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Rei Sasaguchi

For Rei Sasaguchi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Oct 23, 2002

A musical that rewrites history

"Pacific Overtures" isn't one of Stephen Sondheim's most famous musicals, but the story it tells -- of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry's Black Ships in July 1853 and the opening of Japan to the West -- has been updated and given a new twist by a Japanese director and cast.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Oct 16, 2002

Tale of honor that'll run and run

This October, the Kabukiza is anticipating the 300th anniversary of the famous act of revenge accomplished by 47 ronin (masterless samurai) on Dec. 14, 1702 by staging one of kabuki's most celebrated dramas, "Kanadehon Chushingura (The Forty-seven Loyal Retainers)." Selections from this epic work are being presented in two parts, Acts I, III and IV in the afternoon and Acts V, VI, VII and XI in the evening.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Sep 11, 2002

As fresh as a girl -- age 82, and male

This month the Kabukiza is staging two masterworks by Shinshichi Kawatake III (1842-1901), a disciple of the renowned 19th-century kabuki playwright Kawatake Mokuami. Not only are these two fine dramas treats in themselves, but one offers the chance to see the legendary onnagata (female role specialist) Nakamura Jakuemon at the height of his powers.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Aug 21, 2002

Revenge is a dish served to chill at Kabukiza

In the heat of summer, Japanese people turn to noryo (activities to enjoy the evening cool) -- and kabuki is among the enjoyments on offer. Noryo programs were started at the Kabukiza Theater in August 1990, and have been in the charge of Nakamura Kankuro, 47, ever since. For this year's program he has chosen ghost stories to make the audience forget the stifling heat by sending chills down their spines.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Jul 24, 2002

Ennosuke still dogged by spirit of 'Hakkenden'

July is the month that Ichikawa Ennosuke and his troupe of young actors take over the Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo; this year marks their 32nd season. It also sees Ennosuke, 62, the prolific mastermind behind the new-style "Super Kabuki," return to a story that has fascinated him down the years: "Satomi Hakkenden (Adventures of the Eight Dogs of the Satomi Family)."

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Jun 19, 2002

Like grandfather, like grandson

The Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo has been presenting special programs through May and June to celebrate the shumei (succession) of Onoe Tatsunosuke (real name Arashi Fujima), 27, to the stage name of Onoe Shoroku IV. He has inherited the name from his eminent grandfather, Onoe Shoroku II, who died in 1989 at age 76.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

May 15, 2002

Still treading the boards after 1,100 years

To commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the death of Sugawara no Michizane, the celebrated Heian-Period scholar-politician, the National Theater is presenting "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (Sugawara Certifies a Disowned Disciple to Perpetuate His Line of Calligraphy)." One of three bunraku masterpieces created in 1746 by Takeda Izumo and collaborators, the play will be performed in its entirety through May 26.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Apr 17, 2002

Celebrate the living legacy of Japan's great onnagata

The Kabukiza theater in Tokyo is dedicating its April programs to Utaemon Nakamura VI, the 20th century's most distinguished onnagata (female-role specialist), who died on March 31 last year at age 84. Leading the performances are Utaemon's two adopted sons, Baigyoku Nakamura, 55, a tachiyaku (male lead), and Kaishun Nakamura, an onnagata like his father.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Mar 20, 2002

Zazen and the art of playwriting

This month, the Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo is presenting two programs of kabuki plays and dance numbers starring such leading actors as Koshiro Matsumoto, Nizaemon Kataoka, Mitsugoro Bando and Sadanji Ichikawa, as well as the female-role specialists Tamasaburo Bando and Tokizo Nakamura.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Feb 20, 2002

Master of life's joys and sorrows

Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724), Japan's foremost playwright, was born Sugimori Nobumori, the second son of a samurai of the feudal lord of Yoshie in Echizen (now Fukui Prefecture). Because he could not inherit his father's samurai status, Nobumori resolved to be a playwright, and took the pen name by which we now know him.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Jan 16, 2002

Kabukiza year off at a gallop

The Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo is embarking on the year of the horse with excellent selections of jidaimono (historical plays) and sewamono (realistic plays).

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Dec 12, 2001

The tall tale of an unholy trinity

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of its establishment this month, the National Theater of Japan is presenting in its entirety Kawatake Mokuami's 1860 kabuki masterpiece "Sannin Kichisa (Three Men Named Kichisa)."

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Nov 21, 2001

No new faces, just old hands

In November, the Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo offers its annual two-part kaomise performance. Kaomise, meaning "face-showing," was the most important kabuki event of the year during the Edo Period (1603-1867), as it was when theaters selected their actors for the coming year, then introduced them to audiences in these performances.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Stage

Nov 14, 2001

New rivals stage a tale of ancient rivalry

This month, the kabuki masterpiece "Yoshitsune Senbonzakura (Yoshitsune and One Thousand Cherry Trees)," adapted from the 1747 bunraku play written by Takeda Izumo, Mamiki Senryu and Miyoshi Shoraku, is being staged at two theaters in Tokyo: the National Theater of Japan in Hanzomon and the Nakamuraza Theater in Asakusa.

CULTURE / Stage

Oct 17, 2001

Revenge drama: keeping it in the family

During the 17th and 18th centuries, news of successful acts of revenge (katakiuchi) by samurai circulated fast among ordinary people in Japan. Many of these stories were highly dramatic and became sources of inspiration for kabuki and bunraku dramas.

CULTURE / Stage

Sep 26, 2001

Rising stars shine in kabuki's heirloom roles

During the month of September, the Kabukiza Theater and the nearby Shinbashi Enbujo Theater are presenting competing kabuki midori (selections). The Kabukiza's program features such veteran actors as Kichiemon Nakamura, Baigyoku Nakamura and Jakuemon Nakamura, as well as up-and-coming performers in their 30s such as Hashinosuke Nakamura and Somegoro Ichikawa.

CULTURE / Stage

Sep 19, 2001

Puppet-actors drum up enthusiasm

Using the unique device of actors performing as bunraku-style puppets, complete with visible, black-clad puppeteers, France's Theatre du Soleil is in Tokyo to present its 1999 creation, "Tambours sur la Digue (Drummers on the Dike)." Directed by Ariane Mnouchkine, the play's unusual nature is indicated by its subtitle, "A Story of the Ancient East for Puppets Played by Actors."

CULTURE / Stage

Sep 5, 2001

A master of many voices

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of its foundation, through Sept. 23 the National Theater of Japan in Tokyo is presenting "Honcho Nijushiko" (The 24 Models of Filial Piety), one of the most grandiose historical bunraku plays (jidaimono), almost in its entirety.

CULTURE / Stage

Jul 18, 2001

Soaring spectacle crowns classic kabuki triple bill

He's known as the champion of Super Kabuki, but for his two-part summer program at the Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo this month, Ennosuke Ichikawa is staging regular-style productions of a new one-hour play, "Kaka Saiyuki," and "Shunkan," adapted from part of Chikamatsu Monzae- mon's 1719 bunraku play "Heike Nyogogashima," in the afternoon slot. The evenings, meanwhile, are given over to Ennosuke's four-hour production of "Sanmon Gosan no Kiri." Written by Namiki Gohei in 1778, this has as its central character Ishikawa Goemon, the late 16th-century "King of Burglars" who became the hero of many bunraku and kabuki plays written in the two centuries after his execution in Kyoto in 1594.

CULTURE / Stage

Jun 20, 2001

Weaving a web of destiny wherein ambition's caught

In 1957, Akira Kurosawa made a remarkable movie titled "Kumonosu-jo (Spider's Web Castle)," adapted from William Shakespeare's "Macbeth." The film is still admired today for its spectacular shots and the striking performances of Toshiro Mifune as the principal character Washizu Taketoki and Isuzu Yamada as his formidable wife Asaji.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.

The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces

By Stephen Mansfield

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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