Ukon...On July 12th our group was treated to a Kabuki performance at the Kabuki-za theatre in the Ginza section of Tokyo. The play was Toryu Oguri Hangan (The New Story of Oguri Hangan). For an English description of Toryu Oguri Hangan, go here. The lead actor playing Oguri Hangan was Ennosuke, a famous Kabuki actor. Kabuki requires patience, both for English speakers and Janpanese speakers. The form of Japanese used in the plays is different from modern spoken Japanese, so much so that Japanese viewers often rent earphones which translate the lines. For English speakers, the earphones are a must is the play is to make any sense at all. The earphones so not actually translate each line of the play in English, but instead explain what is going on as it happens. The shows are quite a spectacle, especially the "super Kabuki" shows in which Ennosuke performs. Toryu Oguri Hangan featured an intense sword fight scene in which Namishichi (also played by Ennosuke) is killed and a scene in which Oguri Hangan and Princess Terute fly into the balcony seats on a magical horse. As is the custom in Kabuki, all the women's roles are played by onnagata--male actors who have been especially trained to imitate females. Onnagata are selected by their families at an early age (Kabuki acting is a family business) and never play men's roles--the ultimate typecasting. The Japanese women who were supervising our group expressed their opinion that the "female" Kabuki actors play women's roles better than actual women could play them. They find the Kabuki "actresses" very attractive.
A Kabuki show is quite long, at least three hours, sometimes four. Our show ran over three and a half hours. One nice thing about Kabuki shows is that eating during the show is permitted. Box lunches can be purchased before the show for consumption during the play. Kabuki music is very unique, consisting of tsuke (wooden blocks which are struck to punctuate the action), the samisen (a stringed instrument), and a flute-like instrument. The music can be very haunting. One of my favorite parts of the show was the mie, poses by the actors at climactic moments. The poses involve a rotating, nodding movement of the head and the crossing of one eye in a powerful glare. The mie were very striking and would result in kakegoe, appreciative shouts by audience members. I was very impressed by the acting ability of the Kabuki players, they take it very seriously and work their entire lives to perfect their roles.
After the show our group was visited by a Kabuki actor whose stage name is Ukon. Ukon described the life of a Kabuki actor and responded to questions from our group. He also signed autographs of his promotional picture.
Ukon...
Ukon in a more
elaborate costume...