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.

 

ENGEKIKAI #9 (September 2021): COVER AND CONTENTS

 

Ichikawa Ebizo as Hayakumo in Narukami Fudo Kitayama Zakura. Photo: Shinoyama Kishin.)

The September and October 2021 issues of Engekikai, the kabuki magazine of record, have finally arrived. Surface shipping from Japan takes about two months these days. Thank you, Prof. Kei Hibino, for forwarding these!

We’ll start with the September issue, whose brilliant cover shows Ichikawa Ebizō as Prince Hayakumo, the nobleman villain, in the full-length (tōshi kyōgen) production of Narukami Fudō Kitayama Zakura at the Kabuki-za in July.

The issue’s main feature is an illustrated tour through kabuki plays showing travel to various places in Japan. If you lived in the Edo period, and were restricted from traveling because of all the hardships involved (including having to walk, no matter how far, unless you could afford to be carried in an uncomfortable palanquin), kabuki could take you there with plays set all around the country, from the seashores to the mountains, and to all the famous temples, shrines, and castles that were principal destinations.

The issue also has an interview with star Matsumoto Kōshirō X re: his then upcoming August production, and an interview with young actor Nakamura Tsurumatsu. There’s also a conversation with Ichikawa Enya about his performance in the Broadway musical Anything Goes at Tokyo’s Meiji-za in August.

The last item mentioned on the cover is of a production titled Ibuki,. Assuming this means something like “a breath of fresh air” (it’s written in syllabic script rather than kanji), the added comma at the end was intended to suggest that it’s meant to be continued, with new iterations. That’s because the show was presented by top star Ichikawa Ebizō on behalf of young actors whose opportunities for stage experience was being constrained by the decrease of productions during the pandemic. Ibuki, was given at Kyoto’s Minami-za in seven performances over four days in June 2021, and was a two-part program including two scenes from the classic history play Imoseyama Onna Teikin and a well-known dance play, Noriaibune Ehō Manzai.  

Every issue of the magazine contains a photo essay on an interesting kabuki-related artifact. Below is the actual costume custom-built for Ichikawa Sadanji II, the first kabuki actor to visit the West, where he went to study foreign theatre in 1904. It was created in Rome, in preparation for when he'd return to Japan and play Marc Antony in Julius Caesar, at a time when Shakespeare was beginning to make an impression on Japanese theatre. 

ENGEKIKAI #8 (August 2021): COVER AND CONTENTS

Ichikawa Ennosuke IV as Priest Nichiren. Photo: Shinoyama Kishin.

The August issue of ENGEKIKAI, kabuki’s monthly magazine of record, features a cover photo of Ichikawa Ennosuke IV as the priest Renchō (later Nichiren) in the new play Nichiren—Ai wo Shiru Hito (Nichiren—A Priest Who Knows Love). It was produced on part 3 of the June 2021 Kabuki-za program, celebrating the 800^th birthday of Nichiren, one of Japanese Buddhism’s most important figures. The Kabuki-za’s online synopsis says:

This play is set in the 13th century, a time of great turbulence caused by raging wars, a series of natural disasters, starvation and epidemics. In the depths of night on Mount Hiei, ascetic monks gather in front of the main temple hall. Inside, Renchō has remained confined for ten days without eating or drinking, and now his voice chanting the sutras can no longer be heard. In contrast to the other monks who are repulsed by Renchō’s uncompromising attitude, Jōben is moved by Renchō’s passion and is now concerned about him. Jōben breaks down the door to enter the hall. Please look forward to the kabuki production commemorating the 800th anniversary of Saint Nichiren’s birth. It will shine with the light of hope and bring the power of his thoughts into your hearts.

The cover provides a partial list of the issue’s contents, which offers numerous photos and reviews of this past June's productions. Most prominent of the items on the cover is a section devoted to the late Osaka-based kabuki actor, Kataoka Hidetarō, a Living National Treasure, who died this year at 79. Other features include interviews with actors Kataoka Nizaemon, Ichikawa Chūsha, and pieces about actors Nakamura Tanenosuke and Ichikawa Emisaburō. Finally, the issue contains the latest in the series by star Matsumoto Kōshirō, “Kōshirō’s Thousand and One Nights.” 

ENGEKIKAI #7 (July 2021): COVER AND CONTENTS

 

Onoe Shōroku II as the spirit of the Earth Spider in Tsuchigumo. (Photo: Shinoyama Kishin.)

The cover for the July 2021 (#7) issue of Engekikai, the monthly kabuki magazine of record, shows Onoe Shōroku II in the role of the monstrous Earth Spider in Tsuchigumo, as performed at the Kabuki-za in May of this year. The main section of the issue, as noted on the cover at the right, is a collection of essays and exquisite photos devoted to “The World of Sakura-hime Kuruwa Bunshō,” a major early 19^th-century drama of sex and violence by Tsuruya Nanboku IV, the greatest playwright of his generation. You can see an abridged version of the recent Kabuki-za production here.

Among featured articles on the cover, representing only a partial list of the issue’s contents, is one about a filmed performance (in the Cinema Kabuki series) of Mishima Yukio’s  “Iwashi Uri Koi no Hikiami,” one of the best modern kabuki plays, starring the great female-role specialist (onnagata) Bandō Tamasaburō V.

Another beautifully illustrated piece focuses on two child actors, Onoe Ushinosuke and Bandō Kamesaburō, and their performance in Kagami Jishi. Also present is another in the long-running series by actor Matsumoto Kōshirō, “Kōshirō’s One Thousand and One Nights.” Sad news for fans of bunraku awaits them in the essay devoted to the retirement at 88 of the great puppeteer, Yoshida Minosuke III, whose handsome face is so evident in thousands of production photographs taken during his lengthy career. 

Finally, there’s an essay on the revision by one of today’s top stars, Nakamura Kichiemon II, of a 19^th-century bunraku play, “Hachijin Shugo no Honjō,” later adapted for kabuki, which Kichiemon starred in at the Kabuki-za in May. Kichiemon’s interest was stirred by the character of Katō Kiyomasa, a famous samurai hero who had appeared in several kabuki plays and was one of the roles most closely associated with his predecessor, Kichiemon I. For his writing credit, Kichiemon II used the pen name, Matsu Kanshi. The first Kanshi was an Edo-period bunraku playwright, but Kichiemon, while using the name, doesn’t designate himself as the second in the line.

ENGEKIKAI #5 (May 2021): COVER AND CONTENTS

Note: it has come to my belated attention that the last posting in this series was listed as May (#5) 2021. However, that was my careless mistake, as it should have said June (#6) 2021, while the actual May issue is described below. The June issue has been corrected as well.

Kataoka Nizaemon XV as Kumagai Naojirō. (Photo: Shinoyama Kishin,)

The cover for the May (#5) 2021 issue of ENGEKIKAI, the kabuki magazine of record, shows Kataoka Nizaemon XV as Kumagai Naojirō in Kumagai Jinya, as performed in March 2021 at Tokyo’s Kabuki-za. The selective list of contents headlined on the cover is led by the titles on the lower left, announcing a series of exquisitely illustrated sections about “The Children of Kabuki.” As indicated by the four section titles shown, there are presentations about “Twelve Selected Plays” featuring children’s roles, “Child Actors Currently Active,” “Memories of Productions,” and “Famous Actor When They Played Children’s Roles.”

On the lower right, the titles point to a discussion between father and son stars Matsumoto Hakuō II and Matsumoto Kōshirō X regarding their then upcoming April production, and reviews of March productions at several theatres.

ENGEKIKAI #6 (June 2021): COVER AND CONTENTS

 

Matsumoto Hakuō II as Benkei in Kanjinchō. (Photo: Shinoyama Kishin.

The June 2021 cover of Engekikai, the kabuki magazine of record, shows the great Matsumoto Hakuō (formerly Matsumoto Kōshirō IX), who once played the lead in Man of La Mancha on Broadway, as Benkei, the heroic warrior-priest, in Kanjinchō, as performed in April at the Kabuki-za. The lead segment, listed at the upper right, is called “Masculine Dignity,” and consists of a series of essays on the most famous pairings of characters who are well-matched opponents in kabuki classics, something like the pairing, for example, of Othello and Iago. They include Benkei and Togashi, Nagoya Sanza and Fuwa Banzaemon, and so on.

The issue also contains an article on the veteran star Onoe Kikugorō VII and his then forthcoming May appearance at the Kabuki-za. At the bottom right is a conversation with four young stars, Nakamura Kankurō, Nakamura Shichinosuke, Onoe Matsuya, and Nakamura Chōzaburō, who were appearing at Shibuya’s Cocoon Kabuki. Other materials found in the issue, which includes lots more, include the latest in the series “Kōshirō’s Thousand and One Nights,” a piece on a kabuki actor named Nakamura Kyōzō, who recently toured abroad with lecture-demonstrations of his art, and a piece on the dark nineteenth-century classic, Sakura-Hime Azuma no Bunshō.

An unusual item in the issue is a color photo of an exquisite model of the original Teikoku Gekijō (Imperial Theatre), the revolutionary theatre, built in 1911, that was Japan's first fully Western playhouse. It still stands on the same spot, near the Imperial Palace, albeit in a much altered form. Part of the original architect's blueprint accompanies the photo.

ENGEKIKAI #4 (April 2021): COVER AND CONTENTS

 

Renjishi (left); Sodehagi Saimon (right). Photo: Shinoyama Kishin.

The cover for the April (#4) 2021 issue of ENGEKIKAI, the kabuki magazine of record, is split into two images. The issue is largely concerned with kabuki production in February 2021. The picture on the upper left is of Renjishi (Two Lions), the spirit of the father lion portrayed by Nakamura Kankurō VI, the spirit of the child lion by Kankurō’s son, Nakamura Kantarō III. The picture at the lower right  shows Ōshū Adachigara (a place name), also known as Sodehagi Saimon (Sodehagi’s Lament). Kankurō’s brother, Nakamura Shichinosuke II, is the blind Sodehagi, and his nephew (Kankurō’s other son and Kantarō’s brother), Nakamura Chōzaburō II, is her daughter, Okimi. Tokyo’s Kabuki-za has been producing three bills a day lately, and these plays were on the third part of February’s program.

The principal focus of the issue is, as the lower left headline asserts, the classic play Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees), a mid-eighteenth-century work originally written for the bunraku puppet theatre, soon adapted for kabuki, and now one of the so-called three masterpieces of bunraku-kabuki (all by the same playwrights), the other two being Kanadehon Chūshingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers) and Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (Sugawara’s Secrets of Calligraphy). The issue contains multiple, beautifully illustrated views of the play’s production history and values, supplemented by a narrative about the play by perhaps its foremost modern performer, Ichikawa En’o II (formerly Ennosuke III).

Also in the issue, among other features, are discussions with actors Nakamura Kazutarō, Onoe Ukon, Nakamura Yonekichi, and Nakamura Hashinosuke about their then upcoming March program at Kyoto’s Minami-za, focused on these rising “young stars” (hanagata). Finally, the issue includes the latest in actor Matsumoto Kōshirō’s long-running series, “Kōshirō’s Thousand and One Nights.”