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Kota Yamazaki
Umewaka Has Yet to Return.
[Shirahige Higashi Apartment Drifting Dance Tour Ver.]
Tuesday, November 3, 2026 (Public Holiday)
Location: Higashi-Shirahige Park / Shirahige-Higashi Apartments area
Umewaka Is Blooming Here, There, Everywhere.
The legend of Umewaka has long been passed down at Mokuboji Temple in Tsutsumidori, Sumida.
It tells the sorrowful story of the young Umewakamaru, who was abducted by slave traders and died on the banks of the Sumida River, and of his mother, who continued searching for her son.
Around Mokuboji Temple, where Umewaka is enshrined, lie a park and the Shirahige-Higashi Apartments.
For one day only, this “Drifting Dance Tour” invites bodies to wander through the memories embedded in this area, as those who gather there resonate with the place in a spirit of celebration.
Umewaka has yet to return.
Umewaka is blooming here, there, everywhere.
Choreographic Supervision
Kota Yamazaki
Choreography & Performance
Aokid
Asahi Ishikawa
Kana Anayama
Nat Frederickson
Yuki Miyawaki
Taku Yoshida
Date & Time
Tuesday, November 3, 2026 (Public Holiday), 1:00–3:30 PM
Check-in: Please arrive at the meeting point between 12:50 and 1:00 PM and check in.
Admission
Free / Advance registration required
Please note:
*Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
*Capacity: 100 participants
*Wheelchair users are asked to contact the event inquiries desk before registering.
Ticket
Location
Higashi-Shirahige Park / Shirahige-Higashi Apartments area
Meeting Point
Kanegafuchi Gate
2-9-15 Tsutsumidori, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
- The meeting point is the light-orange gate located between Buildings 16 and 18 of the Toei Shirahige-Higashi Apartments.
- There is no parking lot or bicycle parking available.
📍Google Map
Access
Approx. 8-minute walk from the West Exit of Kanegafuchi Station on the Tobu Skytree Line.
山﨑広太 Kota Yamazaki
In the 1990s, he founded and directed the dance company rosy Co., becoming one of the leading figures in Japan’s contemporary dance scene as a choreographer and dancer. In 2002, he moved his base to New York, where he received numerous honors and grants, including a Bessie Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
He currently directs Body Arts Laboratory and works in both Japan and the United States. He is also a Visiting Professor in the Dance Department at Bennington College in the U.S.
More recently, he has attracted attention for his appearance as “Kamata Ojisan” on a Japanese TV program.
Contact
sumida_artfest@city.sumida.lg.jp
Inquiries are accepted on weekdays only (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays).
For ticket-related inquiries, please contact us through the Peatix ticket page. A Peatix account is required to send an inquiry.
What is the Sumida Arts Festival?
The character “墨” (sumi), meaning “ink,” is part of the name Sumida.
In the tradition of sumi-e ink painting, the phrase “sumi ni gosai ari”—literally, “ink contains five colors”—describes the rich variety of worlds that can be expressed through different shades of ink, brushwork, and the use of empty space.
Taking “The Five Colors of Sumida” as its theme, this arts festival seeks to reveal the vibrant colors of the world through art, while rediscovering the appeal of the local community and its people, as well as the joy of living in Sumida.
The festival’s concept is “Hakki Yōyō.”
This phrase is said to be one of the origins of the sumo call hakkeyoi. With this spirit in mind, visitors are invited to walk around and encounter artworks, take part in participatory projects, and engage in conversations sparked by what they experience.
As these encounters continue, new connections are formed, and Sumida gradually becomes a place that feels truly irreplaceable.
At the heart of this concept is the hope of creating, through art, a community where everyone can be themselves and belong at their own pace.
We invite you to look forward to this four-month celebration of art, taking place across Sumida in the autumn of 2026.
https://sumida-artfest.jp/
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