'Iwrote this play with Tamasaburo Bando in mind for the role of Chujohime," says Haruo Moriyama. "I have been his fan ever since I saw him enacting Shiranuihime in Yukio Mishima's 'Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (Adventures of Minamoto no Tametomo)' at the National Theater in 1969."
This avid appreciation must have been felt by Tamasaburo, as the famed onnagata (male actor who specializes in female roles) personally helped choose Moriyama's play, "Hachisu no Ito Koi no Mandara (The Mandala of Love Woven with Lotus Yarn)," out of the 183 scripts submitted to the National Theater last year.
Such a complement from an admired actor is well appreciated by the 69-year-old playwright considering the time that he has been waiting to enter the kabuki world. After seeing that early production starring a young Tamasaburo, it wasn't until after Moriyama's retirement from the business world in 1997 that he became actively involved in the traditional art form. Born and raised in Himeji near Kobe, Moriyama came to Tokyo in 1961 at age 23 and stayed for 12 years. Though he practiced writing scripts then and saw as many plays as possible, he says that "I could not afford to start the life of a scriptwriter earlier while supporting my family."