Ch. 3: Paper Butterflies: Japanese Acrobats in Mid-Nineteenth-Century New England
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Description
This chapter appears in: Asian Americans in New England: Culture and Community. Edited by Monica Chiu.
Chapter abstract: In April 1867, the residents of Worcester, Massachusetts, witnessed one of the major sensations to hit the American stage that year-Maguire's Imperial Troupe of Japanese Acrobats. Its act was a series of acrobatic, juggling, and magic routines, many of which had never been seen outside of Japan. The program opened with foot juggling followed by sleight-of.hand tricks, more juggling, and aerial routines, all of which were accompanied by music and narrated by the stage manager. Several tricks were quite notable, but perhaps the most unique was what known as the butterfly trick. Developed in Osaka at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the butterfly trick consisted of making origami butterflies fly across the stage with the use of fans. At the end of the act, real butterflies-if available-were released into the audience. The two-night engagement at Mechanic's Hall in Worcester brought full houses, and the local newspaper described the acrobats as "absolutely astonishing'' and "perform[ing] with ease many things which seem to border on the impossible".
ISBN
9781584657941
Publication Date
2009
Publisher
University Press of New England
City
Waltham (MA)
Keywords
Asian American studies, Asian American culture, New England, Assimilation
Disciplines
American Studies | Asian History
Recommended Citation
Moon, Krystyn R., "Ch. 3: Paper Butterflies: Japanese Acrobats in Mid-Nineteenth-Century New England" (2009). Books and Chapters. 16.
https://scholar.umw.edu/hist_amst_books/16
Comments
The book is available open access through the University of New Hampshire.