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Born in Osaka, Japan, in 1962. He develops projects such as kagura performances and art exhibitions in countries around the world, expressing a unique Japanese world view on the theme of “Neo Japanesque” — creating the new from the old.
Since 1996, as international exchange projects between nations, he has continued to hold these events for 25 years in Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, the United States, Hungary, and other countries. Today he continues to dedicate Sousei Kagura in sacred places, mainly in Japan.
PhilosophyNeo Japanesque, as Omote Hiroaki Sees It
Since ancient times, Japan has absorbed many cultures from other countries, sublimated them into a culture of its own, and brought them to completion as a Japanese culture recognized throughout the world. Today, however, as Japan’s traditional culture declines, we stand to lose not only the visible beauty and techniques unique to Japanese tradition, but also the invisible spirituality hidden within them.
Japanese culture is “the Japanese way of life itself” — clothing, food, dwelling — born of Japan’s climate and natural features over thousands of years. On one side stand arts refined to the level of fine art, such as flower arrangement and the tea ceremony; on the other stand the traditional industries that support daily life in material terms. Since the Second World War, with changing lifestyles, this Japanese culture has been rapidly disappearing. In an age long described as one of internationalization, Japan should not devote itself solely to absorbing the cultures of the world.
To re-present our traditional culture — its techniques, its beauty, its spirituality — in forms suited to the peoples, cultures and ways of life of the world: that, I believe, is Japan’s role in the world. —— Omote Hiroaki
In an age when the borders between the everyday cultures of nations are disappearing, I wish to evolve what must be preserved and handed down — incorporating contemporary design and function so that it suits modern life — to send it out to the whole world, and to make a cultural contribution internationally, thereby encouraging the establishment of our identity as Japanese.
NEO JAPANESQUE is a cultural creation movement that contributes to the world: under the concept of “creating the new from the old” — “ancient yet new” — it creates a new Japanese culture born of our traditions, aiming for the realization of a nation built on culture and the betterment of human life. —— Omote Hiroaki
BiographyBiography
Positions
- Chairman, Association for Modernizing Cultural and Traditional Industries of Japan (J-ART)
- Entertainment Tourism Meister, Japan Tourism Agency
- Izumo Tourism Ambassador
- Regional producer, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries, Traditional Craft Industry Office, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
About the Entertainment Tourism Meister: Japan Tourism Agency
The Japan Tourism Agency appoints as “Entertainment Tourism Meister” those who work to promote and deepen understanding of Japan’s appeal, rooted in its ancient spiritual culture, by communicating it widely.