Performances by one of the best pop theater troupes in Japan

The performances by "Harukoma-za" Sep. 12, 2010
PLAY
The plot was as follows:
There were two brothers who traveled together to find out their father’s murderer who killed the father brutally.  However, during the trip, the older (Shinzaburo) brother lost the track of his younger brother.  On the way Shinzaburo saved a young girl who was almost abducted by a drunken samurai.  The grateful girl brought Shinzaburo to her home to feed him (he was starving as he had not eaten any food for five days).  The girl’s father, widely respected by the local people, was the leader (oyabun) of a local yakuza cluster. To his great surprise, Shinzaburo found out that one of the members of the yakuza was his own brother who had been saved by the oyabun.  Some months passed and during the course of time, both brothers fell in love with the two daughters of the oyabun. 
The drunken samurai, from whom Shinzaburo saved the daughter, told him that the exact murder the brothers looking for was the oyabun himself. Shinzaburo rushed to the oyabun trying to avenge for his father.  The oyabun did not protest to him but told what had really happened between him and the brothers’ father. According to him, he accidentally killed the father when he tried to arbitrate the quarrel, and that did not brutally murder the father. There the samurai who abused the daughter came with his fellow rogues and revealed that the real murderer of the brothers’ father was himself.  There was a severe fighting between the brothers and the samurai, but in the end the brothers killed the samurai.  The oyabun gave a permission for the brothers to get married with his own daughters.
GRAND SHOW
The most fascinating dances was danced by Tsugawa Ryu, the zacho (the leader of the troupe). He wore western-looking black frilled suit with long black coat; he had black short boots on his feet.  His long hair was tied with a ribbon into ponytail. He looked like a medieval knight or a star in the Takarazuka! Such androgynous appearance was extraordinary eye-catching which presented a fusion of two contradictory elements—decadence and intelligence; irresistible eroticism was emitted and the audience was totally captured. This zacho is really someone as he invented such a dance in such an attire!
The dances by the troupe members were all systematically well-programmed and well-trained.  I wonder how much time they spent in the practice!


The photo above is so-called "Ai buyo" (paired dance), played by Zacho and Kotora.


The following photo shows a dance by Tsugawa Ryu, Zacho.

Shinkawa Shoya's male role in a dance

He is a younger brother of Hiroya; he is good at dances in both male and female roles; he looks just like a pretty young girl in the  female-impersonator dances.  He makes a good contrast with his brother and this contrast fascinates the audience. He is also very good at plays, especially in comedy.  You must see his performances in Japan!

Shinkawa Hiroya's "Tachi" (male role) in a dance

The following photo was taken almost a year ago in a theater in Amagasaki, Hyogo.


He danced to a modern number; he has a good rhythm sense and he seemed to enjoy a lot.

"The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum" played by Shinkawa Hiroya

Shinkawa Hiroya's excellent performance in The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum

This play was first appeared as a film by Mizoguchi Kenji, one of the greatest directors in the Japanese film history.  Afterwards, it was adapted as a play on the stage by the Shimpa (New Theatre Group).  Some of Taishu-engeki (Popular theater) tropes transformed it as their own.  I recently saw one of the adaptations played by a very popular theater trope and was severely disappointed because of its shallow interpretation of the tragedy. They presented Kikunosuke as a heroic figure; as a result, Otoku’s sufferings would not transcend all cruel, absurd surroundings and thereby makes them as the sublime. 

The plot is as follows:

Onoe Kikunosuke, a heir of a prominent Kabuki families, has been spoiled and does not know how  harshly he is criticized by the Kabuki fans.  He senses that something is wrong with his performances, and that is why he is playing around with women who flatter him.  Otoku, the baby-sitter for Kikunosuke’s baby brother, is the first person who tells what people really think of Kikunoske’s performances.  Appreciating her honesty and encouragement, Kiku eventually falls in love with her, and wants to get married with her.  However, his parents reject Otoku as his wife.  Kiku is expelled from the family and goes to Osaka to join a local theater trope (a second class Kabuki trope). Some months later, Otoku comes to Osaka and they live together.  After the death of the trope chief, however, Kiku has to travel with other minor traveling tropes and becomes more miserable and poorer.  Otoku, getting really ill, is worried not about her own poor health but Kiku’s career as an actor; she visits Fukusuke (later Nakamura Utaemon), Kiku’s close friend who happens to come to an Osaka theater. She begs him to mediate Kiku’s reconciliation with his father.  With Fukusuke’s support, Kiku goes back to the major stages in Tokyo. Otoku declines to go with Kiku, but promises him to come to Tokyo after some months.  However, she never comes to Tokyo to join Kiku.  A year later, Kiku, now on the stage of Osaka’s prominent theater as a successful actor, hears the news of Otoku’s death.

I take this film as one of the feminist films; the female character, as in Mizoguchi’s other films, is portrayed as a strong woman who reaches the state of the sublime in the end despite of, or because of, their suffering caused by the absurdly patriarchal, cruel, and feudalistic Kabuki society.  Otoku, at a first glance, seems to be a really tragic figure, who goes through discrimination of the hierarchy of Kabuki world.  On the contrast, Kikunosuke, her husband, totally spoiled by the society as a true heir of one of the greatest Kabuki families, has not understood the quality of her suffering; he remains as a weak character till the end. Mizoguchi’s camera explicitly presents how careless and carefree he is, in many scenes.  

I saw Shinkawa Gekidan (theater trope)’s The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum at Asahi Gekijo (theater) in Osaka last October (2009).  I was greatly impressed by the performance of Zacho (the chief of the trope), Shinkawa Hiroya.  The script is a little different from Mizoguchi’s, but he specifically focuses on the contrast between Otoku and Kikunosuke and their different attitudes toward art; he especially stresses her selfless devotion to Kikunosuke’s artistic talents, her tolerance of the suffering.  It is in her masochistic acceptance of the suffering that transcends her into a really tragic figure. One of the scenes presenting the contrast between two figures, which is not in Mizoguchi’s script, is the noodle vender’s scene.  As Kikunosuke does not notice that they are totally broke, he asks Otoku why she does not order another bowl of noodle.  His personality is not as strong as Otoku’s. He has been too spoiled to understand the real world.  In Mizoguchi’s film, such contrast between two major characters is seen in the scene of a cheap inn scene.   

Hiroya eloquently and successfully presents Otoku not as a victim but as a tragic (in its real sense) figure.

The following photo shows Hiroya's dance as a female impersonator.

Tatsumi Engeki Box led by Koizumi Tatsumi

I went to Fukui staying there for 2 days to watch the performances of Tasumi Engeki Box led by Koizumi Tatsumi (Zacho). I have been impressed by Zacho Tasumi’s performances not only in dances, but also in the plays. I saw them for the first time at Meiseiza in Osaka February last year. Then, I saw five plays and most of them were very good. I started to watch the traveling tropes then and I think I was very lucky to have the Koizumi trope as my initiation into the Taishu-engeki (the traveling tropes’ performing arts). 

Since last year I have seen more than 40 traveling tropes and am convinced that every trope has its excellences. My most favorite ones now are the Tsukushi Momotaro trope and the Koizumi Tasumi trope. In a sense they consist two extreme poles: one is very much of the Kamigata (Osaka) style, the other, of the Kushu style. As I am from the Kamigta (Osaka area), I naturally feel more rapport with the Kamigata than with the Kushu ones. 

Last month I saw Tatsumi Engeki Box’s performances 9 times and was very moved by some of Koizumi Tasumi’s performances. That is the reason why I went down to Fukui. I saw two plays: one is “Seki no gohonmatsu” (five pine trees in Seki), the other “Chimatsuri Kasa” (blood stained Kasa). Both are the usual based on the conflict between Giri and Ninjo (social duty vs. human feelings), still, Tatsumi prefabricated them into new versions (less heavy and sentimental ones). It really was his excellent skill to make them into the modern ones. 

As they will not have any chance to perform in Osaka area for more than six months, I have to give up watching their performances for a while. 

The following 3 photos are of Koizumi Tatsumi's dances: the first one, in male role, the latter two, in female impersonator.

Koikawa Gekidan on August 19

I went down to Kiryu-za (led by Koikawa Junya) performances this evening.  Well, I feel very guilty about this as I have so much things to deal with (like concentrating in writing a paper).  Anyway, I could not help that (no excuse!).

The Taishu-engeki (traveling tropes)’s performances which lasts 3 hours consists of three parts: mini-show, play, grand-show.  Naturally, the play is most important part. Today’s play (I am sorry I missed the title) was new to me.  It was a kind of domestic plays which deals with the lives of common people. The plot is as follows: a carpenter named Tatsugoro has his first wife, who had been neglected the wifely duties, eloped with a man.  He is now remarried and lives happily with his new wife.  Unfortunately, his former wife’s father who does know nothing of what happened to the couple visits him.  Tatsugoro welcomes  his father-in-law, but does not dare to expose what happened to him and his former wife.  However while Tatsugoro and his new wife are away for shopping, one of is disciples comes to his house and tells the father the truth.  The father, who is very ashamed of his daughter, intends to go back home. Even though Tatsugoro and his wife come back and try to stop the father-in-law leave, he is going back home.

The dances in the mini-show and the grand-show are all new to me.  I realized how Junya focuses on this month’s performances.  The lightening was superb!!  The performances are all beyond the regular traveling troupes ones.  Their levels surpassed the category!  Anyway, I was so satisfied with the performances by Kiryu-za!

The following photo is of  Suzukawa Momoko, zacho's sister.

Taishu engeki (pop theater) in Japan

I am pretty sure that not so many people outside Japan know much about the Pop Theater (Taishu Engeki) in Japan.  It is also know as the traveling tropes, which originates in the Edo period around the beginning of 17th century just as Kabuki in Japan.  I had been a Kabuki go-er for more than ten years before I started watching this Taishu Engeki last year.  And suddenly it happened: I was so moved by their performances and had to switch my interest from Kabuki to Taishu Engeki. My Ph.D thesis is actually on the Japanese classical theater, but Kabuki, Noh, and Bunraku seemed to me too much institutionalized and have become rigid and therefore boring.

There are probably more than 200 tropes, but only 70 are entitled to get a place to perform (a theater or a so-called a “Health Center”- a kind of the Japanese inn- which has stages). They travel all around Japan every month (Can you believe it?!!!).  Compared to Kabuki which perform the same plays and dances for a month and very much patronized by the Japanese government and one of the most powerful patrons, Shochiku Company.  

So one of the main purposed for me to join this blog is to introduce the Taishu Engeki to this community.  I will upload pictures of their performances.

The following photos were taken at the performances by the Koikawa Gekidan, one of the most popular traveling troupes. 

Jun Koikawa, fukuzacho (second top of the troupe, 19 years old boy) playing Geisha.

Junya Koikawa, Zacho (the leader, male, 30 years old) is dancing to enka (Japanese traditional type of songs).

Kengeki Harukoma-za, a really hot stage

Harukoma-za Sep. 12, 2010

PLAY

The plot was as follows:

There were two brothers who traveled together to find out their father’s murderer who killed the father brutally.  However, during the trip, the older (Shinzaburo) brother lost the track of his younger brother.  On the way Shinzaburo saved a young girl who was almost abducted by a drunken samurai.  The grateful girl brought Shinzaburo to her home to feed him (he was starving as he had not eaten any food for five days).  The girl’s father, widely respected by the local people, was the leader (oyabun) of a local yakuza cluster. To his great surprise, Shinzaburo found out that one of the members of the yakuza was his own brother who had been saved by the oyabun.  Some months passed and during the course of time, both brothers fell in love with the two daughters of the oyabun. 

The drunken samurai, from whom Shinzaburo saved the daughter, told him that the exact murder the brothers looking for was the oyabun himself. Shinzaburo rushed to the oyabun trying to avenge for his father.  The oyabun did not protest to him but told what had really happened between him and the brothers’ father. According to him, he accidentally killed the father when he tried to arbitrate the quarrel, and that did not brutally murder the father. There the samurai who abused the daughter came with his fellow rogues and revealed that the real murderer of the brothers’ father was himself.  There was a severe fighting between the brothers and the samurai, but in the end the brothers killed the samurai.  The oyabun gave a permission for the brothers to get married with his own daughters.

GRAND SHOW

The most fascinating dances was danced by Tsugawa Ryu, the zacho (the leader of the troupe). He wore western-looking black frilled suit with long black coat; he had black short boots on his feet.  His long hair was tied with a ribbon into ponytail. He looked like a medieval knight or a star in the Takarazuka! Such androgynous appearance was extraordinary eye-catching which presented a fusion of two contradictory elements—decadence and intelligence; irresistible eroticism was emitted and the audience was totally captured. This zacho is really someone as he invented such a dance in such an attire!

The dances by the troupe members were all systematically well-programmed and well-trained.  I wonder how much time they spent in the practice!

I post 6 photos of Zacho's dances in the "grand show" below.  However, they were taken on a different day.
First two photos "Elegy," a song, famous and notorious for its very sensual, sensational content. Tsugawa performed in a well-calculated sensuality.
The following 2 photos are for dances of female impersonator.Next, in samurai Kimono, and the last, his song in a modern suit.