In January 2026, a team of consultants from Jarman International, in partnership with JTB Hiroshima, visited Yamaguchi to learn about the traditional performing art of Sagiryu Kyogen from master Taro Yonemoto and discuss how it can be promoted to international audiences.
Jarman International’s team consisted of CEO Ruth Marie Jarman, as well as JI Core 50 consultants Lila Klopfenstein, Chiara Terzuolo, and Paul Walsh.
The name “Sagiryu Kyogen” denotes the Sagiryu school of Kyogen comic theater, which today can only be seen in Yamaguchi Prefecture and a few other places. Often paired with longer, more serious Noh dramas, the short Kyogen plays aim to make audiences laugh. Although Sagiryu Kyogen flourished in Yamaguchi during the Meiji period (1868–1912), it later began to decline, and a local preservation association was formed in the 1950s.
Jarman International submitted a photo taken during the consulting trip — depicting the team trying on Sagiryu Kyogen costumes — to the Times Gallery, a photo feature published by The Japan Times. The photo was included in the Gallery’s March 2026 edition.
“All of us were laughing so hard we were literally crying! The two sensei, Taro-san and his father, did such a great job depicting a daimyo lord on a visit to a large town who is missing his wife but at the same time quite afraid of her. It was a joy to experience Kyogen for the very first time,” Jarman says.
Jarman International is honored to be able to learn about this rare traditional art form and contribute to its preservation.