It was the first time this Vietnamese folk art form to be introduced to Japanese and tourists in Yokohama city. However, folk songs of Northern Vietnam, traditional music and lively colorful puppets made Japanese so surprised and curious that they gradually fell in love with this unique art form of Vietnamese.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnam’s Ambassador in Japan, Mr. Doan Xuan Hung, expressed his pleasure that troupes of Vietnam Water Puppet Theater had introduced and promoted a unique cultural feature of Vietnam to Japanese friends. He hoped that this water puppet show would assist Japanese as well as international tourists in understanding more about characteristics of Vietnamese culture, contributing to fostering the friendship between Vietnam and Japan.
Under the talented control of Vietnamese artists, interesting repertoires such as bullfighting, fishing, dragon dancing and Teu were performed so vividly that made audiences excited and cheer with enthusiasm. In an interview after the program, Akiba said that she was greatly impressed with water puppet performances. She shared that it was her first time to see such cute puppets that performed lively. It made her interested in learning more about Vietnamese arts. If she had the chance to visit Vietnam, she would definitely go to watch water puppet shows.
Mr. Matsuda Iwao, a Former Senator having many years holding cultural exchange events between Vietnam and Japan, said that Vietnam water puppet was not only a simple art form but the essence of wisdom and labor of Vietnamese. According to him, the thing that made Japanese audiences curious was how Vietnamese artists did to make inanimate puppets demonstrate such ingenious movements. Matsuda Iwao praised that Vietnam water puppet art is truly an art of scientific synthesis of Vietnamese ancient people that even top engineers hardly invented. Mentioning the relationship between Vietnam and Japan, he said that the two countries nowadays not only cooperate in fields of economy, education, and technology but also exchange culture to help people learning more about each other for mutual assistance purpose.
Through this water puppet show, Japanese and international tourists in Yokohama not only enjoyed a unique art only existing in Vietnam but also could feel the desire for peace, the thickness if the cultural history, the humanity and patriotism of Vietnamese. It was not the first time Vietnam water puppet to be introduced overseas. Earlier, this art form had been promoted to Australian in Darwin Cultural Festival and received many praises from Australian audiences. It is expected that Vietnam water puppet will be introduced to more countries around the world as a typical art form of Vietnamese traditional arts in the near future.
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