Meet Edamovement Lab | Japanese performance collective in NYC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Edamovement Lab and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Edamovement Lab, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
One of the most important lessons we’ve learned through our activities is this:
It’s not about understanding—it’s about accepting.

When people encounter something unfamiliar—whether it’s a different culture or simply something outside of their lived experience—they often try to understand it. But in doing so, they sometimes build resistance or even rejection.

Edamovement Lab is a collective of young Japanese artists currently based in New York.
Our members include singers, actors, dancers, and other performers who are passionate about exploring culture through creative expression.

In April, we created an independent performance called The Seven Gods, inspired by Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods.
We spent a lot of time exploring how to deliver Japanese culture to our audience—especially without using words.

(We’ve shared our reasoning behind our “no-language” approach in another article, so we’ll skip that part here.)

At first, we were very focused on making everything “easier to understand.”
We re-studied traditional elements like Noh, Kyogen, Gagaku, and Bugaku, hoping to find the clearest way to express these ideas on stage.

But through that process, we came to a different conclusion:
The most powerful form of communication may not be to “explain” culture, but to allow people to receive it as it is.

Even in Japan, some people are moved by Noh, while others may say:
“What is this? It’s boring.”
But perhaps that reaction comes from trying to understand and failing—then dismissing what we couldn’t decode.

While researching Gagaku, we came across a quote on YouTube:

“To those outside Japan, Japanese music is like magic.
Once you completely understand it, it’s no longer truly Japanese music.”

Strange as it sounds, we believe it’s true.
Just as fire coming from someone’s hand is called magic, we believe that the true power of culture lies in being received—without full comprehension.

To us, that’s what culture is about.

That realization led us to stop oversimplifying our work.
We no longer aim to make everything easily digestible.

After all, the “Lab” in Edamovement Lab comes from “laboratory.”
We see ourselves as researchers: continually exploring how to internalize culture and express it through the body.

It’s a long-term experiment. And we’re just getting started.

We believe that what makes Japanese culture special isn’t just its forms or techniques—but its quiet power, the presence that radiates from within.
That essence, that energy—unlike anything in other cultures—is what we aim to express on stage. That is our mission.

Beyond technical skill, we value a deep, ongoing inquiry into expression itself.
We believe that this sincere approach will lead to new forms of art—ones where anyone, regardless of background, can feel Japan in every moment of the performance.

It may still sound abstract, but we think that’s what it means to express soul.

The era of saying “Japanese dancers are known for precision and fast memory” is over.
From now on, we want to show the world something deeper—
our inner soul as Japanese artists.
That is our true strength.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Edamovement Lab is a New York-based collective of Japanese artists—dancers, actors, and singers—who share Japanese culture without using words.
Our work blends movement, visual storytelling, sound, and presence to create performances that go beyond language and speak directly to the soul.

What sets us apart is our commitment to expressing culture not by simplifying it, but by embracing its depth and mystery.
We don’t aim to explain Japanese culture—we invite people to feel it.

One of the projects we’re most proud of is our independent performance “The Seven Gods,” which we produced with no sponsors and very little name recognition.
We had to build everything from scratch—raising funds through crowdfunding, promoting ourselves, and performing at local festivals to connect with real audiences.

It wasn’t easy. In fact, at the beginning, our campaign barely moved. But we kept going—sharing our vision every single day, reaching out directly to supporters, and showing up with everything we had.

Through that experience, we learned the importance of community, consistency, and faith—not just in ourselves, but in the people who believe in us.

We also realized something deeper: that culture is not meant to be “understood” like a textbook.
It’s meant to be received, felt, and accepted—even if we don’t fully grasp it.

What we want the world to know is this: Japanese artists have more to offer than precision and technique.
We have soul. We have stories. And we’re ready to share them—in our own way.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of our go-to spots in New York is Gastro Market on 55th and Broadway.
It’s a 24-hour deli with a salad and hot food bar—and honestly, it just became our default meetup place.

We had our cast greeting for The Seven Gods there, and we’ve had so many casual meetings over good food at those tables.
It’s not fancy or artsy, but the food is solid, the space is open any time, and it’s where we ended up whenever we needed to gather and plan.

Something about being able to eat a satisfying meal while talking through creative ideas really helped us stay energized—especially during those busy pre-show weeks.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We’d love to dedicate our shoutout to three very special groups of people.
First, to our crowdfunding supporters—thank you for believing in our vision when it was still just an idea.
Second, to the audiences who came to see our performances even when we were completely unknown—your presence gave us the courage to keep going.
And finally, to the performers who continue to walk with us, bringing their whole hearts into every rehearsal and show.
Your belief in us is what turns our ideas into reality. We truly couldn’t do this without you.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edamovement?igsh=Zmh5dXJxNHE3MmYx&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
Flyer Designer: Ai Tsujimoto
Logo Designer: Yuka Matsumoto
Founder Photo by :Yui Nakatani
Japan Parade Photographer: Masahiro Noguchi,Masaki Hori
Night Market Photographer: Shintaro Ueyama/Courtesy of Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
The Seven Gods Photographer: Yunagi Miki