Category Archives: Japan

Romance (ロマンス)

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Archives: Romance

11 August 2007 (Sat), Tokyo

A new play in Japanese by the prolific Inoue Hisashi about the life of Chekhov, whose works had a powerful effect on the development of modern Japanese drama. This is Inoue’s first show to be set outside of Japan. The starry cast included Otake Shinobu and Matsu Takako, either of whom could sell out a theatre on her own. With both, not to mention some other well-known veterans, tickets quickly became scarce for the unusually long two-month run.  Continue reading →

The Bee

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The Bee

26 July 2007 (Thurs), Tokyo

A mini-play imported with cast intact from the U.K., where it had a brief but critically acclaimed run last year. Though based on a Japanese short story, the show was developed in London and written in English by the ever-popular Noda Hideki, who also directed. I’ve never liked Noda’s frenetic style; he is clearly uncomfortable with quiet and constantly has his characters running around the stage meaninglessly in a desperate attempt to generate energy. That was the case some years back with his Red Demon, a sophomoric play about a strange creature landing on a desert island. In that case, the British critics were on my side, giving the English version of the play a mercilessly brutal drubbing in London. The knives were thus out for The Bee. The general feeling, though, was that Noda had redeemed himself, and the play had a successful run, if only for one month at a tiny theatre. I figured if he could win the critics over, I’d give him another chance. Also, the cast of four included Kathryn Hunter, who was such a great Lear a decade ago. I tried to get tickets for the Japanese version as well, but that was sold out instantly. So I settled for just the English show, which was after all the original. Continue reading →

笑の大学 & The Last Laugh

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笑いの大学   (Warai no Daigaku) (DVD)

A 2005 film version of Mitani Koki’s most famous stage piece. I had never seen the show on stage, but will be seeing a British adaptation called The Last Laugh next week and wanted to catch a production in the original Japanese first. I’ve always had problems with Mitani Koki’s shows since they tend to be a bit contrived. The ones I’ve seen have all been elaborate farces with numerous quirky characters and complicated plots that all get tied up a bit too nicely in the end. I’ve always felt like he simply gives the characters the traits they need for his story or for a particular moment rather than creating natural human beings, and the stories themselves can be pretty artificial, though he does have a nice way of juggling multiple plot strands. I had been curious about this show since it only has two characters, a far cry from anything I’ve seen by him before, and the show next week was a good excuse to rent the movie. Continue reading →

Cocoon Kabuki: The Three Kichizas (三人吉三)

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Cocoon Kabuki: 三人吉三  (Sannin Kichisa)

23 June 2007 (Sat), Tokyo

My third straight year to see Kanzaburo’s annual Cocoon Kabuki series in Shibuya’s Theater Cocoon, which turns away from the overly reverent traditional staging of Kabuki classics in an effort to bring back the raucous atmosphere of the old Edo Era days. This year was Mokuami’s venerable 1860 drama Sannin Kichisa, which I’d seen a few times in the past. It’s a much-revived show, especially the scene along the river when the three Kichisas meet, and includes some of the most famous speeches and set pieces in all of Kabuki. It seems a good choice for the Cocoon series given its populist touch and the grotesquery of certain of its characters. The show was as usual sold out, but I managed to get a couple of seats on the floor right next to the makeshift hanamichi. I guess it was an authentic way to watch Kabuki and not as crippling as I had imagined, but I think I’d rather spend the three-hours-plus on a chair. Continue reading →

Genroku Minato Uta (元禄港歌)

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元禄港歌 (Genroku Minato Uta)

7 January 2015 (Thurs), Tokyo

Revival of a Ninagawa hit from 1980, written by his frequent collaborator Akimoto Matsuyo. It was a tough ticket to get on the reputation of both the show and Ninagawa’s over-the-top production as well as the starry cast, including Ennosuke and Miyazawa Rie as the two main women. I managed after much searching to find two seats on the internet. It’s strange that there’s no mechanism for extending the runs of clearly popular hits like this, though I suppose Ennosuke in particular must be hard to lock down given his Kabuki commitments (the show also travels to Osaka for a limited run). With the huge cast and elaborate sets, I wonder how they make money in this medium-sized theater for just a three-week run. Continue reading →

Atami Murder Mystery (熱海殺人事件)

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熱海殺人事件 (Atami Satsujin Jiken)

24 December 2015 (Thurs), Tokyo

An extremely difficult ticket to get because of the pairing of veterans Hirata Mitsuru and Kazama Morio in this 1974 work for the first time in 33 years. They’ve always been linked in my mind because of their go-for-broke performances in the film of Tsuka Kohei’s other classic Kamata Koshinkyoku (蒲田行進曲) in the early 1980s (winning Japan Academy Awards for best actor and supporting actor in the process), and they were key members of Tsuka’s troupe in its heyday. So I wasn’t going to miss this. Continue reading →

The Lieutenant of Inishmore (English/Japanese)

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Archives: The Lieutenant of Inishmore

29 April 2006 (Sat), Broadway

Wild black comedy by Irish dramatist Martin McDonaugh, author of the memorable Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Pillowman. This show considerably ups the gruesome quotient with the most blood I’ve ever seen spilled on stage. An Irish terrorist discovers that his beloved cat has been run over, and utter mayhem breaks loose as he seeks his revenge. Continue reading →

Takarazuka: Rose of Versailles（宝塚「ベルサイユの薔薇」）

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Takarazuka: Rose of Versailles「ベルサイユの薔薇」

19 March 2006 (Sun), Tokyo

A revival of the quintessential production by the all-female Takarazuka troupe based on a famous Japanese manga involving two star-crossed couples in revolutionary France. Continue reading →

Fiddler on the Roof (屋根の上のヴァイオリン弾き)

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Archives:「屋根の上のヴァイオリン弾き」(Fiddler on the Roof)

27 February 2006 (Mon), Tokyo

Much-revived Japanese-language version of the Broadway hit. Ichimura Masachika takes over as the fourth Tevye, a role still associated with the definitive Morishige Hisaya (who I saw 20 years ago). I remember Morishige as a gruff, commanding presence who pretty much molded the part to his own personality, not so much acting Tevye as simply playing himself. It worked perfectly in the Japanese context, which is more like a family drama than a broader tale of how to preserve tradition in a changing world. Continue reading →

Persona Non Grata: The Chiune Sugihara Story

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Persona Non Grata: The Chiune Sugihara Story  (杉原千畝)

20 November 2015 (Fri), Tokyo cinema

I coincidentally happened to be reading about Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat in Lithuania who saved thousands of Jewish refugees during the war, so the film caught my eye. Sugihara’s story has been dramatized before, but this was a major Toho release that is obviously being aimed at foreign markets; for one thing, it’s directed by an American, albeit a half-Japanese guy born in Japan, and a good part of it is in English. The clips I’ve seen of previous stagings (Japanese TV drama, Australian play) were long on the melodrama, which the story lends itself to in lesser hands. That made me wary of another version. But a friend was so effusive in her praise that it raised my hopes. Continue reading →

Gion Bayashi (祇園囃子)

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Gion Bayashi (祇園囃子)

14 November 2015 (Sat), DVD

A Mizoguchi film about the plight of women after the war, as usual, but painted on an intimate canvas. A girl who has been subject to the loss of her mother, abandonment by her father and abuse by her uncle goes in desperation to the mother’s old geisha house and begs to be trained as a maiko, her only hope for survival. The geisha, whose lack of a patron makes her financially unstable, hesitates to take on the high cost of a trainee, but eventually gives in, borrowing the necessary money from a powerful madam in Gion. After a long apprenticeship, the girl makes her appearance as a maiko, but her ideals quickly meet reality when she discovers what the men are really after. Her refusal to give in – she nearly bites an important client’s tongue off – forces her mistress, bound financially to the madam, into a difficult decision. Continue reading →