Premodern Japanese Theater: Noh, Kyogen, Bunraku, Kabuki Susan Blakeley Klein (sbklein@uci.edu) I. Intro Ichikawa Ebizo's trailer for his first independently produced month at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo. Theater class website: http://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/sbklein/theater/ Theater class 2013 syllabus: http://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/sbklein/theater/13/syllabus-13.htm WWW links: http://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/sbklein/theater/links.html Japanese Ghosts website: http://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/sbklein/ghosts/ Books Karen Brazell, ed. Traditional Japanese Theater (Columbia University Press): excellent intro to premodern Japanese theater with translations of major pieces Kunio Komparu, Noh Theater: Principles and Perspective (structuralist approach to Noh by a taiko drum performer who became an architect). II. Why Teach Theater? How might you use theater in your classes? A. Comparative Theater? Fusion Theater? Shakespeare in Asia/Japan? 1. Concentrate on stage craft, costuming, etc. 2. Trace a story through various versions to compare stagecraft and costuming: a. Noh and Kabuki versions of Funa Benkei (Benkei on at Boat) b. Noh Dōjōji, Kabuki Maiden at Dōjōji (Musume Dōjōji ), Izumi Kyoka’s modern Demon Pond (Yashigaike) in various film and theater forms 3. Shakespeare and Japan/Asia: versions of Macbeth and Tempest (Ninagawa Yukio), Hamlet and Comedy of Errors (Nomura Mansai); The Tale of Lear (Suzuki Tadashi), A Noh Macbeth (Tatsumi Manjuro) : look at Global Shakespeares B. History behind contemporary popular culture: anime, manga, horror etc. 1. Look for popular stories and characters that get reused -- especially works for horror. Noh Adachigahara/Kurozukaor Aoi no ue; Kyogen Buaku, Tsuen, Asahina; Kabuki Yotsuya Ghost Stories C. Comparative history: how theater embodies, reflects, contests contemporary values over time. 1. Look for a plot or "world" (sekai) that repeats over time: a. Atsumori story: Tale of Heike (original story of death of young warrior Atsumori), Noh Atsumori,Bunraku and Kabuki versions Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani b. Thunder deity and Sugawara no Michizane: Noh Raiden, Kyogen Kaminari, Kabuki Narukami, Bunraku Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy: Mount Tempai and Tumult in the Palace scenes (problem here is that it is very hard to find video) c. Bunraku/Kabuki Love Suicides at Amijima, Shinoda Masahiro’s film Double Suicide Tradition of Performing Arts in Japan: The Heart of Kabuki, Noh, Bunraku (Noh: 16:30) II. What Traditional Japanese Theater Forms Share in Common A. Shamanic Origins and Buddhist Religion 1. More important to Noh than other genres: eg. Adachigahara (aka Kurozuka) (images) theatricalization of Buddhist exorcism rituals, demon stick as torimono (thing that "pulls" the spirit into the shaman), stamping and circling dances, masks, kakegoe "pulling" calls by drummers 2. But with the development of patronage by Samurai and courtier patrons, plots shift away from relatively simple exorcism or pacification rituals. Buddhism plays a role in helping angry samurai ghosts filled with blood-lust and love-obsessed female ghosts achieve release from their attachments and enlightenment. eg. Izutsu (The Well Curb) (images, photo story) B. Presentational versus Representational Theater (Does not follow Aristotle's Dramatic Unities) 1. Unity of Action: a play should have one line of action that it follows, with minimal subplots. a.Kabuki and Bunraku: multiple storylines, multiple characters, sometimes multiple roles played by same actor b. Noh 1) present time noh (genzai nō): usually stays in the present and follows one story 2) dream vision noh (mugen nō): unstable between present and past, including "dream visions" where the past is reenacted. c. Kyogen: usually set in the present with simple plot 2. Unity of Time: the action in a play should occur over a period of no more than 24 hours. a. Only Kyogen comes close to this. b. Kabuki and Bunraku: decades can pass between first and second act; revolving stage allows us to jump from one place to another, allowing us to see simultaneous action at two different places, for example. 3. Unity of place: a play should exist in a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place. a. Kyogen and Noh: traveling priest or servant sent on errand move in a triangle traced around the stage, while describing the scenery they are passing, and then "in no time at all" they have arrived somewhere that would normally takes days or weeks. b. Kabuki and Bunraku: concept of sekai (world): ): a dramatic world, with a well-defined set of characters and actions, related to well-known historical events or legends. 1) cf to "universe" in contemporary popular culture: Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, comic book universes/continuity for Superman, Batman etc. Allows for prequels, sequels, fan fiction, related merchandise. Not too worried about messing with continuity, though. 2) developed in Bunraku and Kabuki to deal with censorship by Tokugawa Shogunate: no contemporary political events could be referenced on stage so set stories about current events in the distant past a) most famous example: Chushingura (Treasury of Loyal Retainers). "The former retainers of the late Lord Asano burst into the mansion of Lord Kira Yoshinaka in Edo and killed him to avenge the death of their master almost two years earlier." Transposed story to 14th century world of the historical chronical Taiheiki and mixes historical characters with barely changed names with completely fictional characters.
C. Stagecraft is made plainly visible: 1. stage assistants plainly on stage, moving props, helping adjust costumes, manipulating puppets 2. chorus, musicians, narrators on stage 2. revolving stages and other spectacular effects (quick changes, flying through the air etc.) D. Language ("The Text Speaks Itself") 1. Beauty of voice more important than realism. 2. Monologues, dialogue, and narration distributed among different parts (characters, chorus, narrator) with little regard for realism. 3. Extremely dense rhetorical imagery and poetry. Very difficult for contemporary audiences to follow (need contemporary Japanese subtitles or earphone guide) E. Professional Training 1. Begins very early (almost as soon as child can walk): lots of youtube videos of young actors performing for the first time professionally at 3-5 years of age. For example this video of two young girls (3 and 5) from the Shigeyama family of Kyogen actors. 2. Trained by repeated imitation: in the beginning no interest in interpretation or innovation Contemporary actors usually innovate by claiming to be reintroducing or recovering past traditions; for example Ichikawa Ennosuke's Super Kabuki in the 1980s claimed to be bringing back spectacular Kabuki from the early 19th century. A few new plays have been written in Noh and Kyogen in the last 30 years, and new Kabuki versions of shinpa plays, Shakespeare, and Opera have been performed in the last ten years. III. Intro to Noh A. Five basic categories and roles (starting 1.50) Categories: Deity, Warrior, Female, Miscellaneous, Demon Roles: shite, tsure, waki, aikyogen B. Stagecraft: Why did Noh develop the form and technologies it did? 1. Sliding walk: suriashi (video) a. Explanations: generate and control energy, maintain horizontal line for mask, contact with stage boards when wearing mask, costume issues (keeping the robe closed in front), ghosts have no feet 2. Why such a simple stage with only pine tree painted at back? a. Started as outdoor stages in shrines and temples (images)-- needed it to be simple and standardized. Pine = "pine of manifestation" where Kasuga Deity (deity of dance) first manifested. b. Innovations: hashigakari bridge (image) started at back, moved to side. Raised stage, white pebbles surrounding stage, stairs at front. 3. Why so few props? a. Traveling troupes couldn't carry heavy scenery or props. Became an aesthetic. Clear that certain Muromachi period plays did include much more scenery -- have descriptions of performances with real horses and armor. Those plays all dropped out of repertoire. b. Fans used in multiple ways (lecture outline) 4. Costuming a demonic woman (lecture outline) IV. Kyogen ("This is Kyogen") A. Kyogen plots: often parody Noh. Deities that are awe-inspiring in Noh become bumbling and foolish in Kyogen (Kaminari = bumbling thunder deity, Asahina = bumbling King of Hell). Exorcism rituals which are highly effective in Noh, go awry in Kyogen (Mushrooms, Owls). Relationships between master and servant, wife and husband do not follow proper Confucian models - -the servant (Taro Kaja) tricks the master, the wife brow-beats (and sometimes actually beats) her husband. Eg: Dellicious Poison: The servants Taro Kaja and Jiro Kaja get into the "poison" (actually sugar) left in their charge by their master when he goes out of twon. To get out of trouble for eating all the sugar, they break a precious bowl and tear up a precious hanging scroll, and then claim that they accidentally broke them, and so ate the "poison" to commit suicide because they were feeling so bad for what they had done. The video starts from when one of the servants actually tries the "poison" and realizes that it is sugar. B. Performed on the same stage as Noh, with similar attitude towards props –even fewer, with lots of onomatopoeia and miming to indicate. V. Bunraku A. Students love it, but because there are no actors, little innovation in the story telling since the 18th-19th centuries. Some good video introductions on youtube and Miracle of the Tsubosaka Kannon (translated in Traditional Japanese Theater) is presented in Tradition of Performing Arts in Japan: The Heart of Kabuki, Noh, Bunraku Especially interesting comparison: Bunraku version of Love Suicides at Amijima (Shinju Ten no Amijima) and Shinoda Masaharu's 1969 film Shinju Ten no Amijima (English Title Double Suicide) (trailer). Look at the effect of using of one actress to play both roles of prostitute Koharu and wife Osan, as well as how Shinoda uses kurogo (black robed assistants) from Bunraku and Kabuki. VI. Kabuki Tradition of Performing Arts in Japan: The Heart of Kabuki, Noh, Bunraku A. Four main categories (first two for Bunraku as well): 1. jidai mono (history plays) about historical samurai 2. sewa mono (domestic tragedies) about recent/contemporary love suicides among merchant class 3. kizewa mono (twisted domestic tragedies, 19th century) examines the lives of folks at the very bottom of the social ladder 4. Dance pieces of various kinds (both male and female roles) B. Roles 1. onnagata: men play all roles (watch for statements in videos about "only a man could portray a woman so effectively") 2. Main male roles: aragoto (strong male), wagoto (weak male), iroaku (charming/sexy villain) C. Thematics: Giri (honor or duty) versus Ninjo (human feeling or passion). Code of values that creates conflict for characters (cf. Prime Directive from Star Trek, if any student remembers it....) 1.Conflict works equally well for samurai or merchants: Suma Bay or Chushingura; Love Suicides at Amijima. |