On January 1, the New Year’s Toast, hosted by James Hagy, publisher of PM2, was held via Zoom. From Japan, scholars Masaru Kawai (河合勝) and Kei Izumi (和泉圭佑) took the stage.
Wearing traditional Japanese clothing, Masaru presented a number of historical materials, including an illustrated poster of Takijusai Otoba (音羽滝寿斎, fl.1880s) performing a levitation act using a water fountain; a print showing the first Torakichi Hayatake (早竹虎吉, fl.1840s) walking atop lanterns; another print showing Komaju Sakuratsuna (桜綱駒寿, fl.1850s) walking on burning candles; and, lastly, Tejina Hiden Zukan (『手品秘伝図巻』), a scroll of conjuring secrets assembled in 1700s.
Kei delivered a summary of his current projects. He has been digitizing rare archives at SEACA (Society of East Asian Conjuring Arts) so that researchers can access them more easily. In addition, he is creating Who's Who in Asian Magic to supplement the groundbreaking work of the late Bart Whaley. Additionally, Kei presented the website Magic Gazette.
Even though each presentation had a three-minute time limit, Kei sadly went over it by one minute. It was a little price to pay for a thorough and educational talk that was well-received by other magicians.
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