Category Archives: Kabuki/Bunraku/Noh

Kabuki: An Actor’s Revenge (新版 雪之丞変化 )

Posted on by
  • Kabuki: 新版 雪之丞変化 (An Actor’s Revenge)

8/26/19 (Mon), Tokyo Kabukiza

Based on the hit 1934 novel and its many adaptations, including a stage show, an opera, a Takarazuka spectacle, several TV versions and two hugely successful films (1935 and 1963) both starring Hasegawa Kazuo. The Japanese title this time is preceded by “shinpan” or new version, suggesting a significantly revised work. Tamasaburo takes on the part of Yukinojo, an onnagata female-role specialist seeking to avenge his parents’ murder, thus nominally playing a man (albeit dressed and acting throughout as a woman). This seemed a natural fit for Kabuki since the story is after all about Kabuki actors, offering plentiful opportunity for show-within-a-show snippets, and Tamasaburo himself is the most famous onnagata on the stage today. He has directed and adapted this production.

Continue reading →

A look back: Sugimoto Bunraku “Sonezaki Shinju” (杉本文楽「曽根崎心中」)

Posted on by
  • A look back: 杉本文楽「曽根崎心中」(Sugimoto Bunraku “Sonezaki Shinju”) ,

The huge popularity of Sonezaki Shinju (Love Suicide at Sonezaki) among Japanese Bunraku fans is in fact a recent phenomenon. It was a massive hit in its debut in 1703, famously rescuing its theater from bankruptcy, but fell out of favor for many years following a ban by concerned authorities on shows thought to glorify double suicides. A sensational revival of the Kabuki adaptation in 1953 that presented the lead female in a stronger light led to newfound interest in the Bunraku original, which was revived to great success in 1955. Its fame since has never waned.

With the Sugimoto Bunraku production of Sonezaki Shinju (Love Suicide at Sonezaki) soon to open in New York, I looked back and realized that I had never printed my review of the original production from August 2011 in Yokohama. So here it is below. (Also, here’s a look at Sugimoto’s production of another Bunraku classic in 2017.)

Continue reading →

Noh: Jinen Koji, Shozon (自然居士、正尊)

Posted on by
  • Noh: 自然居士、正尊  (Jinen Koji, Shozon)

7/21/19 (Sun), Tokyo Umewaka Noh

Today’s offerings were both genzai Noh plays dealing with real-world events rather than ghosts. They date respectively from the beginning and end of the active period of Noh drama, the first by Noh’s esteemed founder Kan’ami and the second by the much later Yajiro Nagatoshi. They present a striking contrast, symbolizing how elegance and dance gave way to an emphasis on action in Noh’s evolution.

Continue reading →

Kabuki: Takatoki, Saigo and the Pig Princess, Suo Otoshi, The Medicine Peddler (高時, 西郷と豚姫, 素襖落, 外郎売)

Posted on by
  • Kabuki: 高時, 西郷と豚姫, 素襖落, 外郎売 (Takatoki, Saigo and the Pig Princess, Suo Otoshi, The Medicine Peddler)

7/24/19 (Wed), Tokyo Kabukiza

This month’s performance was completely sold out on the strength of a six-year-old actor, son of superstar Ebizo, taking on a role usually played by an adult. The boy is often featured in his father’s widely followed blog, and Ebizo fever has basically enveloped him as well. The first three shows today were all Meiji or Taisho Era pieces that veer from traditional Kabuki in certain ways, while the last, in which the child appears, is a once-archaic Edo Era sketch that was revived/reconstructed in 1985.

Continue reading →

Bunraku: The Pine of the Abandoned Princess on Mt. Hibari, Akoya (鶊山姫捨松, 阿古屋琴責)

Posted on by
  • Bunraku: 鶊山姫捨松, 阿古屋琴責 (The Pine of the Abandoned Princess on Mt. Hibari, Akoya)

2/4/19 (Mon), Tokyo

Both shows this month were torture pieces (if such a genre exists) showing the heroines under intense interrogation; both also unusually featured a Chinese kokyu. I was surprised to see empty seats in the theater, not a typical sight for Tokyo Bunraku. I had expected more of a crowd at least for the popular Akoya, especially as the Kabuki version had just played in December. They missed a great combination.

Continue reading →

Bunraku: The Almanac Maker (大経師昔暦)

Posted on by
  • Bunraku: 大経師昔暦 (The Almanac Maker)

2/2/19 (Sat), Tokyo

This puppet piece by the prolific Chikamatsu Monzaemon, inspired by the adulterous relationship of an actual couple, debuted in 1715 on the 33rd anniversary of their death, an important Buddhist date. It’s one of three major adultery plays written by Chikamatsu (all of which were performed together a few years back in a day of infidelity — wish I could have seen that). It reappeared in various forms after its debut, including a major Kabuki adaptation, but like most of Chikamatsu’s works fell off the map for many years, known mainly as the basis for Mizoguchi’s brilliant film The Crucified Lovers (also known by the terrible title The Chikamatsu Story「近松物語」) . The play was unearthed during a Chikamatsu renaissance in the early 1980s, with the long-lost music newly composed based on scattered memos. And a masterpiece was reborn. This is the first revival of this piece in nine years.

Continue reading →

Bunraku: Roben and the Cedar Tree, Zoho Chushingura (良弁杉由来、増補忠臣蔵)

Posted on by
  • Bunraku: 良弁杉由来、増補忠臣蔵  (Roben and the Cedar Tree, Zoho Chushingura)

9/15/18 (Sat), Tokyo

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, and the National Theatre is featuring two productions from that era. After an astounding period of creativity, Bunraku had pretty much halted as a living art in the 18th century, and not many pieces were being written at this point. Whereas the Kabuki world was undertaking some dramatic experiments incorporating Western concepts, these puppet pieces stay safely within the bounds of their predecessors — which is fine when done as well as it is here.   Continue reading →

Kabuki: Yugen (幽玄)

Posted on by
  • Kabuki: 幽玄 (Yugen)

9/12/18 (Wed), Tokyo Kabukiza

All the shows in this month’s evening performance were pieces derived from ancient Noh theater: Sanbaso, a comic take on the austere Okina; the great Shunkan, Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s brash reworking of the old drama; and a new dance piece by National Living Treasure Tamasaburo based on the classics Hagoromo, Shakkyo and Dojoji.

Continue reading →

Noh: Ukon, Yashima (右近、八島)

Posted on by
  • Noh: 右近、八島 (Ukon, Yashima)

7/15/18 (Sun), Tokyo

The rarely performed Ukon is credited to Zeami, Noh’s towering genius, but was apparently revised to an unknown extent by his grandson Nobumitsu. While officially classified as a god-focused Waki Noh, it’s usually considered closer to a “third category piece” or female-centered Woman Noh. One actor told me that the stately Waki Noh tend to be boring and suspects that this piece may have been re-branded along the centuries to increase its appeal. That need may have prompted the grandson’s revision in the text, but it’s hard to know how much was changed or Zeami’s intentions in the absence of a manuscript; given that he was also a performer and thus writing for himself, he may not have been able to resist creating a juicy role in the first place. The play takes place amid the cherry blossoms, an odd choice for this blazingly hot season, but I suppose there aren’t many summer-based Noh plays to choose from compared to the vast number of shows set in spring.

Continue reading →