(Note: I use AI to help me translate my stories from Japanese to English.)
In Fukui, Japan, I watched five magic shows today.
It was Children’s Day in Japan, so today was a holiday. At the venue, there were about 40 people, most of them children.
An adult man served as the MC and hosted the show.
First, he introduced a magician named Shokyokusai Tenichi (1853–1912), who was born in Fukui and is considered the founder of modern Japanese magic. He also performed magic overseas.
Today, five magicians from the Fukui Magic Group performed. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the group’s founding.
The first magician was an adult man dressed in black. First, he performed a trick using metal rings.
He held a large silver ring, about 30 cm in diameter, with both hands. When he struck it with another ring, the two rings became linked together. The audience cheered loudly.
He used several rings and created a long chain. When I was a child, I used to perform this trick myself. I know how it works, but I still enjoyed the performance.
Next, he showed the audience an empty brown paper bag. However, when he put his right hand into the bag, he pulled out a snack.
The children in the audience screamed when they saw it.
The magician said, “This is a real snack,” and then he ate it. The children shouted angrily, “Unfair!” They wanted to eat it too.
Next, the magician placed a large menu board on a desk. The board had pictures of hamburgers on it.
The magician touched one of the hamburger pictures with his right hand. Surprisingly, a real hamburger appeared in his hand, and the hamburger picture disappeared from the board.
We gasped in surprise.
The magician took a bite of the hamburger. Then the children in the audience shouted, “Unfair!” again.
Next, the magician placed the bitten hamburger back onto the menu board.
Surprisingly, the hamburger disappeared from his hand, and the hamburger picture reappeared on the board.
I was very surprised by this trick. I had seen this kind of magic on TV before, but this was my first time seeing it in person.
It was a small magic show, but I was able to watch authentic magic performances. I was very excited.
Then, the magician inflated a balloon. The balloon became a long rod shape about 80 cm long. He slowly swallowed the balloon from one end.
Some children said, “Scary,” and “Are you OK?” They looked worried.
The magician swallowed the entire balloon.
After several seconds, he pulled a long string of small silver papers from his mouth. Since it was very long, we were amazed.
We applauded loudly.
Finally, the magician showed a small bag. Then he took a stuffed bear out of it.
At first, this was not very surprising. However, next, he pulled out a huge stuffed bear from the same bag.
I was very surprised because the stuffed bear was about 160 cm tall and much larger than the bag itself.
I thought it was impossible to fit such a large thing into such a small bag. I could not understand the trick.
Then, three children performed magic tricks.
First, a fourth-grade elementary school boy performed a rope trick. He used three white ropes. The three ropes became one rope, and then the one rope became three short ropes again.
The boy performed confidently and bravely.
Next, a fifth-grade elementary school girl performed a magic trick.
She showed a thin paper bag. Then, she inserted a black record — an old type of music media — into the bag. When she pulled it out, the record had turned yellow. She changed the colors of the records one by one.
She performed the trick confidently. Usually, children simply enjoy watching magic, but these children performed magic themselves.
Next, another elementary school girl performed the Eight Ring magic trick.
She held two white rings, about 30 cm in diameter, and rotated them gracefully. The movements were interesting and mysterious.
I had never seen this kind of magic in person before, so I really enjoyed it.
Finally, a magician named Royal Yamaguchi performed.
He wore traditional Japanese clothing. He performed Japanese-style magic rather than Western-style magic, accompanied by Japanese music.
He moved his hands in time with the music. Then, whenever he suddenly stopped his hand in the air, a colorful Japanese umbrella appeared out of nowhere. He amazed the audience by producing many umbrellas.
Next, he showed an empty paper bag. He pulled an egg, grapes, and even a pineapple from the bag.
He cracked the egg and drank it to prove that it was real.
Next, the magician showed the audience a hollow tube. He inserted his hand into the tube, and then began pulling many objects out of it.
Since the tube was hollow, there should not have been anything inside it. However, he continued pulling out many objects.
When he pulled out a large jar, I was astonished because the jar was larger than the tube itself.
He inserted a ladle into the jar and scooped out water from inside it. There was a large amount of water in the jar.
A woman sitting in front of me jumped out of her chair when she saw the jar appear from the tube.
It was a one-hour magic show, and I was able to watch performances by five magicians.
Each performance was unique and interesting. The children also performed magic tricks, which made the show even more enjoyable.
I felt that watching magic shows together in person is more fun than watching them on TV.
I also realized that performing magic for children must be very enjoyable because children’s reactions are innocent and genuine. They are easily amazed. Since there were many children in the audience today, the show became even more entertaining.
It was my first time watching an authentic magic show since elementary school.