Under the exclusive invitation of Japan Creative Centre (JCC), Embassy of Japan in Singapore, we are extremely delighted to present to you a rare and unique Japanese street performance known as Chindonya (チンドン屋) by Chindon Tsushinsya (ちんどん屋通信社), one of the top Chindonya performance group in Japan at this year’s Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA). They will be publicising SIFA events through Traditional Japanese Street Performance.

Catch them at the following time and venue!

What is Chindonya?

Chindonya is a type of elaborately costumed performers in Japan that march along the streets to advertise shops or other establishments. They use voices, musical instruments such as drum or trumpet, and performance of famous play or movie characters to catch the attention of people. The word chin and don symbolises the Japanese sound to describe the instruments, and the -ya suffix roughly represents to what equates to the English "-er" suffix in this context.

Such performance or business began to emerge at the end of the Edo period and over the years, performers have developed their own unique and contemporary style which now becomes part of Japan’s culture. Nevertheless, ever since the modernisation of Japan and with the development of new advertising techniques, Chindonya has declined dramatically and they are a rare sight even in Japanese cities nowadays.

About the performers

Led and established by Mr Kojiro Hayashi in 1984, Chindon Tsushinsya is one of the top Chindonya performance group in Japan. They have contributed in refining the advertising agency on the streets into a more sophisticated and eccentric performance. Today, Chindon Tsushinsya has presented their unique performance not only in Japan but also in more than 20 cities around the world as an advertising agency, performer and culture ambassador.

• Born 27 August 1956
• Birthplace Fukuoka, Japan
• First debut 1981
• Specialises in:
- Chindon Drum
- Trumpet
- Japanese Dance (Hanayagi-ryu)

• Born 26 March 1960
• Birthplace Niigata, Japan
• First debut 1984
• Specialises in:
- Clarinet
- Saxophone
- Shinobue (Japanese flute)
- Japanese Dance (Hujima-ryu)

• Specialises in:
- Japanese Dance
- Chindon Drum