Ringling Bros. Newest Act: Taking the Circus to Japan

For the first time in its uniquely American history, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be staging a three-ring assault on the land of sushi and sumo wrestling.

Flanked by five clowns, two acrobats and a hula-hoop artist, Jim Holst, a former ringmaster who is now associate producer of the show, announced: “We are coming to entertain you!” at a news conference here last week.

“It is our hope and our interest that you will smile and laugh and hide your eyes in fear,” he added, smiling.

For 15 weeks starting in July, Ringling Brothers will present its lion tamers, trapeze artists, clowns, elephants and assorted other acts in Sapporo, Tokyo and Osaka. Organizers hope that as many as 1.2 million will attend. Ticket prices will be about $40, comparable to a rock concert here.

Holst estimates that Ringling Brothers has spent at least $10 million to bring the production to Japan.

“We are not interested in the short-term profit,” said Joseph Gold, Ringling Brothers marketing supervisor. “We want to build a tradition. The Japanese public may have seen a circus before, but they’ve never seen The Greatest Show on Earth.”

Indeed, organizers are already planning a 25-week run in the country next year.

Tokyo residents got a little preview of the show this week when the promotional team put the clowns, jugglers, and hula-hoop performers on the streets and had them appearing on television.

“Humor is universal,” said clown Christopher Hudert, who performs with blue hair and a red nose. “At first people are kind of surprised, but they really like slapstick.”

Among the acts performed by the 130-member troupe are the Human Cannonball and the Globe of Death, in which two men on motorcycles race simultaneously inside a large chain-link ball, sometimes with their wives standing in the middle.

“We don’t know if what we’re bringing will offend people,” Gold said, pointing out that cultural differences could create some problems. “Today,” for example, he said, the Japanese sponsor “wanted to take the clowns around to some newspapers.

“I said, ‘Why don’t you take four, and I’ll take one with me.’

“He said no. In Japan, four is an unlucky number; it means death.”

Gold shrugged and raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t know that.”