Impulse aerobatics team draw the Olympic rings in the sky in front of their house on the opening ceremony day for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Kazui's mother loves her family, business, Tokyo and contributing to the community, such as PTA activities. She also established a women’s chorus group with her neighbor, a piano teacher. Kazui is so proud of her life so I encouraged her to apply to be a torchbearer.
In Japan, there is also an option for Torchbearers to purchase the torches to keep them after the event. Masako applied for this and is going to donate the torch to the local elementary school where many of our family members, including her husbamd, son, daughters and grandchildren are graduates.
If you are interested in reading more about the torchbearers, please visit the following website.
https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/torch/about/otr-about-faq
Kazui was registered as Masako's escort and had been scheduled to run with her, but she helped Masako in the lightening ceremony. You can see Masako at the Kabuki-za theatre on the link below:
http://www.tokyokabukiguide.com/index.php/photo-gallery/Photo-gallery-Kabuki-za-2
The video taken at the torch lightening ceremony. You will see Masako and Kazui.
Masako and Kazui were interviewed by the reporter of NHK (Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai; Official English name; Japan Official Broadcasting Corporation) after the torch lightening ceremony.
