Outside of Argentina, Japan is one of the countries with the longest history of Argentine tango. Tango came to Japan after an aristocrat, Baron Megata, learned the dance in Paris in the 1920s and then brought home some French recordings to give himself lessons. Later he opened a tango academy in Tokyo and began teaching free tango classes to the Japanese aristocracy.
Many tango orchestras were formed in Japan and by the 1950s more than 20 orchestras started playing tango. In 1954 the first Argentine orchestra directed by Juan Canaro performed in Japan. Soon after, Francisco Canaro and Osvaldo Pugliese’s orchestras also went to Japan to play. Tango Argentino, the first tango show to tour internationally, was a huge success when it arrived in Japan in 1987. Taro Hakase, a famous Japanese violinist, became recognized in the tango world after he recorded his work Watashi with the Forever Tango orchestra in 2000 in Japan. Since then Watashi is repeatedly played and danced to by tango dancers around the world. (You can watch Alejandra Gutty and Leonardo Barrionuevo dance their interpretation of Watashi which they performed in the internationally renowned show Forever Tango).
Currently the tango continues to be extremely popular in Japan. But unlike in Europe where tango nuevo often tends to dominate the dance floors of the milonga, the Japanese are obsessed with dancing tango salon in a traditional Argentine close embrace. In 2009, the Japanese were finally recognized for their love and devotion to the Argentine tango when a Japanese couple, Hiroshi and Kyoko Yamao won the category tango salon in El Mundial, the world tango competition held in Buenos Aires every August. Speaking of El Mundial – last year Chizuko Kuwamoto, a Japanese woman, won the stage tango category with her Argentine partner Diego Ortega.
This past July I had the wonderful opportunity of participating as a judge in the tango competition in Asia held in Tokyo, Japan preceding the world competition in Buenos Aires. Over 70 couples competed in the tango salon category and it was unbelievable how closely they imitated the style of traditional Argentine tango salon: the embrace, the musicality, the posture, and the walk. Considering the Japanese are such dedicated students and they are meticulous in everything they do, it is not surprising that they are some of the best tango dancers in the world next to the Argentines. Yet, even with their impeccable technique many Argentines criticize Japanese tango dancers because they claim that they lack passion. While it is already difficult for many Argentines to accept foreigners dancing tango, it is even harder when they look different than an Argentine.
So how important is appearance and nationality in reproducing traditional tango, versus the feeling of passion that is expressed in the tango embrace? This question continues to be posed daily in the tango world. Stay tuned for our next post on the debate surrounding the Metropolitano and whether or not foreigners should be allowed to compete with their Argentine partners…
Have a Love Affair with Tango in Buenos Aires 