Charnvit – Mobile Lab

An Imperial Sake Cup and I @ BACC, Bangkok

An Imperial Sake Cup and I is a lecture-performance by Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri, a renowned historian and specialist in Southeast Asia Studies, and recipient of the Fukuoka Academic Prize in 2012. Charnvit draws a connection between his relationship with the Japanese army in his hometown Nong Pla Duk, Ban Pong, during World War II. In 1964, Emperor (then Crown Prince) Akihito and his consort officially visited Thailand, and as a junior member of the Bangkok Municipality welcome team, Charnvit was given a royal sake cup, which he has kept ever since.

In this lecture-performance, he traces personal and micro-narratives to reflect objects and memories as well as his witnessing of the global social transformation from the Japanese presence in Thailand, the Vietnam War, and the 1970s student uprising in Thailand. He juxtaposes Thailand and Japanese history and subtly unravels the comparison of these two countries.

The performance was firstly staged as part of ‘The Breathing of Maps’ project at MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai in 2020 and had its Japan premiere at the Tokyo Festival in October 2022. Let’s take a journey with Charnvit’s Sake Cup in Bangkok this June. Only 3 performances at BACC. 16 – 18 June 2023.

An Imperial Sake Cup and I @ TOKYO FESTIVAL

An Imperial Sake Cup and I, A lecture performance by Charnvit Kasetsiri, a renowned historian and specialist in Thai and Southeast Asian studies. Charnvit traces his personal history starting from the commemorative sake cup he received when the Crown Prince (later the Heisei Emperor Akihito) and his wife paid an official visit to Thailand in 1964, and goes on to outline events that ushered in social transformation around the world, such as the stationing of Japanese forces in Thailand, the Vietnam War, and the student uprisings in Thailand in the 1970s. In this lecture performance he applies a personal and micro perspective to objects and memories, juxtaposing the journey taken by Thailand and Japan, and delicately unraveling the history of both countries. The Japan event is the first overseas staging of this piece, which premiered in Chiang Mai, Thailand as part of the program for “The Breathing of Maps” in 2020, organized by The Japan Foundation Asia Center.

TOKYO FESTIVAL