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Samurai art performance ‘Kengishu KAMUI’ comes to Comic-Con Arabia

Samurai artist Tetsuro Shumaguchi performed “Kengishu Kamui” at Comic Con Arabia on Thursday.
Samurai artist Tetsuro Shumaguchi performed “Kengishu Kamui” at Comic Con Arabia on Thursday.
Samurai artist Tetsuro Shumaguchi performed “Kengishu Kamui” at Comic Con Arabia on Thursday.
Samurai artist Tetsuro Shumaguchi performed “Kengishu Kamui” at Comic Con Arabia on Thursday.
Samurai artist Tetsuro Shumaguchi performed “Kengishu Kamui” at Comic Con Arabia on Thursday.
Samurai artist Tetsuro Shumaguchi performed “Kengishu Kamui” at Comic Con Arabia on Thursday.
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21 Oct 2022 02:10:21 GMT9
21 Oct 2022 02:10:21 GMT9

Deema Al-Khudair

JEDDAH: Samurai artist Tetsuro Shumaguchi who has been pursuing a style of beauty of form, acting, and martial arts mixed together, performed “Kengishu Kamui” at Comic-Con Arabia on Thursday.

The Samurai artist will be performing at the Jeddah International Exhibition & Convention Center for the duration of Comic-Con Arabia which concludes on Saturday.

After years of experience in theater activities, such as kabuki, Shumaguchi established a samurai sword performance group, “Kengishu KAMUI”, of which he has been serving as a leader.

It is his first time performing in the Kingdom, and he said he had a joyful first experience performing at Comic-Con Arabia.

“I feel like I’m very happy that I’m here because I’m surrounded by everyone’s passion, and everyone is so kind from the staff to guests – it’s my first time, but I’m so happy that I came,” he told Arab News.

One of his most notable acting achievements was playing Crazy 88’s “MIKI” and directing the choreography in Quentin Tarantino’s “KILL BILL Vol.1”.

Following the success of Kill Bill, KAMUI has been performing all around the world.

“I felt like it was almost an exchange of culture, because there were people from all over the world that came for Kill Bill the movie, to be a part of it, so it was a really wonderful experience,” he said.

“I feel like it was such a great experience for me to be a part of because I was part of all the mixture of cultures exchanging. I feel that it also led to me getting various stamps on my passport from different countries because of it,” he added.

Before he started doing Samurai sword choreography, ten years ago, he created his own form and own genre of the mixed martial arts that he comes from, and also using the samurai sword to create his genre which has led him to direct the choreography in Kill Bill.

He was born in Saitama prefecture, Japan, and graduated from Nihon University, College of Arts.

Kengishu KAMUI performed in high-profile venues, such as Kennedy Center in the US in 2005, Teatro Della Pergola and Palazzo Vecchio in Italy in 2010, Blue Note in Poland and many other venues in Europe.

They also performed at the Hermitage Museum in Russia in 2015, Armani Hotel in Dubai in 2016, and more.

In 2012, he established his original samurai dojo, “Kengido” and he has been expanding it not just in Japan, but in other countries such as Italy, Poland, the US and Republic of Lithuania.

This exemplifies his dedication in promoting Samurai culture both inside and outside of Japan.

He is also the first Japanese artist to receive the Consonance award in Florence, Italy in October in 2018.

Arab News spoke to Japanese consul general Shimmura Izuru who said that Comic Con Arabia is a good opportunity for cultural exchange.

“This is a great event, and a great occasion for all otakus from Saudi Arabia to know about the comic culture especially the Japanese pop culture; manga and anime,” he said.

“I’m very happy to join the event, to exchange (information) with the younger generation to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture,” he added.

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