"Now it's suddenly 46 years since we first flew here from Tokyo.

Interview with Kunie and Takao Baba

The Baba family has lived in Düsseldorf for almost 50 years. We were able to interview Kunie Baba (79) and her son Takao Baba (49) at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus. In this interview, they tell us how they came to Düsseldorf.

Your family is now in its 3rd generation in Düsseldorf. How did the decision to move from Tokyo to Düsseldorf come about?

Kunie: My husband had bought a limited company here in Düsseldorf and that's why we moved to Düsseldorf when Takao was only six months old. We hadn't actually planned to stay in the city for more than a few years - and now it's suddenly been 46 years since we first flew here from Tokyo. *laughs* I still feel very much at home here. But we've still been back to Japan regularly to visit family. It was also important to me that my children start learning Japanese at an early age.

Takao: Since I came to Germany when I was six months old, it was always a pretty seamless transition between cultures and languages as a child. I didn't know it any other way: I went to German schools, but flew to Japan to visit my grandparents every year during the summer vacation. As the summer vacations didn't start as early in Japan as they did here, I always went to Japanese school there for a few more days. So I always had an early insight into many of the trends that slowly arrived in Germany from Japan, such as mangas and video games. In any case, I experienced this cultural change again and again. We spoke Japanese at home anyway.

When I started dancing hip-hop as a teenager, I realized that it was an advantage to have experienced such different cultures as a child. Because I came into contact with many other cultures from all over the world during the dance courses. Especially in urban dance styles, it's totally standard to work with people from different cultures.

You've been active in the dance scene for several decades now, both as a dancer and choreographer, but also in setting up the scene and organizing events. How did you get into dance back then?

Takao: By chance, I came across a rap mixtape from a classmate at school in the 4th grade in 1984. Murat had already been breakdancing to 'Break Machine' during the first big trend wave. That's how I made my first attempts.

Kunie: I remember very clearly: at some point during that time, there was suddenly a hole in the ground in the garden and I couldn't explain how it got there. Then I saw that Takao was practicing 'headspin' over and over again in the garden. So tirelessly that he had almost spun himself into the ground. *laughs* I've always thought it was great that Takao is so passionate about the things he's passionate about. I was a ballet dancer myself for a long time, so I can really understand his enthusiasm for dance. Today I'm a yoga teacher at Tanzhaus NRW.

Takao: When we started organizing events here in Düsseldorf in 2004 to expand and network the scene, there was virtually nothing in the way of urban dance here, apart from the Tanzhaus NRW. Paris was already much further ahead in that respect. We were in contact with the organizers of 'Juste Debout' - that was THE European dance battle event. As a result, we were the first to unite the various urban dance styles at an event in Düsseldorf. Juste Debout Germany was the preliminary event for Paris.

Juste Debout Paris had arenas with up to 16,000 visitors in some cases - so it was a really big deal. Dancers from breakdance, popping, locking, house dance, krump, funk style, hip-hop etc. were brought together here. Although these styles were already represented at smaller events, so-called 'jams', they were not brought together on such a large scale as here. With the dancer Amigo from the 'Flying Steps' crew, I then created the 'Funkin' Stylez' event in Düsseldorf, which was the first major independent event in the city. Thanks to the international competition at this battle event, for example between dance crews from Germany, Belgium and France, the standard has constantly developed over the last ten years or so.

Were there any moments of connection between your work as a choreographer and dancer and your German-Japanese heritage?

Takao: I was always in Japan as an adult and in exchange with Japanese dance crews. The Japanese dance crews always felt a good bit ahead of us. Both in terms of the number of talented dancers, the level and the size and popularity of the events. It has always been a dream for me to collaborate with Japanese organizers. At some point, we started a cooperation and held the preliminary round for Dance Delight in Japan here at the annual Düsseldorf Japan Day, a huge dance event since 1994. The winners here were then allowed to fly to Japan and prove themselves there.

Are there places in Düsseldorf where you feel you can experience Japanese culture particularly strongly?

Kunie: The EKO House in Düsseldorf Niederkassel is something special. Before it opened in 1993, there were already quite a few Japanese residents in the area. The atmosphere of the temple complex and the Japanese garden are really beautiful.

Takao: There is also a Japanese kindergarten within the complex, which my children attended. I think it's a special place for Japanese as well as German and international visitors - visually alone. Apart from that, of course, the countless restaurants. Nowadays, we take it for granted that there is such an abundance of authentic addresses here. When my mother arrived here in 1979, things were very different!

Kunie: Exactly, Nippon-Kan was the first Japanese restaurant in Düsseldorf and the only one for a long time, I think. Kikaku came along later, but until the 1990s, there was nowhere near as much choice in Düsseldorf as there is today. Unfortunately, both restaurants are no longer there, but there are many others and a huge range.

Takao: In addition to all the authentic Asian supermarkets, restaurants and stores, there are also little things in everyday life for me: I've been going to non-Japanese hairdressers most of my life. But they always cut my hair wrong and I was never satisfied! The Asian hair structure is a bit different to European hair... maybe that's why. At some point I found out that there are actually even Japanese hairdressing salons here in Düsseldorf. I've been a regular customer ever since. Apart from that, there are also little things like Japanese bakeries, where the bread is a bit fluffier and there are slightly different sweet pastries.

Cover picture: Düsseldorf Tourismus

Cover picture and article are funded by REACT-EU.