Baikou Yatsuhusa shows up!

Whenever I may feel I have been on just half a way to my goal, still more energy comes up in me........

The real name is Kazuhito Yamabata. The stage name is Baikou Yatsuhusa and he calls himself as the originator of the Yatsuhusa-style street performance which is unrestrained, full of the originality. Saying "I hate to put myself in some forms or follow an old tradition.", His life itself shows the essential policy of the Yatsuhusa-style street performance.

He had decided his retirement from office was at 45 years old and made it as scheduled. The end of 1996, He stopped his career as an officer at the Akashi city hall and started his performance professionally. On December 14, 1998, the same day as "Uchiiri by Ako-roshi",one of Japanese historical events, happened, He established his own office, declaring " I will be something as a street performer some day. You bet!"

"I have loved street performance since boyhood. I can remember I used to create a comic story "Rakugo" or mimic a ventriloquist in those days. At around 20 years old , I think about myself to be a professional some day.

But in fact, his debut was only 5 years ago when he became 40 years old. Because he had devoted himself to skill up his performance for the first 20 years of the career. As the result, his performance before an audience had been restrained during the period.

"Telling the truth, this course was also scheduled in my mind. Once a dream comes true, the dream is no longer a dream. So I prefer the joy of aiming at a further goal and I really did it. That is why I feel the 20 years was very short time and good time."

Between jobs at the Akashi city hall, he has performed 600 times in the latest 5 years, encouraging and entertaining the people suffering from the disaster in Kobe or going abroad for introducing his performance.

Some one may say his goal has got to be achieved by the office establishment. But his comment tells "Not at all! I have just arrived at the real beginning of my career. I can just stop to have my fingers in two pies and get down to my real work only in my favorite way.

I would like to be an auditor at a university 5 years later and study street performance academically there and write a book about it in easy words. And it is also important for me to train successors of my Yatsuhusa-style street performance. Anyway I feel I should be relaxed and do what I really want, aiming at the real goal."

Being asked "By the way, where is your goal?", he answered "My goal? Of course, Getting the nationwide honor of the Yatsuhusa-style street performance."

The time, Mr. Yamabata's real start, has just come. Now you can't take your eyes off him. Even for a second!

Biography of Baikou Yatsuhusa

I was born in May, 1997 and grew up vigorously in the countryside of western Akashi .

In boyhood, I used to go to a temple festival where I experienced excitement with a peep show and enjoyed unique talk ways of a snake charmer or a showman selling army knives, saws, or something else, which give pleasure to all of you. My heart was captured by charm of street performance like that, which inspired me to go anywhere and see an expert to get the skills of several kinds of street performance, for example, "Gama no abura", "Banana no tatakiuri". (15 kinds of street performance are ready for an audience now.)

But of all the performances, my favorites are "Gama no abura", "Banana no tatakiuri" and "Nankin-Tamasudare" and they have been performed most often.

The stage name "Baikou Yatsuhusa" was given by the late priest(died in April 1995) at the Hitomaruyamatsukiteruji Temple. Bai in Baikou means the ume with the long history - One summer day in Genroku period, Yoshio Oishi, Councilor of the Ako clan, and Kyudayu Mase prayed for the attainment of their desire at the Hitomaruyamatsukiteruji Temple. At that time, Kyudayu planted an ume from a small pot to the ground there. Some years later, the ume grew up to a big tree with beautiful blossoms and bore eight of its fruits on every blossom. So the ume was named "Yatsuhusa no ume" and loved by everybody.- "Yatsuhusa no ume" is the origin of my stage name.

My study of street performance started seriously at 20 years old and I wanted to give my first performance to an audience at 40 years old. In fact, I have done my performance since the debut in my fortieth year. I have received requests for my stage from all over Japan, from Hokkaido to Kagoshima. Particularly in 1995, I received 400 requests just after my appearance at "Ningen-map" telecast by NHK in November 1994.

But In January 1997, we experienced the devastating earthquake. As the result, it is just 60 of the 400 requests that I could respond to.

Details of Baikou's appearances on mass media

NHK TV - Topic of Kink , News at am7:00,pm6:00 and pm11:00 , Ningen-map

Mainichi TV - Beautiful Kinki, Midnight and

Asahi TV - Good morning! Asahi, Bekako Katsura's Dream street and Free time

Kansai TV - News at pm6:00 and etc.

Yomiuri TV -Zoom in morning and etc.

Radio Kansai - Danroku Tsuyuno's News main street (as a quasi- regular)

Weekly - "The Eastern Economy" and etc.

Daily - "Daily Kobe ", "Daily Asahi", "Daily Yomiuri", "Daily Mainichi","Daily Sankei", "Daily Nikkei",Japanese local dailies and 4 kinds of German dailies

Monthly magazine - "Tomorrow" issued by the administration

Industrial magazine - "Osaka Gas","Society New Information", "Liquor"

Datails of Baikou's latest appearances on mass media

<TV>

Asahi TV - "ABCD-su"

Kansai TV - "Wanderers"

<RADIO>

NHK - "Topic of Kinki"(re-appearance)

Asahi - "Abe9jira"

<Weekly>

"The Eastern Economy" issued on 96/12/1 (re-appearance)

"Sunday Mainichi" issued on 97/6/1

<Monthly>

"The Business World" issued on 97/3/20

<Industrial magazine

"Works 97 No.12" by the Recruit

"Network 97/6" by the Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

<Daily>

"Daily Asahi"( "Human" column)

"Daily Mainichi"( a national social column)

A regional edition of "Daily Yomiuri"

"Daily Gendai"

Records of Baikou's appearances at entertain and festivals

1993	"Kaki-otoshi" at the Edo-Tokyo museum.
	The 450th anniversary of introduction of a gun to Tanegashima island.
	"Urban resort fair" in Kobe
1994	the 16th festival of Tajima
	a convention of the Hyogo Rotary Club
	a convention of the Hyogo licensed tax accoutant association
1995	JR entertainment train "To the Kansai Airport"
	a lecture about Japanese street performance at a church in German
	a convention for encouragement to Kobe for revival from the disaster
1996	Service for the repose of deceased souls from the disaster in Nishinomiya by the Nishinomiya Genki Gym(Jan. 17)
	Street performance festival at the Fukui prefectural library (March 2)
	Aioi shopping street bargain sale (March 31)
	the castle festival in Fukuchiyama (April 6 , 7)
	a convention at Kyoto International Exchange Center (May 12)
	a parent and child festival sponsored by Nishiwaki parent and child theater (June 22)
	an encouraging convention at temporary houses in the Akashi park (July 14)
	a autumn festival by Tomari town association (Nov. 1)
	Gokaso-cho merchant festival (Nov. 23)
	the 1st anniversary of Meitetsu Pal (Oct. 6)
	Kimono festival sponsered by the Kyoto Nishihonjin hall (Oct. 26)
	Nagata Kukko Festival (Nov. 24)

Personal History of Baikou Yatsuhusa

1951/5/31	Born in Nishi-futami, Futami-cho, Akashi, Hyogo. The family is consist of parents and 4 brothers.
	Learned in the local junior and junior high schools and graduated from Ikuei private high school.
1970/3	Started to work for the Akashi city hall just after graduation from the high. The first post for the career was in charge of matters with the National insurance in the Insurance and Pension section and stayed there for 3 years.
1973/4	First transferred to the city planning section. But just 1 week later, re-transferred to a new established, the site section and in charge of the land purchase and served for 7 years there.
1980/4	transferred to a new established, the second road equipment section and in charge of the land purchase and served for 2 years there.
1982/4	transferred to a new established, the traffic safety section and served for 1 year in charge of the streetlights there.
1983/4	transferred to the waterworks section and served for 3 years there.
1986/4	transferred back to the traffic safety section in charge of the streetlights and served for 7 years.
1994/4	transferred to "Shonen Sizen no Ie" belonging to the Board of Educationand stayed there for 2 years and 9 month.
1996/12	Retired

Rewards and Punishments

1987	Gold prize at the first convention of the Administration Efficiency Committee
1992	the Traffic Safety Service prize by the Akashi Traffic Safety Association
1994	the Traffic Safety Service prize by the Hyogo governor

　　
daidoya@osk.3web.ne.jp