The title of a new exhibition of work by Hiroshi Watanabe is Suo Sarumawashi, which means monkey dancing, an ancient form of the performing arts. "Alongside Noh and Kabuki, Sarumawashi is among the oldest and most traditional of Japan's performing arts, although in this case performed by highly trained macaque monkeys. A few years ago Watanabe was thinking about his childhood in Japan and remembered that performing monkeys would come through his village. Subsequent research confirmed that they still perform as they have for centuries so Watanabe traveled to Japan and photographed the performers."

Artist: Hiroshi Watanabe
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Suo Sarumawashi (Monkey Dancing) runs through October 26, 2013 at Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles.



Samurai Aikichi



Fukunosuke's Hands



Osuke