Virtual idol Hatsune Miku to act in kabuki play with human co-star【Photos】

Cho-Kabuki announces new version of Hanakurabe Zenbonzakura.

As the world’s first, and most famous, virtual idol, there’s a futuristic, high-tech aspect to a lot of Hatsune Miku’s endeavors. The Vocaloid has shown she’s adept at collaborating with creators of traditional art forms too, however, as we’ve seen in her hina ningyo doll and ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

So for her next project, Miku is taking to the stage not for an idol dance routine, but to perform a kabuki play.

Hanakurabe Zenbonzakura is a kabuki performance inspired by both the classic kabuki tale Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura and Hatsune Miku’s iconic song “Senbonzakura” (senbonzakura meaning “1,000 cherry blossom trees”). While kabuki performances are often single-star productions, for Hanakurabe Zenbonzakura Miku will share the stage with accomplished kabuki actor Shido Nakamura.

Miku and Nakamura have been periodically teaming up for limited-time Cho-Kabuki (as their collaborations are called) productions since 2016, most recently in Tokyo in 2023 and Kyoto in 2019. They’ve announced that they’ll be reuniting at the upcoming Expo 2025 world’s fair in Osaka for an updated version of the play, to be titled Hanakurabe Zenbonzakura Expo 2025 Version.

▼ Rather than being completely pre-programmed, the technology involved allows for real-time reactions from Miku to her co-stars ad-libbing, according to this report on last year’s Tokyo performance.

Hanakurabe Zenbonzakura Expo 2025 Version is scheduled to be performed on May 24 and 25, with details on ticket/seat reservations yet to be announced.

Source, images: PR Times
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