ENGEKIKAI, #11 (November 2020)

 

Nakamura Kichiemon II, Photo: Shinoyama Kishin.

Sorry for the delay, partly due to slower mail service from Japan during the pandemic, and partly because I’ve been so busy with other things, but here, at last, is the cover of ENGEKIKAI, the kabuki magazine of record, from last November, 2020 (#11). After a bit, I’ll post other recent issues as well. Theatre activity, of course, has slowed considerably during Covid-19. 

On the cover is Nakamura Kichiemon II as the sumo wrestler Chōgorō in the “Hikimado” (“Skylight”) scene of Futatsu Chōchō Kuruwa no Nikki (Chōgorō and Chōkichi: A Diary of Two Butterflies in the Pleasure Quarters), performed last September at the Kabuki-za. 

The chief article headlined on the cover is about how actors are feeling about performing at this particular time, covered in illustrated discussions with three stars, Matsumoto Hakuō, Nakamura Baigyoku, and Nakamura Shikan. Other selected highlights mentioned on the cover are reviews of last September’s limited productions; a section on kabuki productions given independently of the mainstream by important actors over the years; trends in last August and September’s theatre world; the latest in the series called “Kōshirō’s Thousand and One Nights,” by star actor Matsumoto Kōshirō X; and an essay with photos of Nakamura Kichiemon II’s special performance last August at Tokyo’s Kanze Nōgakudō noh theatre of a solo dance-drama called Suma no Ura (Suma Bay), derived from the classic history play Ichinotani Futaba Gunki, and performed in noh style. Its one performance was filmed with no audience present.