Snow, Moon, and Flowers – 雪月花

A stage production combining dance and reading. Inspired by three pioneering Japanese immigrants in Australia and the USA, it tells their stories by Japanese classical dance and English reading, under the themes of snow, moon and flowers (雪月花）. “Snow, Moon, and Flowers” – the words originate from a Tang Dynasty Chinese poem, serve as a metonym for the beautiful scenery of the four seasons in Japan and are a prominent theme in Japanese dance and art.

Within this poem lies a passage where seeing beautiful scenery evokes memories of cherished ones. For Japanese immigrants, it often is the shifting seasons of Japan that stir such nostalgia. Japanese dance is profoundly influenced by the nation’s four distinct seasons and common life events associated with them. However, the significance of the seasons is gradually disappearing due to global warming.

Stories of Japanese immigrants have not been told much. This is an attempt to shine a light on them, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Australia and Japan, and to have an opportunity to reflect on the past and the future.

Their stories are told and woven together through live music, classical Japanese dance and a recitation by actors. The stories are based on historical fact with fictional elements.