Kabuki works featured in the movie 'National Treasure'
The reason I still haven't been able to organize my thoughts on the movie 'National Treasure' is probably because Ryo Yoshizawa, Ryusei Yokohama, and Min Tanaka played the Kabuki actors with such overwhelming conviction.
My previous thoughts can be found here↓.
They didn't just dance or perform Kabuki repertoire; they brilliantly navigated the dual structure of playing characters who are themselves Kabuki onnagata (female-role actors) (Ken Watanabe also danced Renjishi, but in the movie, his position was closer to that of a male-role actor... although the setting was that he was supposed to play Ohatsu in 'Sonezaki Shinju').
Moreover, in the original 'National Treasure' novel, onnagata is explained as 'not a man imitating a woman, but a form that remains after a man has once transformed into a woman and then shed that woman away.' They had to express this multi-layered structure of the onnagata while also playing the base character convincingly... and because they had to clear such high hurdles—like reaching 'National Treasure' status or performing a once-in-a-lifetime stage while prepared for death—I, who have been watching Kabuki for 10 years, was completely captivated.
While various Kabuki works appear in the original novel, the movie version narrows them down, and I think it was good that this had significance for both the visuals and the plot. Here are my comments on the ones I noticed.
Renjishi
Hanjiro Hanai (later Byakko), played by Ken Watanabe, dances with his son, Hannya Hanai, played by Ryusei Yokohama, who is the heir.
This is a dance drama depicting the drama of a Spartan parent's love—watching to see if the lion cub climbs back up after being thrown into a ravine—and the cub's devoted love for its parent. The highlight of the actual performance is the dynamic scene known as 'keburi' (hair swinging).
In the movie 'National Treasure,' in order to test his son Hannya (Shunsuke, played by Ryusei Yokohama), Hanjiro designates his apprentice Toichiro (Kikuo, played by Ryo Yoshizawa) as his understudy instead of Hannya when he himself is seriously injured.
This was also out of the strictness of a master who hoped Hannya would be spurred to action and climb back up from the ravine, but Hannya was daunted by seeing Toichiro perform the understudy role brilliantly, and he ended up leaving the world of Kabuki.
2. Sonezaki Shinju
The play where Toichiro, who took the stage as Hanjiro's understudy, makes his debut by brilliantly playing Ohatsu.
The highlight is the scene where the courtesan Ohatsu decides to commit double suicide with Tokubei, a clerk framed by his friends; Tokubei, hiding at Ohatsu's feet, presses his neck against her feet to signal his consent to the suicide.
According to Hanjiro, the performance requires a mix of the resolve that Ohatsu must die and the joy of being able to die with her lover. Toichiro faced the difficulty of living and dying through a role, but he performed it with his whole heart and soul. So much so that it broke Hannya's heart.
Although Hannya ran away from Kabuki, he eventually returned to the Kabuki world with the help of Mangiku Onogawa (Min Tanaka).
However, Hannya... (omitted for spoilers). The desperate performance of Hannya, who played Ohatsu on the stage where Toichiro himself volunteered to play Tokubei, is tremendous.
3. Sagi Musume (The Heron Maiden)
Toichiro called the Sagi Musume danced by Mangiku Onogawa a 'monster,' and Hannya described it as 'but a beautiful monster.'
Although it is a different play from the original, it expresses the eeriness and beauty of the heron spirit—a non-human entity—the single-mindedness projected onto a maiden burning with love, and the agony of unrequited feelings, representing the essence of the onnagata with an incredible presence.
And the moment he beckoned Toichiro in the dressing room, he showed his presence as a monster dragging Toichiro into the hell that is the process of 'climbing to become the best actor in Kabuki.'
Therefore, it is visually inevitable that Toichiro (who eventually succeeds to the name Byakko) dances Sagi Musume in the final chapter. It is wonderful that the stage of 'Sagi Musume' ends with Byakko, who must be in his 60s, shining as beautifully as he did in his youth—a stage that is the pinnacle of the 'National Treasure' that Kikuo, who felt the sparkle of life in the moment his father was killed, saw after the vicissitudes of repeating glory and frustration.
Fuji Musume and Dojoji
While it is standard for an onnagata to dance alone, there are times when multiple performers dance together. Last month, a 'Three Fuji Musume' performance featuring Onoe Kikugoro VIII, Onoe Kikunosuke VI, and Bando Tamasaburo was staged for a succession ceremony. In Cinema Kabuki, there is also a work titled 'Kyoganoko Musume Gonin Dojoji,' in which Tamasaburo, Kankuro, Shichinosuke, Baishi (currently Tokizo), and Kotaro dance.
These are works where the art is passed down from senior dancers to their juniors, but they are also works where multiple dancers compete in their artistry.
In the film 'National Treasure,' this is also an opportunity for a competitive performance between Toichiro and Hanya. However, it is more than that. Dojoji, in particular, is a piece that depicts the obsession of a maiden who, fixated on the man she loves, transforms into a white serpent; it is also a work destined to reflect the endless obsession of Toichiro and Hanya with the path of their art as onnagata.