Hands-on intro to Japanese arts

Artists from Wisconsin’s Japanese sister state will offer a free, interactive afternoon of traditional Japanese art at UW–Madison on Friday, April 2. Participants can explore puppets, dance, paper arts, music, martial arts and more.

Sample hakken-den, a traditional puppet play from Chiba, dance demonstrations, musical performances on traditional instruments, workshops in chigiri-e and kiri-e (torn and cut paper, respectively), Japanese kites, and full-sized paper replicas of samurai armor to try on.

Sessions begin at 1 p.m. in Union South. This free, public event is a collaboration of the UW–Madison Center for East Asian Studies, the Wisconsin Arts Board and Wisconsin-Chiba Inc. Information: Rick March, 266-0190 or Janie Ritter, 258-3400.