I’m watching Ichikawa Ebizo on a TV talk show, just one month after his father, Danjuro XII, passed away. The atmosphere is light, as is the general tone of talk shows in Japan. My first reaction was: “what?! Is he already there on TV??” This makes me think on how death and mourning are treated differently in Japan as opposed to Italy, where appearing on such talk show shortly after the death of the father would be inappropriate for a celebrity. Catholicism vs Buddhism, I suppose…

[21/08/13] Following up on this – this morning an interview of his late father Danjuro XII was on TV. After the airing the commentator said with a smile ‘… and these were the late Ichikawa Danjuro XII’s thoughts on his art. We are looking forward to seeing his son Ebizo continuing the Danjuro tradition – it is wonderful to see this tradition continuously evolving’. I almost cried.