Japanese Theater Week 6b Outline I. Onnagata (female role specialists) Bando Tamasaburo performing Orochi (The Great Serpent) to Daft Punk. (The story is that Susano-o no Mikoto, in order to kill a giant eight-headed serpent, sets out eight large jars of sake, so that the serpent will get drunk and be easier to kill. Here, Tamasaburo dances drinking the sake) Kabuki Cool on Bando Tamasaburo and Kabuki dance (great opening montage) Video: Acting in Kabuki: Female Movement Techniques (Leonard Pronko) Starts 33:40 Kabuki Cool: Program 2 (on Onnagata female role specialists, Seki no To at 3-6:20, Ichikawa Somegoro talking about movement 6:20-11, excerpts from classic onnagata roles including a great excerpt from Dote no oroku performed by Bando Tamasaburo [14.40], as well as the famous roles of Masaoka and Yaegaki and a bit on costumes at the end) A. Highly stylized and idealized femininity B. Why can men portray idealized femininity better than women? II Shôsagoto 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) Kabuki Kool: Plays based on Noh and Kyogen (Review of Noh Dojoji @ 2:30; Kabuki @ 5:35-8; also includes comparison of Noh play Ataka with Kabuki Kanjincho, and the Kyogen and Kabuki versions of Hanago) Kabuki Cool from 3:40 (not the full episode, only montage of Tamasaburo, discussion of hand movements, and Musume Dojoji) 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?
D. Costume changes
E. Comparison of Kabuki Musume Dôjôji with Noh Dôjôji (images): 1. Costumes:
III. “Gion Ichiriki Teahouse scene” 祇園一力茶屋 act from Kanedehon Chûshingura 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. Kabuki Cool Program 4 (Chushingura, A Treasury of Loyal Retainers)includes explanation of story. Gives opening of Gion Ichiriki Teahouse scene 14:50 (but skips over Okaru and Heimon) Preceding scene: Kanpei's Tragedy Explained: Part 4 Kanadehon Chûshingura Gion Ichiriki Teahouse scene"explained": Part 5 Kanadehon Chûshingura Video: Bunraku and Kabuki versions (Okaru: Bando Tamasaburo; Heimon: Nakamura Kichiemon II; Yuranosuke: Ichikawa Danjuro XII) Another version (1:06 asks about Kampei) Another version with Utaemon (1:11:40)
B. What to look for in Kabuki videos: 2. Heimon: lower-ranking samurai -- how is that conveyed? Look for mie. 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)
3. 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)? a. Why is Heimon initially not allowed to join the vendetta? b. What role does Okaru play in the vendetta?
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