ENGEKIKAI #10 (October 2021): COVER AND CONTENTS

 

Matsumoto Kōshirō as Kisō no Senjō Yoshikata (Photo: Shinoyama Kishin.)

The cover of the recently arrived October (#10) 2021 issue of Engekikai, the kabuki magazine of record, depicts Matsumoto Kōshirō as Kisō no Senjō Yoshikata in Genpei Nunobiki no Taki: Yoshikata Saigō, as performed at Tokyo’s Kabuki-za in August. The leading feature of the issue, noted at the upper right, is titled “Let’s Read Geidan,” geidan being books containing actors’ comments on their work. Leading kabuki actors have long left records of their thoughts on and approaches to the roles they play; these form an important resource for later actors. In addition to a well-illustrated survey of geidan, there’s a discussion about them by actors Ichikawa Ennosuke and Onoe Ukon.

Other contents listed on the cover (there are many more inside) include comments on the late, great onnagata (female-role specialists) stars Nakamura Utaemon VI, who died 20 years ago, and Nakamura Shikan VII, who passed 10 years ago. Those remembering them are Nakamura Baigyoku, adopted son of Utaemon, and Shikan’s son, Shikan VIII. The issue also contains a report on the Odori no Kai (Dance Association) of Nakamura Tanenosuke, and a piece about another young actor, Ichikawa Kōtarō, about his independent production of scenes from Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura last summer. Finally, there’s an interview with the veteran star Kataoka Nizaemon XV concerning his then upcoming performance at the Kabuki-za of Iemon in the famous ghost play Yotsuya Kaidan.

Among the issue’s interesting articles is one describing Tokyo’s two excellent theatre bookstores. The first shows Junichi Kobayashi in his tiny store, the Kobikido Shoten, in Higashi Ginza, across the street from the Kabuki-za. As the accompanying photo shows, the place is stacked high with books, magazines, posters, photos, records, and all sorts of printed memorabilia of kabuki. It’s a fascinating place to wander around in as long as you’re careful to keep your elbows close. Two or more customers at the same time can prove hazardous. Kobayashi-san is on FB and often posts photos of stuff he has for sale on one of FB’s kabuki pages.

Junichi Kobayashi in the Kobikido Shoten.

Tezuka Osamu in the Tezuka Shobō.

The other store shown, the Tezuka Shobō, is located on a backstreet in Jinbochō, Tokyo’s amazing bookstore neighborhood. As the photo shows, it’s a more orderly, well-organized shop, and has books not only kabuki but on all other forms of Japanese traditional theatre. The man in the picture is the proprietor, Tezuka Osamu (no, not that one). The first time I visited the place, about ten years ago, I was taken there by my friend and former PhD student, Prof. Hibino Kei. While I was searching the shelves, I noticed a young, attractive foreigner. Assuming her to be American or English, and, thinking she must be a Japanese theatre specialist, I struck up a conversation. She turned out to be a Polish scholar of kabuki named Dr. Iga Rutkowska and, when I introduced myself, knew precisely who I was and was extremely happy to meet me. I’ll never forget the meeting, which was one of the most serendipitous of my life. Since then Iga and I have become good digital friends, the only time we ever spent any real time together being when we took part in a Japanese theatre conference in Israel a couple of years ago.