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本月底，有400年历史的日本古刹经王寺将在住持互井观章的带领下举办首届踢踏舞表演，此次演出将由专业舞者配合住持的经文说唱进行。被誉为“快乐先生”的住持互井观章自2006年起开始用rap说唱的形式诵读经文，并时常邀请年轻人和艺术家参加寺院举办的开放式宗教宣讲活动，希望通过这样的方式让宗教跟着时代的步伐一起前进。他表示，rap和诵经都不太容易让人听得懂，但是用rap的形式来诵读经文会让人听上去感觉很好。据悉，这位“快乐先生”住持还打算在下一次寺院演出时亲自表演桑巴舞。
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He raps. He chants. And this month, Japan's famed hip-hop loving monk, better known as MC Happiness, will tap dance on stage, in the name of Buddhism. |
He raps. He chants. And this month, Japan's famed hip-hop loving monk, better known as MC Happiness, will tap dance on stage, in the name of Buddhism.
Kansho Tagai heads the 400-year-old Kyoouji Temple in central Tokyo, offering softly chanted prayers throughout the day amid traditional bell chimes and wafts of incense.
But once in a while, he raises the volume, and the tempo, of these prayers, going before an audience to rap Buddhist sutra, or teachings, to hip hop beats and in modern Japanese.
"When I listened to rap music for the first time, it was in English so I couldn't understand a word," Tagai told Reuters.
"I realized that the same can be said for Buddhist sutras because most people can't understand a word. And the thing is, listening to rap music makes you feel good even though it may be incomprehensible."
Tagai, whose community has dubbed him "Mr Happiness" for his positive outlook, has been rapping since 2006.
The 49-year-old monk hosts a variety of youth events at his temple, often inviting children and artists to take part in untraditional, open sessions which blend modern words and phrases with Buddhist teachings, to make the faith more relevant today.
"With our new approach to the younger generation, I really hope that they'll see the fun side of Buddhism and actually be interested in the religion," he said.
Tagai's philosophy has won him many fans, and later this month he hopes to keep them interested by breaking into a new genre -- mixing Buddhist chants with tap-dancing.
The temple's first tap-dancing show will feature a professional dancer moving to Tagai's chants. The monk also plans to take to the stage, and said he was considering dancing the samba at another performance.
Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the 6th century and has become a mainstream religion.
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(Agencies)
（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）
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