The Japanese–European Union cultural year has been a great boon to Prague, with dancers and drummers bringing splashy displays of traditional Eastern arts to town. The exchange winds up next week with an impressive and fitting finale, a performance by Japanese imperial court musicians and dancers that blends Eastern and Western elements. And covering every cultural base, the program includes two Buddhist choral groups.

The tradition of imperial court entertainment is over 1,000 years old, and several professional groups keep it alive and vital in Japan. The one that will perform here, Tenno-ji Gakuso Gryo-kai, is bringing a total of 17 dancers and musicians playing traditional instruments. The Buddhist groups, numbering 11 singers each, are from two well-known and influential sects, Tendai and Shingon. For the Western part of the program, a 19-piece Czech orchestra will join their Asian counterparts, along with Tereza Podařilová, the principal dancer of the National Theater ballet.

The first part of the program is a straight re-creation of an imperial court performance called a bugaku hoe, a combination of music, dancing and Buddhist chants that expresses a particular philosophy or view of the world. In this one, the sun and moon are set up as opposing mandalas, and given rousing musical tributes.

The second half of the program is a 1995 work by the late Japanese composer Maki Ishii, Shomyo Symphony II. This piece alone should be worth the price of admission, with Eastern and Western orchestras playing a series of five chants together while the Buddhists sing and the imperial court dancers are joined by Podařilová. Even in a year that's been filled with crossover and hybrid performances, this should set new visual and musical benchmarks.

It's not often that such groups go on tour, partly because of the logistics of moving 70 people around with a boatload of costumes, instruments and props, but mostly because they have full schedules performing at festivals in Japan. This production, which is playing in Warsaw and Kraków before Prague, then moving on to London, offers a rare opportunity to see a centuries-old art form outside its native land.

And there's a strong resonance to the setting. "Performing imperial court music at Prague Castle is a symbolic link between the two cultures," says Mika Iga, director of the Japanese Embassy's Information and Culture Center. Iga adds that she's been pleasantly surprised by the reception to Japanese cultural events over the past year.

"It hasn't been just big performances; we've done grass-roots events like a Japanese haiku poetry reading in Moravia," she says. "And we've had really enthusiastic responses. It's been surprising but gratifying to see that so many people in this country are interested in and appreciate Japanese culture."