ENGEKIKAI #1 (January 2021): COVER AND CONTENTS

 

Onoe Kikugorō VII in Migawari Zazen. Photo: Shinoyama Kishin.

This is the cover for the #1 (January) 2021 issue of ENGEKIKAI, the monthly magazine that serves as the organ of record for the Japanese theatre art of kabuki. Most of its numerous photos and factual data pertain to November 2020’s productions, when Covid-19 continued to restrict the number of performances and the size of attendance. The cover photo shows veteran star Onoe Kikugorō VII as the leading man in the comical dance play, Migawari Zazen (“The Zen Substitute”), first produced in 1910 at Tokyo’s Ichimura-za, and dealing with a man who tries to deceive his wife regarding his being out all night with his paramour. It is closely based on a kyōgen farce called Hanako, whose original style is reflected in the adaptation of a noh/kyōgen-style stage setting. This places the piece in the category called matsubame mono, or “pineboard plays,” because of the pine tree painted on the upstage wall of the neutral, non-localized setting. The production represented here was done at Tokyo’s Kabuki-za this past November.

The biggest headline, at the right, is for the issue’s main section, about the coming reopening, during the pandemic, of Kyoto’s Minami-za with the annual December celebratory production called “Kaomise” (“face-showing”), in which a lineup of top Tokyo stars tour to Kyoto for the occasion. During the Edo period (1603-1868), the kaomise was typically a production given in the eleventh month by each theatre to introduce that season’s acting team to the public. The Minami-za had been closed since March 2020, so it’s reopening was a big deal, although, because of Covid protocols, there were to be three daily programs (each different), instead of the usual two, and for a mere two-week run. Kabuki theatres normally offer one or more new programs each month for around 25 days.

Other contents mentioned on the cover (which is only a partial list of what’s inside) include an archival article of particular interest because it recalls another time when the Minami-za’s kaomise was restricted due to external circumstances. This piece, which can be translated as “The Kaomise during Air Raids,” notes that the programs at the Minami-za in November 1943, during World War II, were shortened to 19 days out of caution regarding possible air raids. The article describes the two 1944 programs (daytime and evening), including photos of three plays.

Also in the issue are well-illustrated interviews with actors Kataoka Nizaemon, Kataoka Hidetarō, Nakamura Ganjirō, Nakamura Senjaku, Nakamura Kōtarō, Matsumoto Kōshirō, and Nakamura Ichitarō. There is a memorial to the recently deceased kabuki superstar Sakata Tōjūrō, who would be honored at the upcoming kaomise; reviews of the previous month’s productions; a survey of October and November events in the theatre world; and the latest in the series by popular actor Matsumoto Kōshirō, “Kōshirō’s Thousand and One Nights.” The banner for “Kabuki Actors Calendar” at the left is for the gift calendar sent to subscribers with this New Year’s issue.