Teacups, balls of string and umbrellas are generally not very exciting. But spin the former two on the latter and you've got a different story.
Feats like this are a rare sight in Tokyo but the Edo Daikagura troupe has been doing this for 400 years. Their act includes acrobats such as the kotobuki shishi-mai (lion dance), and dobin to kuwae-bachi, in which a teapot is balanced on a stick held in the performer's mouth.
This weekend, the troupe will perform for an international audience for the first time in a family-friendly event organized by the Brown University Club of Japan.
All proceeds from the event will go to benefit Polaris Project Japan, Japan's only NGO solely devoted to fighting human trafficking.
Daikagura! takes place at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 6 at Sendagaya Community Center in Sendagaya Ward, Tokyo. Tickets cost ¥2,500 for adults and ¥1,000 for children under the age of 12. For more information, call (080) 5436-3453 or visit www.bucj.org. E-mail RSVPs to [email protected].