The Art of the Benshi

The Art of the Benshi
Western U.S. Tour, 2026

Following on the success of The Art of the Benshi 2024 World tour, the Yanai Initiative is thrilled to partner with three new venues to offer audiences a rare opportunity to experience the mesmerizing artistry of Japan’s celebrated benshi—“movie orators” who, since the days of Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope, have been breathing life into silent film. Master benshi Ichiro Kataoka will be joined by pianist Makia Matsumura for the Art of the Benshi Western U.S. Tour, 2026.

FRI FEB 27, 20267:00 PM

EVERY-NIGHT DREAMS / APART FROM YOU
$17.00 (member) ; $22.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include a $2.00 online booking fee.

Egyptian Theatre | Live Performance with Benshi performer Ichiro Kataoka and pianist Makia Matsumura

35mm prints courtesy of National Film Archive of Japan

Series co-presented by The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles and The Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities

‘Mikio Naruse: An American Cinematheque Retrospective’

ABOUT THE FILMS:

EVERY-NIGHT DREAMS, 1933, Dir. Mikio Naruse, 65 Mins, Janus Films, Japan

In Japanese with English subtitles.

In the formally ravishing EVERY-NIGHT DREAMS, set in the dockside neighborhoods of Tokyo, a single mother works tirelessly as a Ginza bar hostess to ensure a better life for her young son—until her long-lost husband returns.

FORMAT: 35mm

APART FROM YOU, 1933, Dir. Mikio Naruse, 60 Mins, Janus Films, Japan

In Japanese with English subtitles.

For APART FROM YOU, Mikio Naruse turned his camera on the lives of working women, which he would continue to do throughout his long career. In this gently devastating drama, a critical breakthrough for the director, he contrasts the life of an aging geisha, whose angry teenage son is ashamed of her profession, with that of her youthful counterpart, a lovely young girl resentful of her family for forcing her into a life of ignominy.

FORMAT: 35mm