Momijigari (play)
Momijigari (紅葉狩) or Maple Viewing (English title) is a Japanese narrative, performed as theatre in kabuki as shosagoto (dance-focused play) and Noh. It was also the first narrative ever filmed in Japan. The Noh play was written by Kanze Nobumitsu during the Muromachi period. Other titles for the play include Yogoshōgun and Koremochi.
The Noh Play
Momijigari was originally a Noh play, written by Kanze Nobumitsu (d. 1516).[1]
A warrior of the
There is a change of scenery, and everything turns bleak and dreary. A deity of the Take-uji (武氏, "
The lady has now transformed into a fire-breathing demon in the glow of lightning (the noh mask used are traditionally shikami (顰)[6] but hannya has come into use.[7]) but the warrior is undaunted, and after a pitched battle, slays the demon with the sword.[8]
Kabuki and puppet play adaptations
The work was adapted for the jōruri puppet theater by Chikamatsu Monzaemon in 1715, under the title Momijigari Tsurugi no Honji '"Viewing the Autumn Foliage and the True Origin of the Sword").
It was also remade for the kabuki theater a number of times during the Edo period, but usually as short dance pieces.[9]
Kabuki dance in Meiji
In 1887, a kabuki dance version of the play was staged, starring the popular actor Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as Sarashinahime (demon).[b][10][11]
This performance followed the script newly written by
This version was written to be accompanied by Takemoto, nagauta and Tokiwazu music.[10][11]
It was an unprecedented performance, with the reigning Emperor Meiji officially in the audience, as kabuki had customarily been deemed beneath the dignity of viewing by the higher echelons of society.[9] The performance also led to the first narrative filmed in Japan.
The 1899 film
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, with
Danjūrō was originally opposed to appearing in films, but was eventually convinced that his doing so would be a gift to posterity.
The film is available for viewing at the
Explanatory notes
- ^ The text reads onpakase (御佩刀) which merely means the "august girded sword", but is translated "espada divina" into Spanish.[4]
- Yamagami (the mountain god) and Ichikawa Sadanji I] played Koremochi.
References
- Citations
- ^ a b c d Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (1940), summaries in Spanish and Japanese, prior to p. 1.
- ^ Koyama, Hiroshi [in Japanese] (1958), Yōkyoku, Kyōgen, Kadensho 謠曲・狂言・花傳書 (in Japanese), Kadokawa, p. 178
- ^ Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (1940), p. 21.
- ^ Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (1940), p. 26.
- ^ Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (1940), pp. 25–26.
- ^ Nogami, Toyoichirō (1944), Nōmen ronkō 能面論考 (in Japanese), Oyama Shoten, p. 72
- ^ Spolin (1981), p. 62.
- ^ Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (1940), pp. 26–30.
- ^ a b c Emmert & Cummings (2002), p. 305.
- ^ a b c Japan Arts Counceil (2007). "Momijigari". Invitation to Kabuki. Archived from the original on 2015-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
- ^ a b c Tanaka, Denzaemon (1984), Hayashi to tomoni 囃子とともに, Tanaka Denzaemon no kiju wo iwau kai, p. 31
- ^ Emmert & Cummings (2002), p. 321.
- ^ Emmert & Cummings (2002), pp. 324–325.
- ^ Emmert & Cummings (2002), pp. 308–308.
- ^ Shoriya, Aragoro. "News from the Kabuki World." Kabuki21.com. 24 April 2009. Accessed 20 May 2009.
- ^ Gerow, Aaron. "Film as an Important Cultural Property." Tangemania: Aaron Gerow's Japanese Film Page. 25 March 2009. Accessed 20 May 2009.
- Bibliography
- Emmert, Richard; Cummings, Alan (2002). Viewing the Autumn Foliage / Momijigari : Kawatake Mokuami and Morita Kanya XII. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 303–. )
- Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (1940). Momiji-gari : jira bajo los arces : representacion del drama lirico"noh" : en honor de la Mision Economica Espanola (in Spanish and Japanese). Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai.
- Spolin, Viola (1981), "Momijigari ni miru oni-geinō no tenkai" 『紅葉狩』にみる鬼芸能の展開, 芸術学部創立60年演劇学科創設30年記念論文集, Kimio, Niinō [?] tr., comment, 日本大学芸術学部, p. 62