Tag Archives: Sugimoto Bunraku

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

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  • 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.)

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Sugimoto Bunraku: The Oil Hell Murder (杉本文楽:女殺油地獄)

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  • 杉本文楽:女殺油地獄 (Sugimoto Bunraku: The Oil Hell Murder)

8/13/17 (Sun), Tokyo

This was a second crack at modernized Bunraku by the renowned photographer and artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. The first, which I saw almost exactly six years ago, was a fuller-than-usual version of the ever-popular Love Suicide at Sonezaki. That show incorporated scenes that hadn’t been performed in centuries, juggled the usual placement of singers and musicians on stage, and experimented with lighting and (naturally) photographic and video projections, among other innovations. Unfortunately, it fell victim to a hall far too large for a puppet drama, chosen presumably to pay for all that elaborate staging; Sugimoto’s many fans got their money’s worth, but Bunraku fans were left short changed. Still, the staid world of Bunraku can stand some shaking up, and the production had some worthwhile ideas. So I was looking forward to what he would do this time, especially in this smaller, more puppet-friendly theater. He chose another of Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s big hits, which centers on the brutal murder of a young woman by a heavily indebted youth.

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