Manhattan OKINA 2026
Reservations are now open. We look forward to seeing you. Thank you for your support.
●Greetings
The year 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the annual performance of "Manhattan Oji." The issue of immigrants living in Manhattan, New York City, has become an issue for Japan, culminating in the 2025 House of Councillors election.
Now we wonder, especially the original author who lives in Kawaguchi City. Will foreign residents in Japan and Kawaguchi City become the old man who blesses this town?
I hope that he will become an old man. Foreign residents can be considered a symbol. As ancestors of this town who lived in poverty and hardship without receiving much from it, I hope that he will become an old man who watches over people in similar circumstances and gives them hope and strength to live.
I need an Okina so that I can become the spirit or energy that watches over people's lives and livelihoods.
Makiko Sakurai
●About the work
The story begins with three elderly men of Hispanic, Japanese, and African descent living in Manhattan, New York, approaching death. They leave their homelands and move to Manhattan, where they live poor and lonely until they meet a "flower spirit" and ascend to heaven. Heaven welcomes the three men, blesses their birth in Manhattan, and brings them good fortune.
■ Original story, script and starring: Makiko Sakurai
Cast/Staff
Shite "Okina": Makiko Sakurai
Waki "Flower Fairy", Eye : Akira Yoshimatsu
Statement: Yukana Yamaguchi
Mask box and jiutai: Masako Yoshida
Kotsuzumi/Nohkan: Hiroya Imai
Mask: Shuta Kitazawa
Produced by: Maripla
Design: Diminish Design Partners
Manhattan Oji 2026 Performance Overview
●Organizer: Sakuragiza
●Date and time: Saturday, January 10th 16:30 Doors open 17:00 Start
●Venue: Rakudoan (non-smoking)
●Location: 2-16-6 Kanda Tsukasacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 2nd floor
●Price: 3,000 yen in advance, 3,500 yen on the day
●Reservations: https://www.sakurai-makiko.com/blank-6/manhattanokina2026
● Inquiries: Makiko Club Secretariat ( makikoclub2022@gmail.com / 090-9236-0836)
●Access (from Rakudoan's website): Exit JR Kanda Station from the north or west exit, turn left onto Kanda Police Street (main street) and head west. Turn right at the third traffic light, at the corner of the NTT Building, onto Chiyoda Kodori. Continue along the street, with Kanda Sakurakan (Chiyoda Elementary School) on your left, and turn left at the next intersection (on the right corner of Ebisu-ya Taiwanese restaurant) (Ichihachi Dori). You'll see the Rakudoan sign on a black door on your left, three blocks from the corner. The nearest subway stations are Kanda Station on the Ginza Line, Awajicho Station on the Marunouchi Line, or Ogawamachi Station on the Shinjuku Line. From Kanda Station on the Ginza Line , take Exit 1, 2, or 4. From Ogawamachi/Awajicho Station on the subway line, take Chiyoda Kodori between Exits A1 and A2, turn right at the corner of Ichihachi Dori, and you'll find Rakudoan on your left.
●Synopsis
<Introduction> The flower spirit visits the old people.
Act I
An elderly Hispanic man lives on the East River in Manhattan. He came to this country by swimming the Rio Grande when he was a child. His parents died soon after, but he outlived them. When spring arrived again this year and he saw daffodil flowers blooming in a vacant lot, he thought this might be his last spring.
The Daffodil Spirit then spoke to the old man, "You have always loved me. When you reach your final moments, we will be your platform and carry you to heaven."
Act III
An elderly African-American man was about to die in a charity hospital in Harlem, Manhattan. His ancestors were captured from Africa like animals, loaded onto ships, and worked as slaves in this country. Even after the abolition of slavery and the civil rights movement, there was no escaping poverty and crime. His family and friends had died in the middle of their lives, but he had lived a long life to make up for it. But now, breathing faintly, his eyes closed, he had nothing to eat. Then, he caught the scent of red lilies blooming in Africa. "I am the spirit of the lilies that visits your home continent at midnight, when all living things are asleep. Follow my scent and you will reach paradise, where all living things can live happily. Now, let us become your fragrant boat and set sail toward the heavens."
Act II
An elderly Japanese man lies sick in his bed north of Manhattan. His parents came from Japan to the West Coast of the country, where they cultivated rice fields together. However, during World War II, their land was taken from them, and after the war they moved to the East Coast. They started a family and spent their days working together again, but both their wives and children died before them.
Looking out the window, the old man sees cherry blossoms in bloom. The time when the cherry blossoms bloom is the most beautiful day in Japan. Then the cherry blossom spirit speaks to the old man. "We too have come from your homeland. Now let us become your feathers and wings and set off on a journey to heaven."
Act IV
Heaven is beaming with joy for the three old Manhattanites: the daffodils are in full bloom, the cherry blossoms are falling, and the scent of lilies is in the air.
The three old men meet for the first time in heaven. They ask the flower fairy, "Why did you have to leave your homeland, live in Manhattan, and end your lives in poverty and solitude?" The flower fairy replies, "There are many poor and lonely people in this city. An old man has now been born in Manhattan to bless them. How auspicious this is." In heaven, the three old men become old men, and good fortune comes to Manhattan.
About Okina
I continued my fieldwork, searching for creative forms, moving from ritual to performing arts. The Okina's performance begins with a chant of "Long live!" In ancient China, "Long live!" was a phrase spoken by heavenly maidens only to the country's most powerful people, and having the people shout "Long live!" became a "charm" that signaled a king's status. However, in Japan, King Kiyohito, a skilled actor, cured his father, King Kasuga (son of Prince Shiki), of an incurable illness, by singing and dancing "Long live!". His descendants were then permitted to sing and dance "Long live!" to celebrate the passing of the people. The actor (wazaogi) takes the form of an Okina. The Okina symbolizes all the ancient spirits of nature. The Okina represents all the ancient spirits of nature seeking to save all people.
About George Yuzawa
In the fall of 2005, when I asked "Who is the Old Man of Manhattan?" at a Japanese American Association in Manhattan, I was introduced to George Yuzawa. His parents were from Nagano Prefecture. He immigrated to California and became successful as a California rice grower. However, during World War II, Bank of America suddenly suspended all financial transactions with him, and like most Japanese Americans, he lost his land and property. After the Japanese American internment camp in Santa Fe, many Japanese Americans were accepted as workers in canneries for the U.S. military in New Jersey. After the war, like the rest of the Japanese American community, Yuzawa moved to the East Coast. He became a successful florist and a mentor to many Japanese Americans. After the war, he became a central figure in the Japanese American movement, transporting food by ship to Japan to help with the food crisis. He also filed a civil lawsuit in America, claiming that the U.S. government's policy requiring all products made by Japanese people to bear the logo "made by Japanese" along with a picture of a Japanese man wearing black-rimmed glasses and holding a hammer was discriminatory, and won the case. Mr. Yuzawa was a man worthy of being called "Oji" (old man) because of his contributions to the Japanese American community. I would like to express my respect for him for helping the Japanese people in his homeland after the war and for restoring Japanese pride to America.
●About the face
The mask was made in collaboration with mask maker Kitazawa Shuta. First, I provided a photo of the old man I had in mind, and then Kitazawa proceeded to make the mask from that image.
The Hispanic old man mask is from Steve McCurry's photo book "PHAIDON," featuring an old man from Afghanistan. In 1979, in Muristan, Afghanistan, he appeared before many soldiers who had risen up in an armed uprising against the Soviet invasion, and offered a prayer before battle.
The mask of the Japanese-American old man is from a photo book by Tzilom George Sigal called "The First Generation," which features elderly Israeli settlers who arrived in Israel around the time of its founding. The man is an elderly Russian man born in 1910 who settled in Israel in 1935, before the founding of the state, and worked in fields around the Sea of Galilee.
The African old man mask is of an old Ghanaian man from the photo book "GHANA" by Paul Strand. It was taken in the 1960s, when Americans were beginning to reevaluate Africa.
● script
<Introduction>
Flower Fairy: This Manhattan capital invites in many people, the pavilion rises high into the sky and casts many shadows on the ground. Nearby is a secret land that reveals the earth.
Jiutai: The scent of soil rises in the wind that contains water and sways. The pure white Daffadil flowers in early spring look up to the sky, and the cherry blossoms dance in the late spring breeze. The scent of lilies on late summer nights embraces the moon and wanders. The shadows of the Milky Way shine, reflecting the hearts of the poor and old.
Flower Spirit: I am the Flower Spirit. Visit sick people.
<Hispanic>
Statement: Wish I Am Here
Ai: An old Hispanic man living in the East River, Manhattan, New York. When he was a child, he and his family swam down the Rio Grande to come to this area. His parents passed away, and he lived frugally with his brothers and sisters.
One day in early spring, every morning, I made it a routine to take a walk along the river, but when I saw a Daffadell flower on a small piece of dirt on the side of the road, I thought that this year might be the last time I would see this flower. I realized my life expectancy.
Flower Spirit: I am called Daffadil, the Flower Spirit. A happy old man, a lucky riverside flower, a man who loves Dafadil.
Flower Fairy/Jiutai: Your gentle gaze watches over us all the time. Since we will be a flower stand together, please rest your feet. We'll lift you up, we'll lift you up, let's go to Heaven, let's go to Heaven.
Old man: Torafa Chiyaaruraararuraa Tararafuroworafa Chiiyaraa Chirurihiriraa Pull a Pull pull Pull pull pull flow
Flower Spirit/Shomyo/Jiutai: Tenjujirui Baizouikou
<Japanese>
Statement: Dojo
Ai: This person's parents crossed the sea from Japan many years ago, lived on the west coast of this country, plowed the fields, and produced abundant rice. But when war broke out, they lost their homes and property and were chained to the desert, but when the war ended, they moved to the east coast in search of work.
After the death of my parents, I started a family and lived with them. If you look out the window, there are cherry blossoms in bloom. He thought of his family, his parents and the country of his ancestors.
Flower Spirit: I am the Flower Spirit called Sakura. Lucky, old man who appreciates the lucky flowers. We also came across the sea from your homeland.
Okina: Spring is coming,
Flower Fairy: The cherry blossoms reflected in the window.
Old man: A beautiful day in the spring of our ancestors
Flower Spirit: A story told to the beautiful light.
Old man: Revived now, a faint glimmer of life.
Flower Spirit: Chiutai: If you were summoned to heaven, then instead of taking the form of the wind in which the flowers are falling, I will wrap you around you and become wings, and lead you to heaven. .
Old man: torihii hibiki, chiyaaruraararuraharooi, tariirahaarahiki, tariiyaratsurira, aritaratsurihiki
Hana no Sei, Shomyo, Jiutai: Past Spiritual Bodhisattva
<African>
Statement: Koge
Ai: Here is a poor old man of African descent in a charitable hospital in South Harlem, Manhattan, New York. His ancestors were captured by Europeans like animals from Africa and loaded onto ships to come to this country.
First worked as a slave and later freed from slavery, they were unable to escape poverty wherever they went. Sadness and suffering were constant, anger, violence and crime were constant. Both brothers and friends died halfway through life. With their memories, he decided to live on. But when he finally fell ill, there was no one to look after him or come to visit him. I was alone. His breath weakens, his eyes remain closed. I couldn't speak anything.
Okina: In the middle of the night, the water, the moonlight, and the heavens are dazzled by the shadows of the flowers, and I am intoxicated by myself. I am the one who lies down in this glamorous city, north of the capital, where the poor gather to recuperate.
Jiutai: Dew moistens the flowers Okina: Gaily blooming blossoms glisten with dew.
Okina: I think it's the flower of heaven.
Jiutai: Breeze gently blowing in darkest night.
Okina: It's hard to decide whether it's a dream or reality.
Jiutai: The flower smiles, the scent wafts in a dream, and the dream of an endless night breeze. Okina: Scented blossoms radiant perfuming the wind. Dreaming softly awakened from bight deepest sleep fragrant night winds retelling an ancient tales.
Old Man: The dew moistens the plants
Flower Spirit / Jiutai: The dew moistens the plants, but the flower buds do not tear. The scent of lilies blooming in the mid-night breeze wafts, embracing the moon. The dream never wakes up, and the night wind is forever in the dream.
Okina: The moment when the soul was summoned,
Flower Spirit/Jiutai: Filled with the scent of lilies, the vehicle that carries the soul becomes a ship of lily scent. Come away from your sickbed. Let's set out on the Milky Way, set off on a journey to heaven, set off on a journey to heaven.
Flower Spirit: Happily, taking care of the lives of friends and comrades, you become an old man and wrap yourself in the scent of lilies.
Ai: The scent came to him in a faint sense of being alive. It is a red lily flower.
Okina: After spring,
Old man: As if the scent of lilies disappears, my life, if it disappears here, where will my soul be? I remember hearing a story that the scent of It is said that if you follow the scent, you will reach a paradise where all creatures live in harmony. Just before he died, he encountered the scent of a red lily.
Flower Spirit: In the moonlight, the scent of lilies drifts in the waves
Flower Spirit: This impoverished old man.
Jiutai: Heavenly Sea, the Passerby
Flower Spirit: For heaven's gate opens wide.
Jiutai: We welcome you
Old man: Torihii, pull, pull, pull, roll, pull, pull, pull, pull
Flower spirit, shomyo, jiutai, ai: Tengeannonbanminhoraku
<Heaven>
Statement: Kuyo-o
Ai: This is heaven. Heaven is overjoyed to welcome three old men living in Manhattan, New York. The flowers of Daffadel are in full bloom, the cherry blossoms are dancing and falling on the earth, and the scent of lilies is in the air.
Flower Spirit: Auspicious visit here.
Manifesto: Hanakohin Dharma Kukyo No. 12 Yu 7
Kakohinsha Ming Gaku Togyo Inkami Minami Misumi Hanshin Shitsuno Choji Sutekan Toten Whose Buddhism Nyocho Zenka Scholar Choice Sutekan Toten Zenpaku Haku Nositokuka Tomoyo Koshi Illusory Law Existence Demagic flower bed Undeserved life and death Appearance Illusion nature Undetermined life and death Physical illness immediately withers Wakaka decline Death and life come to life Suspension Greedless Dissipation of people's thoughts Wicked wealth Deception Deception Arranged incense
Flower Fairy: An old man who rots in Manhattan, blessed with neither wealth nor happiness. I spent my days in poverty and loneliness, but now I am an old man in heaven. If you dance the old man's song, the sky will be filled with flowers and happiness, and in the glow of Manhattan, let's dance together
Flower Spirit: Heaven is
Okina: Heaven is
Flower Spirit: Three Poor People
Old man: old man
Flower Spirit: Welcome,
Okina: full of joy,
Flower Spirit: Singing.
Old Man (Hispanic): Flower of Daffadil,
Flower spirit: blooming, Okina: Blossom boastfully.
Okina (Japanese): Cherry blossoms
Flower Spirit: Dance in the Sky, Okina: Dance as they flutter.
Okina (African): Lily incense,
Flower Spirit: Wafts in the air.
The old men: I'm tired. Three poor old people meet for the first time in heaven. The old man asked the flower spirit.
Ai: Three old men who lived in Manhattan met for the first time in heaven. The three of them ask the flower spirit together. “We were poor, lonely, and from birth to death we were never happy or rich. Why did we have to live and die in Manhattan, New York? did you?”
Old men: From the time we were born until the day we died, we spent our days in solitude, never once blessed with either happiness or affluence.
Flower Spirit: We continue to watch that life.
Ai Hayashi: We continue to watch that life.
Old men: Abandoned from their homeland, it sounded like a rich city, but they spent their days and nights living in poverty. What a fate to end my life in the capital.
Flower Spirit: There are many poor people in this city.
Ai Hayashi: There are many poor people in this city.
Flower Fairy: To celebrate its people.
Ai Hayashi: To celebrate those people.
Old man: Torafa Chiyaaruraararuraa Tararafuroworafa Chiiyaraa Chirurihiriraa Pull a Pull pull Pull pull pull flow
torihii hibiki, tiyaaruraararuraharooi, tariirahaarahiki, tariiyaratsurira, aritaratsurihiki
Trihii, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull
Let's dance a dance, Banzai Raku
Manzai, manzai, manzaiya, all kinds of manzaiya
Still good
Manzai, manzai, all kinds of manzai
Still good
Okina (African): Manzai
Okina (Hispanic): Hanakohinsha, Ming Gaku Togyo, Inkamijitsu, Ensebu Hanshin, Shino Choji, Sutekantoriten, Who Speaks, Nyochozenka, Scholar's Choice, Sutekantoriten, Zenpaku, Nousitokuka, Tomoyo Metaphor Illusionary law has a dead magic flower bed Unrequited life and death Appearance Illusionary natural unrequited life and death Physical illness withers away
Okina (Japanese descendant): Heaven and earth multiplied power, Bodaisei of the past spirits, Peace of the world, people's happiness
Flower Spirit, Ai: Requested Benkongoshu