It was while walking around Nagoya in Japan back in 2015 that I first encountered daidogei that caught my fancy. And there were lots of them around the area around the Osu Kannon Temple. From small side streets with a few people watching to throngs in front of the temple. And with the architecture backdrop, I was amazed at the possibilities!
Daidogei = street performance
In cities around the world, street performances are quite common and goes way back to antiquity. From musicians to magicians, from acrobats with setups to animal tricks. And the list goes on and on. Also known as busking, it can be at a side street or a busy corner. And this is indulged by all kinds of people from different walks of life. In Japan, there’s even the Daidogei World Cup, a street performance festival and competion. It was held every year since 1992 (except during the pandemic) in Shizuoka, Japan.
And it was looking at these daidogei in Nagoya, then in Osaka that an idea started. Probably, an echo of my The New Cathedrals work where the landscape has a good combination of people with architecture in the background. I haven’t explored this theme in detail yet.
