“Craft Theater SABIÉ”

Craft Theater SABIÉ origins trace back to 1988. At that time, Masakazu Izumi, who presided over the event, described “SABIÉ” as a social gathering consisting of young artists and craftspeople that would create a “Craft theater” which 24 guests would attend. The concept was a one-day-only theater production, with the artists and craftspeople working to welcome guests for just one day, creating a setting based on “Honoring Tradition, Innovation, Transcendence” (守破離shu, ha, ri), a tea tradition principle, as the theme. The participating artists were told the theme, dimensions, and number of pieces to be created, and each created a piece based on their own interpretation of the theme. The artworks were then gathered together for the one-day theater, where the artists would explain their submissions to the guests, at times also taking on host roles and making conversation. This was an experimental attempt to create Ichigo-Ichie (a once-in-a-lifetime) tradition-based guest reception combined with the collaboration of contemporary artists. This became the kick-off point for the SABIÉ movement.