KYOTO, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The non-profit Inamori Foundation (President: Dr. Kazuo Inamori) today announced that Tamasaburo Bando V will receive its 27th annual Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy, which focuses on Theater, Cinema for 2011. Tamasaburo, 61, a citizen of Japan, will receive the award for creating his own unique world in traditional Kabuki theater and for contributing to many other genres of performing arts.
See the announcement webcast in English at www.inamori-f.or.jp today after 3:00pm (Japan time).
The Works of Tamasaburo Bando
For more than four decades,
Tamasaburo has delivered acclaimed performances in onnagata
(Kabuki female roles), establishing himself with unsurpassed artistry as
a tate oyama, or leading actor of female roles, in the
contemporary Kabuki scene.
Although he was not born into a distinguished family of Kabuki performers, Tamasaburo has devoted his life to the craft from childhood, making his stage debut at the age of seven. At 19 he was selected to play the role of Princess Shiranui in the Kabuki drama, Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (The Moon Like a Drawn Bow); the following year he played Omiwa in Imoseyama Onna Teikin Goten (At the Palace on Mount Mikasa, from The Teachings for Women). His career has been characterized by a pioneering spirit that led him to collaborate with the shimpa (new school) in Kyoka Izumi’s Keiko Ogi in 1975, and to play the role of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth the following year. In 2007, under his own artistic direction, he staged marathon performances of Kyoka Izumi’s works for an entire month, an unprecedented event at Tokyo’s famed Kabuki-za Theater.
Tamasaburo’s achievements in dance, drama and film have been recognized beyond the world of Kabuki theater. In 1984 he was invited to represent Japan in the Metropolitan Opera’s Centennial Gala, where he was featured along with such renowned performers as chanson singer Yves Montand, ballet dancers Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, and opera singer Plácido Domingo; his performance of Sagi Musume (The Heron Maiden) attracted worldwide attention. He has also collaborated with ballet luminaries such as Maurice Béjart and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and performed with the Japanese taiko drum ensemble Kodo. His films include Gekashitsu (The Operating Room), which he co-wrote and directed, and Andrzej Wajda’s Nastasja, in which he played the double roles of Prince Myshkin and Nastasja. In 2008, Tamasaburo participated in China’s Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theater, playing the lead role in The Peony Pavilion in Beijing.
Tamasaburo makes a multifaceted world come alive in numerous different performing arts, and continues to hold countless audiences spellbound with unsurpassed artistry.
Other 2011 Kyoto Prize Laureates
In addition to Tamasaburo
Bando V, the 2011 Kyoto Prize laureates include:
- In “Advanced Technology:” Dr. John W. Cahn (citizenship: USA), 83, a materials scientist who established the landmark theory of spinodal decomposition, supporting the development of new alloy materials; now emeritus fellow at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (http://www.nist.gov) and affiliate professor at University of Washington (www.washington.edu).
- In “Basic Sciences:” Dr. Rashid Sunyaev (citizenship: Russian and German), 68, an astrophysicist and contributor to high-energy astronomy who proposed the theory that fluctuations in cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) may be used to explore the expanding universe. Dr. Sunyaev is a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study (http://www.ias.edu) in Princeton, New Jersey; director of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (www.mpa-garching.mpg.de); and chief scientist at the Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (www.iki.rssi.ru).
About the Inamori Foundation and the Kyoto Prize
The Kyoto
Prize, Japan’s highest private award for global achievement, honors
significant contributions to the betterment of society. Each Kyoto Prize
laureate will be presented with a diploma, a 20-karat-gold Kyoto Prize
medal, and a cash gift totaling 50 million yen (approximately
US$625,000) during a week of ceremonies beginning November 9, 2011, in
Kyoto. The laureates will reconvene in San Diego, Calif., March 20-22,
2012, for the eleventh annual Kyoto Prize Symposium.
The non-profit Inamori Foundation was established in 1984 by Dr. Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera (NYSE:KYO) and KDDI Corporation. The Kyoto Prize was founded in 1985, in line with Dr. Inamori’s belief that a human being has no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of society, and that the future of humanity can be assured only when there is a balance between our scientific progress and our spiritual depth. The laureates are selected through a strict and impartial process considering candidates recommended from around the world. As of the 26th Kyoto Prize ceremony (November 10, 2010), the Kyoto Prize has been awarded to 84 individuals and one foundation — collectively representing 15 nations. Individual laureates range from scientists, engineers and researchers to philosophers, painters, architects, sculptors, musicians and film directors. The United States has produced the most recipients (34), followed by Japan (14), the United Kingdom (12), and France (8).
Download photos at: www.kyotoprize-us.org