‘Break a leg’ – Japanese style

Another fascinating insight into Japanese culture by Wendy Hughes Chuck. Wendy writes: ‘When I lived in Japan I very much enjoyed outings to the theatre. Japanese productions of contemporary European plays with Japanese actors in blonde or brunette wigs, made up to look European left me cold, but I very much enjoyed the spectacle of the four traditional styles of Japanese theatre’.

There are four styles of traditional Japanese theatre, Noh, Kyogen, Kabuki, and Bunraku. All are represented in the National Gallery of Victoria collection via woodblock prints, masks, costumes and even ceramics. Kabuki theatre, the most popular of the four, is more strongly represented than the other types of theatre.

NOH

Noh is the classic drama of Japan and the progenitor of the more popular Kabuki theatre. It flourished in the 14^th and 15^th centuries but is still performed today. It bears some similarities with classical Greek drama. In essence, a Noh play is a dramatic recital with music and dancing of an event which has taken place before the play starts.

The archaic language used is highly poetic and not easily understood by modern Japanese. It could be compared to an English play performed in Chaucerian English which spectators today would struggle to follow. The actors wear masks and brightly coloured costumes. They walk slowly across the stage in a stylised fashion. Their story is narrated by a chorus which sits to the left of the stage. Four musicians provide accompaniment for the performance with a flute (fue), shoulder drum (kotsuzumi), hip drum (otsuzumi) and stick drum (taiko). Dressed in black, the stage attendants are not part of the play but assist the performers in various ways, such as handing them props.

Noh was developed and patronised by the aristocratic samurai class.

In the 1970s I was invited to a Noh production by a gentleman who was one of the managers at Japan Airlines where I then worked. He was from an aristocratic family and his brother had married into the Imperial family. I understood that his family were patrons of the production and that they were honour-bound to support it by inviting their friends and acquaintances to buy the very expensive tickets. It was a grand occasion that I will never forget with the audience full of exquisitely dressed Japanese ladies and gentlemen most of whom were dressed in beautiful silk kimono and obi and traditional accessories such as netsuke and inro.

The NGV has several ornate embroidered kimono worn by Noh actors. They were acquired in 2012 and were recently on display in the centre of the Pauline Gandel Gallery of Japanese Art. Two of these Noh theatre costumes are shown here.

The NGV also has a number of Noh masks representing several characters from Noh plays. The two masks shown here are both from the 17th century. They are made of painted ground shell and animal glue on cypress wood painted with Japanese pigments from the Edo period. One mask represents Obeshimi, a mythical demon or goblin or tengu who lives in the mountains and possesses supernatural powers and military skills. The second mask represents Shakumi, a middle-aged woman with worldly experience who usually appears in the role of a mother.

KYOGEN

A Noh play is long and the actor’s movements are extremely slow. The play is broken up by a series of short Kyogen or comic interludes which are easier to follow.  The Kyogen is roughly akin to a comic scene in the middle of a dramatic Shakespeare play. Usually there are two  Kyogen sandwiched between three full length Noh plays or sometimes one between two. They provide some comic relief from the solemnity of the Noh plays. Kyogen usually feature a quick witted and rascally servant who outwits a slightly ridiculous daimyo or feudal lord.

The NGV has two 19th century costumes that have been worn by Kyogen actors, a vest and long trousers that trail across the stage after the actor; and a yellow check kimono.

KABUKI

Kabuki theatre, is more strongly represented in the NGV collection than the other forms of Japanese theatre. An outing to the Kabuki theatre is like experiencing a microcosm of Japanese history, tradition and culture all rolled into one. Famous battles, betrayals, love stories, festivals and dances and even seppuku (ritual disembowelment) or shinju (double suicide may be played out in the course of a play.

Kabuki flourished among the burgeoning merchant classes during the Edo period and is still popular today.  Kabuki  translated Noh into an idiom that the common people could understand.  To quote Aubrey and Giovanna Halford’s The Kabuki Handbook, “The Kabuki is vulgar where the Noh is refined”.

Those of you who guided in the Hokusai exhibition will remember that the artist produced many woodblock prints featuring dramatic pauses (mie) from the popular Kabuki plays of the time as well as portraits of popular actors in costume for a particular role.

Kabuki theatre is still popular in Japan. If you visit Tokyo, it is well worth catching a performance at the Kabukiza, the main Kabuki Theatre, in the Ginza shopping district.  Performances are scheduled twice a day at 11am and 4.30pm and usually include a traditional play, a new play and a dance act. The English language press list performances and English programmes or audio guides are available for an extra fee. A full performance lasts for several hours, with meal breaks, rather akin to attending a Wagner Ring Cycle performance. It is an experience that throws you into Japanese life as Japanese ladies and gentlemen, dressed up to the nines, often in formal kimono, flock to the theatre and pick up obento boxes from the restaurants inside the theatre to enjoy during the breaks. If all this sounds too much for a first visit and you just want to dip your toe in the water it is worth buying a cheaper ticket to see just one famous scene from “the gods”. These tickets are usually much cheaper.

The most dramatic moments in a kabuki play are usually when the main character freezes into a pose (mie) at a key point in the story. The fans know the stories backwards and during the pose will shout out the stage name of the actor. When a famous actor enters the stage his fans will shout out an encouraging remark such as Matte imashita (That’s what I have been waiting for) or Edokko no kamisama (The God of Edo (Tokyo) or Nippon-ichi (The best in Japan). There is never an encore.

The stage is very wide, with a boldly striped curtain in green, terracotta and black which is drawn across the stage at the beginning or end of a scene, accompanied by the striking of clappers. There is a runway at 90 degrees to the main stage which serves as the entry point for processions and groups. This is called the hanamichi, the “flower way”. At times it may be covered in white cloth to represent snow or blue cloth to signify water. Sometimes a whole scene can be played out on the hanamichi while a different scene is played on the main stage. If you are sitting in the good seats you can see the actors parading along the hanamichi as they approach the stage. This is one of the advantages of having a high-priced ticket as the hanamichi cannot be seen from “the gods”.

Onnagata – female roles in Kabuki

All Kabuki actors are male although some actors play female roles as the English did in Shakespeare’s day.. It is amazing how a decidedly male actor can use a combination of a fine kimono, wig, thick white make-up and feminine gestures and gait to create a totally believable female character.  These actors could teach Western drag artists a thing or two about female impersonation!

When I was working for Japan Airlines in Tokyo, I was lucky enough to be invited backstage by a Japanese colleague who had a connection with the Kabukiza. There in the star’s dressing room, in about an hour, I watched a typical middle-aged Japanese man transform himself into an exotic female character through the application of make-up, wig, kimono and obi. 

Music plays an essential role in Kabuki, a tradition inherited from Noh. There is usually a chorus and an orchestra consisting of a Japanese flute (yokobue), hand drums (tsuzumi) and a stick drum (taiko) and sometimes a string instrument (samisen) and cymbals.

BUNRAKU

Bunraku is traditional Japanese puppet theatre. The puppets are about 130cm tall and each puppet is manipulated by three puppeteers. The puppeteers are not hidden as in a Punch and Judy show but are fully visible on stage. The puppets have no bodies, just head and limbs. The lead puppeteer‘s expressionless face can be seen as he manipulates the puppet’s body, wrapping the puppet’s kimono around his arms to create the character’s body. The two assistant puppeteers are dressed totally in black hooded garments, like ninja, and it calls for a suspension of disbelief for the audience to concentrate on the puppets’ actions and pretend they cannot see the puppeteers.

The narrator (tayu) tells the story assuming the voices of all the characters while he is accompanied on the samisen. To get a better idea of Bunraku, take a look at this YouTube recording of a five-minute Bunraku play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hoK3RFvxwM

Bunraku Theatre began in the Kansai (Western) region of Japan and the best place to see it performed is in the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka.

The National Theatre of Japan, Tokyo

All traditional forms of Japanese theatre are performed in the National Theatre in Tokyo although there are no performances currently thanks to the Covid19 pandemic. Tickets sell out quickly so it is worth checking online well in advance of your trip. Go to this website for details of what’s on: https://www.ntj.jac.go.jp/english/access/facilities_01.html

STOP PRESS

In an article about theatre worldwide in the age of Covid, The Age of 22 July stated in the Arts page (page 25), “One major kabuki theatre in Tokyo – Kabukiza – plans to reopen in August. Safety measures will include all actors and staff being replaced after each show, social distancing and ventilation procedures. Although mask wearing isn’t mentioned because it is de rigueur in Japan, audiences will be asked not to shout the names of famous actors – a commonplace occurrence – at performances.”

Thank you Wendy, for an excellent introduction to extraordinary theatre.

References: The Kabuki Handbook , Aubrey & Giovanna Halford, Tuttle 1956 and the NGV website.