#391 [Theater Review/Rave] Ukon Onoe "Kawatsura Hogen Yakata (Shi no Kiri)"
Thank you for reading again today!
I am stunned to learn that my favorite OVA version of "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" is being removed from Prime's unlimited viewing.
I wanted to save the side stories for later, but I'm watching them in a hurry now.
I wish it would stay on some subscription service, even if it costs a little extra.
Netflix is saying they're removing Space Brothers too... I don't get it.
Back to the main topic.
I wrote an article the other day about how wonderful Dango Ichikawa's "Yoshinoyama" and "Kawatsura Hogen Yakata (Shi no Kiri)" were, and as I declared then, I went to see Ukon's fox as well!
The Makumi seat was 3,500 yen.It's a bit vulgar to talk about money, but you can't see a play without the funds.Considering I can enjoy the stage for an hour and a half, I think it's quite cheap.
It's the furthest point from the stage in the Kabukiza, but if you have opera glasses, you can enjoy it enough.The third-floor seats at Theater Orb are even further away and cost like 8,000 yen, and the running time of a musical is less than two hours excluding the intermission.Thinking about it that way, I think Kabuki's Makumi seats are amazing.
You can even see the Hanamichi near the seven-three mark.
W-wow, Ukon, you're good!!
...Excuse me.
Ukon-jo was truly wonderful.Dango-jo's performance had a freshness and innocence that overlapped with the loveliness and devotion of the fox cub, making it very charming, butUkon-san had a different kind of excellence; his presence and the persuasiveness of his every move were incredible.He also performed the Kiyomoto music for the A-program Yoshinoyama; he is truly a multi-talented performer.
First of all, his Sato Tadanobu is good.
He has a sharp, dashing feel.
His mie poses and narration felt very seasoned.
And then, the fox.
He was supposed to be disguised as the sharp Tadanobu, butbetween the "fox hands," the twitchy animal-like movements of his head and eyes, and the fact that he was wearing the "motoyui" hairstyle that looks like fox ears,he really looks like a fox!!It has a different kind of fox-like quality than the loveliness of Dango-jo's fox.
The modern heroine, Yonekichi-jo
Yonekichi-san's Shizuka Gozen is reputed to be "too cute for an onnagata."
Ah, he really is cute.Outstandingly cute.I'm jealous of his round face and drooping eyes that are just overflowing with charm.
Perhaps because he has played Nausicaä and Yuna in new Kabuki works, or because he has played women in non-Kabuki stage productions (Ondine), or maybe it's just how I perceive it, but whatever he does, he has a modern feel, a modern heroine feel.A sense of strength, perhaps.
He is dressed in an akahime (red princess) costume, but she is a shirabyoshi, not a legal wife, so she is not wearing a long-sleeved kimono, but one with shorter sleeves.
According to the earphone guide, since she is not an akahime, she does not perform the "sleeve-using acting" that a princess would.
In the scene where he uses the Hatsune drum to interrogate the fox on Yoshitsune's orders, his dignity while holding the short sword was striking.Since she is a shirabyoshi, she pretends to be practicing dance to draw the sword.Perhaps Shizuka Gozen herself is a modern heroine to begin with.That's what I thought, but...Shingo-san's Shizuka Gozen felt different.Shingo-san's Shizuka was also beautiful in voice and demeanor, and it was very good, but it felt like a different kind of excellence, a completely different thing.
If I had to put it into words, it felt like a princess holding a sword. It felt like the princess side was her true form.
In contrast, for Yonekichi-san's Shizuka, it feels like wielding a sword is her true form, or rather, that's the impression.
It seems reasonable to think that Yonekichi-san's physicality (modern cuteness, roundness of the face, voice, etc.) and acting style bring out a modern heroine vibe.
The Fox's Shrimp-Back Arch (Ebi-zori)
I counted them this time, and there were three instances of the fox's shrimp-back arch.
1. Shizuka holding the tsuzumi drum and raising her sword on the stairs, 2. after transforming into the fox, and 3. the shrimp-back arch as a bow to Yoshitsune after he appears (that shrimp-back arch as a bow is just like the hula chanting that Ganbareruya was attempting on 'ItteQ' the other day!)
Wow, three times in an hour and a half!
I couldn't help but pray that they would finish safely without any injuries.
Captivatingly portraying the love between the fox parent and child
Genkuro-gitsune decides to part ways after being persuaded by the parent fox in the tsuzumi drum, so as not to cause trouble for the real Tadanobu Sato.
The scene where he writhes on the floor, rotating on his knees, and rolls around in sorrow and reluctance to part from his parent—this part is long... no, it captivates you thoroughly and deeply.
I was strangely convinced that when you are writhing in agony because you cannot accept something, you really do end up rolling on the floor, or rather, you just can't get up...
The transition from Tadanobu to the fox was different from the Omodaka-ya production.
When he prostrated himself before Shizuka, the back part of the corridor floor on the stage lowered, and he rolled sideways toward the back and slid away.
In the Omodaka-ya version, he comes out from under the floor, but here he appeared from the back right and jumped down from the railing. I regret missing the moment he appeared because I was watching the floor trapdoor too closely!
The authenticity of Ukon-gitsune's joy was incredible
How happy Ukon-gitsune looked after receiving the tsuzumi drum from Yoshitsune!
It felt incredibly authentic.
Unlike Dango-gitsune, he didn't hug the tsuzumi (even though I was looking forward to that... but Ukon was wonderful too!),
he rubbed his right cheek against it, turned the tsuzumi around and pretended to listen to it, then rubbed his left cheek against it (since it's the skin of his parent foxes, one side of the drum must be the father and the other the mother),
While Dango-gitsune rolled the tsuzumi side to side, Ukon-gitsune rolled it back and forth and played with it.
Wow, the beast-like movements were truly magnificent! More than a fox, it was like a cat!
The final highlight: the sword fight and the picturesque ending
I had heard what the priests who are fooled and defeated by the fox are called on the earphone guide, but I forgot when I saw Dango-gitsune and was puzzled. When I heard it again this time, they are called 'bakasare'. It was exactly that.
There are three 'bakasare' in the Otowaya production. There are six in the Omodaka-ya production (I thought there were more to hide the fox while attaching the harness for the flying sequence).
In the Otowaya production, the sword fight felt relatively short and ended smoothly.
For the finale, he hooks his left arm onto the cherry tree on the stage right, steps onto the foothold, and the mechanism makes it look like he is smoothly climbing the cherry tree.
When the Ukon fox climbed to the high position in the cherry tree, he struck a mie pose, and the curtain fell.
The painting-like finale was a wonderful, quintessentially Kabuki way to end the performance.
This was my first time seeing the Otowaya production—or rather, I had only ever seen the Omodakaya production before—
and while it is true that the Omodakaya version has flashier stagecraft and is full of keren (theatrical trickery),
the Otowaya production feels more like traditional Kabuki, with a nice balance between the keren, the story, and the highlights that make Kabuki what it is.
It is a luxury to be able to see both, and for someone like me, who is a Kabuki fan but has a bias in what I watch, this lineup was a great learning experience!
Thank you!!
