I booked tickets to see the show Kamui x Mika Kobayashi: Utakatana Sekai – Samurai Spirit in Madrid. In a last-minute change, my parents decided to tag along, so we just drove there in time for the show. It took place in the theatre Teatro Fernando de Rojas, one of the halls in the Círculo de Bellas Artes building.

Samurai Artist Kamui [剱伎衆かむゐ, Kengishuu Kamui] is a “samurai sword artist troupe” . They perform stories through “samurai communication” using music, sound and light to work on the atmosphere, along with of course, Japanese sword – katana – performances. The founder and leader of the troupe is Tetsuro Shimaguchi [島口哲朗], who played a part in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill vol.1, a film for which he also served as choreographer for the swordfighting.

Mika Kobayashi [小林未郁] is a singer, pianist, and songwriter from Hiroshima. She is known for her vocals on anime, such as Attack on Titan or Gundam UC, and video games like Final Fantasy XI. She established her own style and record label in 2016 and has been doing her own thing since then.

The collaboration Kamui x Mika Kobayashi: Utakatana Sekai – Samurai Spirit seems to be designed for touring overseas as there is no trace of that name in Japanese. Utakatana Sekai would roughly translate as “the world of singing swords”. It features Kobayashi as singer and pianist providing the background voice for the show.

Through artistic sword-fighting and music, the performance conveys a story about the old samurai ways giving way to a new world. Short self-contained scenes tell the story of a samurai warrior who gives way to the new generation – played by a lady. A bit subversive from the Japanese traditional way, I guess.

The show has three parts. The first act comprises fights and individual actors showing off their individual skills. Younger or less experienced fighters, who get “swordsman #4” roles end up being killed two or three times. I liked a short story about a blind samurai better than the romantic ones. Unfortunately, I was a bit to the side – I only bought the tickets with a week or so when I found out – and my angle was awkward at times. I could see the gaps between the swords when they did not clash for real.

During the interlude / break, they brought two volunteers from the public to learn some moves and get the mood lightened up. This showed off Shimaguchi’s language and teaching skills, along with a flair for the dramatic, and it was really funny.

The last part was more spectacular, full of stunts and coordinated exhibition acts. That was the part I enjoyed the most. All in all, the whole ninety-minute show was very fun. Mika Kobayashi’s melodic voice and piano tunes fit really well with the whole theme, and everybody seemed to have fun, and at the same time take their jobs very seriously. However, I’d need a better seat next time, in order to keep the suspension of disbelief and not see all the stunts as… stunts.

Afterwards, many artists came out to take pictures with the audience. We got to take pictures with Mika Kobayashi too, and I bought a signed CD of hers.