CURRENT PROJECTS
ZOTTO: A SUPERNATURAL JAPANESE FOLKTALE
Original Theatrical Production - 2026 - 2027 TOUR
In a magically real world, audiences follow Miya, a fifth generation Japanese American aspiring manga artist in her search for her grandmother. ZOTTO interweaves Japanese folklore, historical events, and a quest for inter-generational connection in this immersive journey to uncover what kind of ancestors we will choose to become.
STORIES OF SOLIDARITY
Sound Installation (HEAR, HERE @ The Armory, 03.12.26)
+ Interactive Audio Walking Tour (Ongoing)
In the
In the wake of WWII during the 1940’s, following the closing of America’s incarceration camps, the area surrounding and within the historic Five Points neighborhood in Denver, Colorado saw a surge of Japanese-American culture and business in the “Larimer Corridor” downtown. Japanese businesses were concentrated during this time in the Five Points area due to oppressive redlining which did not allow them to open in other parts of the city. Japanese arrivals joined other communities of color who also inhabited and owned businesses in this stretch of neighborhood.
Today, we remember this vibrant and cross-cultural neighborhood thorugh the voices of lived experiences- and we celebrate the today's Japanese Americans and Five Points residents who are creating history for future generations in Denver's Five Points.
A PRAYER
Casey Kawaguchi (Denver) + Takuma Fujiwara (Takayama) - Installation Artwork Currently On View at RiNo Art Park
“ The vast nature of Colorado — its insects, birds, fish, animals, trees, grasses, stones, and soil — along with the Indigenous peoples and the diverse communities who live here today, (inspired) and guided me in the creation of this artwork. This is a “prayer” that was made possible through the bonds (“musubi”) of all (who are) living here in Denver.”
- Artist, Takuma Fujiwara from Takayama, Japan
OUBAITORI
A Walkthrough Experience Opening in Sakura Square 2026
OUBAITORI is an artistic experience based interactive exhibition in partnership with Japanese Arts Network and Sakura Square that will weave visitors through a site-specific, immersive and multi-sensory journey from the past to present, and into an imagined future, celebrating Japan's connections to America and Colorado.
THE R.E.W.I.N.D SOCIETY (working title)
A New & Original Jubensha - Currently in Development
More to come soon...
GIRA GIRA
A Cyberpunk Immersive Opera - Currently in Development
More to come soon...
JAPAN FEST 2026
An annual free live-music concert and festival in collaboration with Levitt Pavilion
This year's artists announced soon!
PAST PROJECTS
INHERITANCE KITCHEN
Original Theatrical Production
2025 Premiere - Denver, CO
Inheritance Kitchen welcomes audiences into the grand opening of a fictional café called Block Party, operated by descendants of three families who lived in the same Five Points house across three decades. Memories linger like scents in the air. Before long, visitors find themselves immersed in stories that leap across generations and into deeply personal, powerfully political histories.
HELLO, GOODBYE,
I LOVE YOU
A New American Folklore Experience
at Sculpture Park - 2024 Denver, CO
An immersive 'happening' exploring the cultural intersectionality between traditional expectations and contemporary desires - Produced by Japanese Arts Network and CDS Creative Productions, featuring Bharatanatyam dance artist Nadhi Thekkek of Nava Dance Theatre and queer interdisciplinary artist, performer Black Benatar (aka Beatrice Thomas), Hold Tight Dance Company, and other Denver live music, visual, and performing artists.
MOMOTARO the Peach Boy
An Interactive Folktale at Koelbel Library
2023 Centennial, CO
As part of the SPARK Centennial program, MOMOTARO celebrated the history and mythology of Japan's fabled folk hero Momotaro. Momotaro is a popular Japanese character, born from a peach and destined to become a hero. His story has been retold in books, movies and countless cultural performances. Visitors were encouraged to explore the space and artifacts at their own pace or plan an evening at the library by reserving a spot for one of the limited live performances and to visit the Koelbel Cafe for a white chocolate Peach Dream latte, steamer or frost, and receive a specialty mochi from
Taeko San Takeout.
DENVER IS MY HOME
Denver’s Historic Chinatown, Japantown, and Little Saigon Exhibition
2025 Denver International Airport
‘Denver is My Home’ is an exploration of history to the present day of three specific Asian American communities that first came to settle in Denver; how they persevered, and how we continue to honor their contributions to Colorado. Produced and presented by Japanese Arts Network, Colorado Asian Pacific United, Far East Center, and Truong An Gifts.
THE LIBRARY
Original Theatrical Production
2023 Premiere - Denver, CO
The Library is an approximately 25 minute intimate immersive theater experience for one that takes an audience member on a multi-sensory journey of human connection where they may find their place in the grand fractal of the universe.
This production was developed under a RiNO Arts District NO VACANCY Residency and premiered July 10th - 17th of 2023.
NI DO TO XR
Ferst Center for the Arts at the
Georgia Institute of Technology
2022 Atlanta, GA
二度と(NI DO TO): an XR pilgrimage was a transformative lobby experience envisioned by Yayoi Kambara that implored audiences to explore and invest in shared connection and ancestral trauma through the narrative of Japanese American incarceration and resilience as well as multi-cultural alliance. Through mixed-reality, technology opportunities and interactive and reflective activities, visitors explored current/future solidarities with communities facing the violence of xenophibic policies, and intimately encountered the research and creative process of live performance through history.
IKKAI MEANS ONCE
2022 Premiere San Jose, CA
COMMISSIONED BY THE SAN JOSE JAPANESE AMEREICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE, KAMBARA+
IKKAI means once: a transplanted pilgrimage is an evening-length immersive dance project choreographed by Yayoi Kambara. It weaves together modern dance, Japanese American (JA) obon folk dance (Bon-odori), and a musical scorewith taiko drums, guiding audiences through a first-person narrative exploring the unjust incarceration of JAs struggles for reparations and healing, and current/future solidarities with communities facing the violence of xenophobic policies. IKKAI means once: a transplanted pilgrimage is primarily made in Muwekma, Ohlone, Tamien territories.
MOTTAINAI
CULTURAL RUNWAY
2022 McNichols Building - Denver, CO
The Cultural Fashion Runway Series at the McNichols Building in partnership with Denver Arts & Venues and Japanese Arts Network highlighted the Japanese concept of 'mottainai' or the 'sorrow of waste'. Local designers Kotomi Yoshida and Rachael Levine, and her studio ARAE, exemplify this practice through their design development. Levine is a textile artist with a focus on shibori and fabric dyeing techniques that she uses for her signature, one-of-a-kind art-to-wear collection. This sustainable fashion runway show also showcased vintage kimonos from the Nikkei Treasures collection and headdresses by Stephanie Inagaki. Prior to the runway show, attendees were invited to peruse the wabi-sabi vendor marketplace which will feature local artists from across Colorado.
Colorado's Asian Food CulturE:
RICE AND RESILIENCE
Exhibit and Night Market
at History Colorado Center
2023 Denver, CO
"While many wax nostalgic about their favorite childhood foods or those specific to their culture, food plays a deeper, sometimes mystical role in Colorado artists’ work at History Colorado Center’s new exhibition Colorado’s Asian Food Culture: Rice & Resilience"
- Danielle Cunningham, DARIA Magazine
