Interviews

1. Dancing in Japan as an American, in the US as Japanese

2. Neighbor took care of hotel business during the World War II

3. Different learning style in Japan and the United States

4. Both Japanese and American identities though Japanese dance

5. Being a man through Kabuki

6. Hardship to be a Kabuki dancer as a woman

7. Do my best as a professional dancer

Kansuma,Fujima

(1918-2023) Nisei Japanese kabuki dancer

Both Japanese and American identities though Japanese dance

Oh yes, the kanzashi (Japanese ornamental hairpin). When I danced this number, you know, he’s telling…and I had a chopstick in my hair. And this lady was so impressed that she brought me this…there’s 12 of them – 12 that I put in my hair. And she gave me her…she said, “I was going to donate to the Museum, but I want to give it to you.” And I read in that book that it’s very important kanzashi as she gave it to me.

And then I could even say in the dance, I could say I’m a Japanese and this is the way I could dance. But still, I’m American. So the fan could tell you what we are. We were Japanese and still we were Americans. And then in the Japanese dancing, a fan. The fan could be like a rain or it could be a wave or it could be what it is. Or it could be a sword. You could fight with it. It could be all…the fan tells the story. It’s very important in Japanese dancing.

arts dance identity

Date: November 30, 2004

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Nancy Araki and John Esaki

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Madame Fujima Kansuma was born Sumako Hamaguchi in San Francisco, California. At the age of nine, she began to study kabuki in Los Angeles and attended exchange programs in Hawai`i. Instead of returning to Los Angeles, she moved to Japan to learn kabuki from the legendary master, Onoe Kikugoro VI. Later master Kikugoro introduced Madame Kansuma to his teacher, Fujima Kanjuro from whom she learned the basic Fujima style. She learned not only Japanese dance but also learned how to play the shamisen, tsuzumi, acting, and make-up. Madame Kansuma earned her natori (master’s licence with stage name), Fujima Kansuma, in 1938. She then returned to the United States and opened a dance studio at the Los Angeles hotel owned by her father.

During World War II, Madame Kansuma and her family were incarcerated at Rohwer, Arkansas. After some time, the government authorities allowed Madame Kansuma to travel to other camps to perform and teach Japanese dance. After the war, she returned to Los Angeles and resumed teaching and performances. Throughout her career, Madame Kansuma has taught more than 2,000 students. Forty-three of her students have achieved natori status.

In 1985, the Government of Japan awarded Madame Kansuma the Order of the Precious Crown, Apricot. The National Endowment also deemed her a National Heritage Fellow for the Arts in 1987. In 2004, she was given the Japanese American National Museum’s Cultural Ambassador Award.

She passed away in February 2023 at age 104. (June 2023)