Like father, like son. This can't be truer for Izumi family descendants, whose duty, for the past 600 years, has been to impersonate every movement, expression, and even emotion of their fathers in order to perform their family art - kyogen, a form of Japanese satirical drama which began in medieval Japan.
Kyogen, which literally means 'mad words' or 'wild speech', were mainly adopted from Japanese folk tales, portraying the habits, customs and lives of ordinary people in a comical way.
The traditional theatre art is preserved by the Izumi clan in Tokyo, and the Okura clan in the Osaka/Kyoto region. Minimal change has been made to the 300-odd kyogen plays since they were written in the 14th century.
'Kyogen masters are keepers of history,' says Motoya Izumi, 31, who now heads the family business. 'Our job is to keep everything the same as 600 years ago so that our people can understand ancient Japan.'
Mr Izumi visited Hong Kong last month to lecture and give public performances before he and his two elder sisters, both kyogen masters, went on to perform in several mainland cities.
For every Izumi family member, kyogen training begins as early as 18 months old, with one-to-one sessions with their father.
