Mermaid Meat & Other Japanese Ghost Stories

Mermaid Meat & Other Japanese Ghost Stories

August 28th, 2008  |  Published in Mermaid Meat

Brenda Wong Aoki, the foremost narrative voice working in America today.”
Robert Shay, CEO New Line Cinema

… Stories, ancient and new… dominated by women battling the odds with a strength bordering on obsession.”
The Washington Post

The haunting eloquence of Brenda Wong Aoki’s ghost stories masterfully performed in concert with Asian Jazz pioneer Mark Izu and the thunder drums of Japanese Taiko.

Mermaid Meat, the title story in this show, was written by Brenda Wong Aoki based on the Japanese proverb, “Eating the flesh of a mermaid is the secret to eternal youth”. Originally commissioned by Kent Nagano, the conductor of the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra in Germany, the piece was first performed with a symphonic score by Mark Izu. It is a tragic tale of a young girl who feasts on the flesh of a mermaid in order to live forever, the story speaks to our collective fascination with youth and beauty.

Mermaid Meat: the Secret to Immortality and other Japanese Ghost Stories features four powerful tales that explore the dilemmas of life that people around the world have grappled with since the beginning of time.

  1. Mermaid Meat - A girl eats the flesh of a mermaid and is faced with living forever
  2. The Bell of Dojoji - The Kabuki tale of a simple maiden transformed by her lust for a monk
  3. Dancing in California - Last dance of a ballerina in a World War II American Japanese prison camp
  4. Black Hair - A dead wife’s revenge

Mermaid Meat Book and CD Set

View video of Mermaid Meat

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Upcoming Events

September 18-19, 2010: Brenda Wong Aoki performing at Kennesaw State University, Georgia.

September 20-26, 2010: Brenda Wong Aoki performing at the International Storytelling Center, Jonesborough, Tennessee.

October 28, 2010: Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu perform Japanese Ghost Stories for Matcha Night at the Asian Museum, 5-9 PM

October 30, 2010: Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu perform Japanese Ghost Stories at 142 Throckmorton Theatre.

October 31, 2010: Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu perform Japanese Ghost Stories at Yoshi's Jazz Club, San Francisco

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Founded by Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu in 1995, the mission of the non-profit First Voice is to create and develop the stories and music of people living between worlds. Critical to this mission is "personal experience" or "voice" as essential to authentic pan-world culture. Please help support First Voice with a donation.

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