Great Lakes Taiko Center (GLTC) Taiko Arts collective presents:
Fall 2025 Free PUBLIC Events featuring
guest artist Eien Hunter-Ishikawa with Michigan shishimai Kai
SAT 11/8 in Novi-Wixom (Shishimai & Ryomen Odori performances and presentation)
SUN 11/9 in Ann Arbor (Shishimai performance and interactive workshop)
SAT 11/8 performances: Shishimai & Ryomen Odori
Traditional Japanese Lion Dance & Double-Mask Dance
Shishimai has been performed for hundreds of years in Japan to bring good luck to communities and chase away evil spirits. It is believed that getting bitten by the shishi will bring good fortune for the rest of the year. Our shishimai is the Edo Kotobuki Jishi, the traditional celebratory shishimai of Tokyo. The dancer is accompanied by three musicians - taiko drums, shinobue flute, and atarigane percussion. Seeing a shishimai performance is very rare outside of Japan and our mission is to introduce this fascinating cultural art form to as many people as possible.
Ryomen Odori is the traditional double-mask dance. It features two cheerful characters portrayed by one dancer. The female mask is called Okame, a famous Japanese character with a round face, small nose, and puffy cheeks. The male mask is called Warai, meaning laughter, and provides a comedic element to the performance. This dance comes from the Edo Sato Kagura tradition.
Eien Hunter-Ishikawa is a musician, dancer, and educator based in Portland, Oregon. He started learning shishimai in 2001 and has performed and taught all around North America and Japan. He has studied with his teacher Kyosuke Suzuki for 20 years and founded the Portland Shishimai Kai in 2022.
A Note from Michigan Shishimai Kai
Michigan Shishimai Kai is part of the Great Lakes Taiko Center, a taiko arts collective based in Southeastern Michigan. We are now raising funds to purchase the mask, cape, and instruments we will need to acquire when we are ready to perform, which we hope will be in 2026.
Michigan Shishimai Kai was founded in 2024 by students learning the Japanese lion dance, Shishimai, and the Edo Kotobuki Jishi musical accompaniment, with the mission of preserving this celebratory tradition from Tokyo. The style we play is the tradition taught by Kyosuke Suzuki, an integral member of Wakayama Taneo Shachu which is designated in Japan as a Nationally Important Intangible Cultural Asset in Folk Arts. Our players have studied this form with our sensei, Kyosuke Suzuki in Japan and Eien Hunter-Ishikawa in the United States.
We would greatly appreciate your donation of any amount! Thank you for your support!
Michigan Shishimai Kai founding members with sensei Eien Hunter-Ishikawa: Kyoko Johnson, Noriko Maidens, Rieko Muroi-Bowman, Akiyo Fisher, and Olga Ehrlich. [2024-09-08 photos by GLTC member Romeo Diccion]