Kabuki radiation 歌舞伎の放射線

“You can check your internal exposure level at a Special Price!”

Back in the late ’90s when mashups were all the rage, Saturday Night Live (I think) created one of my favorite sketches: a simultaneous biography of Michael Douglas and Genghis Khan, as presented by ‘Biography’ and ‘The History Chanel’. It went something like this:

“After leaving Streets of San Francisco in 1976, Douglas played a hospital doctor in the medical thriller Coma. In 1979, he both produced and starred in The China Syndrome, a dramatic film about a nuclear power plant accident. Meanwhile, by the early 13th century, Genghis Khan managed to unite or subdue the Mongols, Tatars, and Uyghurs under his rule. It was a monumental feat for the “Mongols” as they became known collectively.”

So you can understand why I suspected satire when encountering the attached advertisement combining Kabuki theater and Geiger counters.

Distributed by Tokyo’s Hibiya Library ライブラリー日比谷 to promote an October 30th Kabuki performance, the flyer’s attempt to allay fears of radiation are commendable, but I have to wonder how many tourists concerned about radiation would find their way to Hibiya Library in the first place. I’ll shut up and let the advertisement speak for itself..

“Now would you still resist to come to this amazing country!?”

“Get away—!! Beeeeep”

“Maiko from Kyoto enjoyed sightseeing of Tokyo with a geiger counter in hand. They also went through a check-up using a whole body counter.”

“Enjoy the world of Japanese traditional entertainment Kabuki and take advantage of the rental service. The free dosimeters will be offered at the counter just in front of where the event “Danjuro Ichikawa, the World of Aragoto” takes place.”

Full advertisement: