KOBE—Ouka Nakanishi was 5 years old when she first saw someone’s face transform during Nankinmachi’s Lunar New Year festival.

As traditional dances, martial arts demonstrations and other cultural performances played out in the Chinatown district’s central square, Ouka was particularly mesmerized by a “Bian Lian” (face-changing) artist—so much that she begged her mother, Yumiko, to let her become one.

Yumiko thought that her daughter would forget about it in a day or two and told Ouka it wasn't meant for kids.

But her daughter did not miss that children around her age were performing Chinese dances and other feats onstage.

This moment in 2016 would define the next nine years of Ouka’s life as she unwaveringly worked toward her dream.

DEFINITELY NOT A PHASE

The dramatic art form of Bian Lian originated in China’s Sichuan province and involves performers rapidly flicking through different masks while dancing.

It is said these techniques are only passed down from parent to child or from master to disciple.

Ouka's parents were born and raised in Japan, and the family from the city's Nada Ward had no acquaintances with connections to China.

As she pondered becoming a Bian Lian performer, the Kobe Chinese School in the city's Chuo Ward came to mind—Ouka had started taking ballet lessons when she was 3 and remembered that a member of her studio went to the school.

Students there were mostly children of Chinese nationals who had moved abroad. And part of their extracurricular club activities involved learning the culture’s traditional performing arts.

Ouka pestered her mother that she wanted to attend that school.

She succeeded. Once Yumiko was convinced her daughter was serious, she said Ouka would be allowed to enroll there after finishing nursery school on the condition that she must learn Mandarin on her own.

The young girl, who Yumiko said has always been good at mirroring, mastered the language soon after enrolling and placed first in various speech contests with her native-level proficiency.

ANOTHER SPEED BUMP

However, the language was merely a tool for Ouka whose true purpose remained fixed on learning the art of face-changing.

The twist was that it turned out there was no one who could teach it at the school; there are only 10 recognized Bian Lian artists in the country.

Undeterred, Ouka turned to the internet for help and sent out letters after researching groups that employ Bian Lian performers in the country.

This led to her actually traveling to the Kyushu region to meet someone with connections to face-changing artists in Japan.

“Wait three years,” they told her. Although she was more than resolute, Ouka still needed to build the core strength necessary to replicate a master’s movements.

Each week was then filled with two ballet lessons along with a tap dance class and swimming lesson to do just that, as well as improve her expressiveness. Ouka also took up bouldering as a hobby and sought to deepen her understanding of Chinese culture by trying her hand at traditional dance and Shaolin kung fu.

Three years later, Ouka flew to Kyushu once more.

Despite all of her daughter’s preparation, Yumiko was skeptical on whether a Bian Lian artist would truly be there and worried that the verbal promise would go unfulfilled.

Thankfully, Mirai welcomed both of them.

ROCK-SOLID BASICS

Ouka was finally allowed to become a face-changer’s apprentice and received online tutelage from Mirai about twice a week.

She also began stretching to make her body more limber after returning home to Kobe and donned a costume while practicing independently.

The basics of Bian Lian lie in dance steps utilizing the lower half of the body rather than the motions to switch masks.

Ouka spent the first two years of her apprenticeship exclusively drilling those dance steps. Diligently practicing the basics with an unwavering determination, she believed she could grow into a Bian Lian artist after overcoming this challenge.

She was eventually allowed to don a mask for the first time during the spring when she started junior high school.

Ouka debuted as a Bian Lian performer in Tokyo last year at a national competition for Chinese and traditional performing arts.

Although it was her first onstage appearance, she won first place and advanced to the international competition held in Beijing. She finished fourth in Asia.

TRANSFORMATIVE PARALLELS

Come January, the now-14-year-old Ouka was in Kobe's Chinatown district for the Lunar New Year festival once again.

This time, she was the one onstage and standing next to Kong Dewei, the Bian Lian master who changed her life nine years ago.

Although it is difficult for Japanese face-changing artists to perform at events hosted by Chinese organizations, Ouka was allowed to participate as a student at the Kobe Chinese School.

It was her turn to fascinate spectators as she skillfully built up anticipation through her dance and snapped from one mask to another to the sound of loud cheers and applause.

Kong told a nervous Ouka afterward that it was such fun performing with her and that the young artist would improve even more through practice. The teenager briefly broke into a smile.

She said she made all-out effort to learn Mandarin and grow stronger because she was motivated by her goal to become a Bian Lian performer.

"It is a dream that captivated me," she said. "I want to make everyone around the world smile with this."

During the spring break earlier this year, Ouka performed Bian Lian at a Chinese restaurant in the United Arab Emirates. She is currently learning Arabic and was able to use the language while performing.

"Now she negotiates her own appearances directly over the phone," Yumiko said with a smile.