Shuwa Performance Troupe Entertains in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward

The Japanese term “shuwa” translates to “sign language” in English and in a venue for live music in Shibuya Ward in Tokyo, the Shuwa Performance Kiirogumi troupe entertains in a two-hour song-and-dance concert.

It is not a very common sight to see people with hearing difficulties provide a solid, entertaining program in front of a large audience especially in Japan, where entertainment involving singing and dancing live and other acts is quite common.

But for the 15 men and women of the Shuwa Performance Kiirogumi troupe, they managed to break the norm, performing their song-and-dance routines live while signing. Although the audience was small, it was still quite an achievement, particularly for their group representative, 53-year old Ruruka Minami. She stands and dances in front of the performers, her back to them because it is her role to give them the timing for their performance. She said this is more rewarding and socially uplifting for the group, because they are not treated as a welfare case and they were able to entertain.

Enchantment with the beautiful hand movements

When Ruruka Minami enrolled at the Osaka University of Arts, she saw a special group mounting stage shows using sign language. She became fascinated by their hand movements, which she thought were like writing words or creating art in space. She is not hearing-impaired but asked members of the group to teach her sign language. She worked hard to learn sign language and relished the time when they argued among themselves.

She lived abroad with her parents for several years therefore Minami was not used to the Japanese way of not fully expressing their opinions and ideas. But she found that deaf people are of a different mold and they tend to express their feelings immediately.

Beginning of sign language performances

After graduation, Minami started working in Tokyo. Starting in 1985 she produced radio programs and also used her knowledge in sign language to work as an interpreter. She recalled interpreting for a singer who was doing a live concert. The singer berated her for being a stand out in the concert, which overshadowed the singer’s performance. She said her first thought was that the singer was ignorant, but she also thought that the interpreter sharing the stage with the performer would not work, from a stage production viewpoint. Another time she recalled signing for a professional Kodan storyteller’s performance. She said a deaf woman in the audience later told her that she was moved by the story but failed to recall the storyteller yet she remembered Minami’s face.

Minami had the idea that it would be better for the performers if they are able to sign, rather than have a separate sign interpreter. She gave her idea fruition and formed a small group of three initially, with just one deaf member. Now they have 40 members. Their audience was mostly composed of learners of sign language and deaf people and their reputation grew. Today, more prefectures in Japan are enacting ordinances to promote sign language and Minami is kept busy with her troupe and requests to provide sign language coaching to numerous actors.

Image credit: A sign about the Shuwa bar, Flickr photo by Masahiko OHKUBO under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.