Japanese Theater (Winter 2013) Week 6b Outline I. Wagoto acting in Love Suicides at Amijima A. Example of early (18th century) sewamono世話物: contemporary "domestic" plays about merchant life and the pleasure quarters 1. Invented by Chikamatsu Monzaemon for the puppet theater, but so wildly popular that Kabuki quickly copied the plays. 2. Love Suicides at Amijima 心中天の網島. First Bunraku version was early 1721. First Kabuki adaptation was in the summer of 1721, starring Ichikawa Danjuro II. The currently performed version blends the original bunraku play with elements from a Kabuki version written by Chikamatsu Hanji. a. Kabuki retains narrator and shamisen from puppet theater, but large chunks of narration are removed and replaced by set pieces that showcase the actor b. Sometimes plot is changed: eg., Kabuki version adds a backstory about Jihei’s father-in-law Gozaemon getting into debt, which was INVENTED FOR KABUKI to make Jihei seem like a better person – but it makes no sense in terms of the actual plot -- why would Gozaemon be so set against Jihei if he owed him such a debt of gratitude? 3. The main male role is usually performed wagoto 和事 style (image) a. relatively realistic compared to aragoto; in later jidaimono a wagoto actor is often used as a foil for an aragoto actor b. associated with: Kyoto/Osaka ("Kamigata" style) and Chikamatsu Monzaemon 近松門左衛門 4. Video: Leonard Pronko "Acting in Kabuki" on walking for merchant class characters 5. Video: Love Suicides at Amijima a. Actor commenting is Nakamura Ganjiro II. Actor playing Jihei i his father, Nakamura Ganjiro II, performing the Kamigata (Osaka) style of Kabuki. Nakamura Ganjiro lineage claims to be the last of the true "kamigata" style of acting. 1) In the modern era, his family has specialized in this kind of sewamono role; actors play both male and female roles. Eg. in the performance we're watching for class, Ganjiro II plays Jihei and Ganjiro III plays Koharu. II. Onnagata (female role specialists) Video: “Acting in Kabuki”: Female Movement Techniques (Leonard Pronko) A. Highly stylized and idealized femininity B. Why can men portray idealized femininity better than women? III. “Ichiriki Brothel scene” 祇園一力茶屋 act from Kanedehon Chûshingura Video: Bunraku and Kabuki versions (Okaru: Bando Tamasaburo; Heimon: Nakamura Kichiemon II; Yuranosuke: Ichikawa Danjuro XII) A. Plot points: In the previous scene, Okaru was sold into prostitution so that her husband Kampei could join the vendetta. However, Kampei commits suicide because he mistakenly thinks he has killed his father-in-law. In this scene, Heimon has arrived to tell Okaru the bad news. Okaru has told her brother Heimon that Yuranosuke is going to buy out her contract. Heimon worries that this means that Yuranosuke has given up on the vendetta and is simply carousing. But Okaru whispers to him that she’s seen a letter that makes it clear that the vendetta is going to happen. This is where the scene begins. B. What to look for in Kabuki video: 3. Elements of humor: why are they there in a scene that is actually full
of pathos (Okaru discovers her husband and father are dead, and agrees to
die at the hand of her brother)? C. Ninjo (human feelings/compassion) versus giri (duty)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Think about the samurai code of ethics as expressed in this play. In particular, how does the concept of giri appear to be different in this play than in Love Suicides at Amijima? 2. How do the characters Okaru, Kampei (her husband), and Heimon (her brother) deal with the conflict between their duty/loyalty to their superiors (giri) and their desires/human emotions (ninjô)? Why is Heimon initially not allowed to join the vendetta? What role does Okaru play in the vendetta? 3. How are women represented in this play? Specifically, compare Okaru in Chûshingura with Koharu in Love Suicides. As courtesans how are they represented? What moral code do they each live by? How does the giri/ninjo dilemma apply in each case? Look for specific examples from the plays to support your arguments.
IV Shosagoto 所作事 (dance pieces) A. Some based on Noh or Kyogen plays, some independently developed. 1. If based (very loosely) on Noh or Kyogen plays, called matsubame mono 松羽目物 （"pine tree backboard" pieces) B. Style: primarily pieces to show off Kabuki dancing (buyô舞踊); if early, sometimes with aragoto elements C. Example: A Maiden at Dôjôji(Musume Dôjôji 娘道場寺) 1. Review of Noh Dôjôji 2. Basic Plot of Kabuki version: woman dressed as a shirabyoshi talks her way into the temple compound, but from then on the whole focus of the play is a series of dances. Some versions include a change of costume into a demon and a mie on the bell, but if there is a battle it is between an aragoto hero and the demon, not priests. 3. What to watch for: a. How the Noh stage is transformed -- what is the same, what different? Video: Musume Dôjôji D. Costume changes
E. Comparison of Kabuki Musume Dôjôji with Noh Dôjôji (images): 1. Costumes: IV. Comparison of assistants in Noh, Bunraku, Kabuki A. How do kôken work in Noh and Kyôgen? B. How do kôken/kurogo work in Kabuki? 2. kurogo: image 3. How do Bunraku manipulators work? a. ningyô buri (puppet movement) used in Kabuki
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