Kick'em In The Ghoulies

Next up was one of the main acts we where interested in seeing , Visual Kei is a very popular style of music in Japan and the next act ''Wing Works'' , Ryo:Suke is a solo artist who is a bassist and vocal talent .

Ryo;Suke has also collaborated with other groups as well in the past as a support artist.

Now considering it was a Friday afternoon there where still a decent crowd to see him perform and from the outset you could see why, one thing I have found about many of these acts from the visual Kei style is they really know how to perform and it was not long before the crowd where well into the music and giving it large.

With little under a hour Ryo;Suke bashed out song after song with a adrenalin fuelled hold over the audience . I must admit I got quite into it forgetting what I was doing their , but not to worry I got some nice shots for this article

Ryo:Suke definitely had some groupies in the front of the audience to who gave the whole performance even more atmosphere .

Now after such a frantic performance you may think it was time for a breather.

But up on stage next where Ninja group Try1 Shinobi , a acrobatic martial arts performance group who took to the stage in a breathtaking manner.

Mixing traditional martial arts and acrobats with performing arts these guys where the equivalent of watching the Shaolin Monks but in Ninja form.

From some very close well choreographed fight action to awe inspiring leaps and jumps through the air akin to watching some crazy martial arts flick , these guys had the crowd cheering with each move they performed.

I would say there one of the most entertaining martial art groups I have seen , there take on different media and martial arts play was fresh and just mind blowing entertaining .

What's more they kept this up for around forty five minutes , how fit must these guys be?

If you ever have a chance to see these guys perform , make sure you do.

Now our next piece of entertainment was a another musical piece , again taking it's theme from visual Kei but this time with a vintage take on the theme , Lacroix Despheres is a symphonic orchestral Visual Kei group which mixes a orchestral sound with rock and a story to boot.

As they came on you could see it was going to be a very dramatic and theatrical performance.

Again the crowds had packed in and there where definitely fans of the style in the front rows. With two main vocalists , two on rock guitar and a pair of girls on flute and Oboe , this visual Kei performance with a very Gothic feel was about to get under way.

With a very rock based start by guitarists Pegoet and one other whose name I unfortunately don't know I new this would interesting .

As vocalists Sho ( also the composer) and Saya ( a Soprano vocalist) came on it became there was more to this then meets the eye or ear.

Everything seems to play out like a story as literally listening to a opera .

With Mizuki and Satomi on flute and oboe adding another dimension to the whole performance as well as the copious amounts of smoke from the smoke machines , which at some points made it hard to see everything. .

LaCroix Despheres have a huge following and in the UK to but I must admit it's definitely not for everyone and a very acquired taste , I suppose as a comparison I could compare it to styles of Jazz .

I myself am a keen listener of Jazz music of a more modern style but have a problem getting into contemporary Jazz where it often sounds like you have different artists performing on stage together but there all playing there own style.

To a point Lacroix Despheres performance is very much like this and is something you have to make your own mind up to see .

By now it was getting on and cold as Tobacco Dock is not the warmest of place in November and I really did not come dressed for the outside.

We decided to call it a day after a peruse of the stalls .

Now many of the acts where doing a multiple performances over the weekend so we decided to attend again on the Sunday to cover other elements of the show .

We decided to stay for the next performance by Katsura Sunshine , a Rakugo performance.

Rakugo is a form of verbal storytelling which originates from Japan from the late 1700's and the Edo period .

Ragkugo is a art form as well as a form of entertainment, it's as much about etiquette while performing as the actual story telling .

The story teller sits normally dressed in a traditional kimono seated on a cushion centre stage , he may use small props like fans or handkerchiefs to add extra comical relief to the story.

Often the stories are inspired by the story tellers own real life experiences interwoven with more traditional stories.

Now the hardest thing to do is to make a audience laugh , comedy is a funny thing , one persons sense of humour can be different to another. Even more so when you take into consideration different cultures and languages.

What was special about this performance is Katsura Sunshine is a Rakugo performer trained in Japan , he is Slovenian and resides in Canada.

All I can say is from the moment he came on stage to the moment he left he had the audiences undivided attention, something hard to do when your just talking.

Did I laugh , yes I did and on more then one occasion , it was a constant experience of Japanese culture thrust into your minds in some of the most elaborate described ways. , you could visually see what was being quoted and Katsura Sunshine done this while staying in a kneeling position for forty five minutes.

If I was unsure about any performance at this years Hyper Japan Christmas show , it was this , but upon viewing I can say I could have listened to Katsura Sunshine for a while longer as his performance took hold and held me their like a strangle hold. Brilliant.

Back outside I visited the culture stage where a Shotokan Karate demonstration was going on.

I must admit I am a bit biased against some Shotokan , as I have seen it done properly in a very traditional style of hardcore training so I do find myself looking intensely at such performances.

Of course it's true that what you could get away in clubs in the 70's and 80's you can not quite do today , people just wont train till there black and blue , but I share the philosophy that if your going to do it , do it right.

Though of course each clubs repertoire within a style can vary also , so it's really down to the content of the syllabus as to what each student will learn. You can not learn something if your not being taught it.

The display was OK showing various blocks and strikes and forms . I found the forms maybe not as dynamic as they could be , I felt they needed that extra oomph , especially as your actually showcasing your art in front of a crowd.

The defence work by the higher grades was impressive and the crowd watching seem to be enjoying it.

The club was the Shotokan Karate London club.

But I still had one more thing I needed to see and that was back at the culture stage .

Returning to  Hyper Japan was the British Shorinji Kenpo Federation, now this is the group headed by Sensei Mizuno who set up the federation after Shorinji Japan instructed all foreign clubs to close .

Thanks to Sensei Mizuno students can still train in the UK in this art which is inspired through it's teachings by Doshin So who founded the art after training at the Shaolin Temple.

Now I have seen the BSKF perform before and they give a good display of their art in a very structured and dynamic manner.

And this time was no exception, from basic technique , break falling, sparring and self defence. I find that each member goes all out to show their art to it's fullest.

And Sensei Rob always gives that bit extra to wow the crowds.

I was lucky to be one of their earlier performances at Hyper Japan where Sensei Mizuno performed a great staff form a couple years back.

I am always happy to see them perform.