In the beginning women prostitutes began entertaining customers with dancing for extra money, later that was considered immoral and women it was stopped. Instead young men started taking on female roles in entertaining and they added a dramatic component. However they also became sexualized and to put a stop to that theatres started using older men as actors for women's roles. White face paint was used for the audience to better see the actors faces in the dark theatres before gas lights or electricity.
It is the 100th anniversary since all four acts of the The Miracle at Yaguchi Crossing was staged at the National Theatre. It started at noon and there are three intermissions. People, including us, had bento box lunches that we ate in our seats or on benches in the lobby after the first act. All very social. Since everyone knows the story line and the actors so well the audience participation is big particularly with the men who call out the name of the actor when he comes on stage and cheer him on when they know there will be an important scene coming up. I could feel the emotion in the room and how engaged the audience is.
I thought that with the stylized moves and traditional stories it would be a bit boring but it was gripping. We had ear buds with english translation which was very helpful. At the end of the second act the hero, in loyalty to his Shogun, has his own little son's head cut off to save the life of the Shogun's son. I thought to myself this is going to make Shakespeare look tame.
We had the option of leaving after the second act to walk through Ginza and learn about the history of Tokyo and the future plans with the upcoming Olympics. It was another beautiful day and I opted for the walk. To talk about all we learned it too much for this blog and my time tonight but I'm glad I opted for it.
The remnants of old Tokyo
The bells from the first Dutch trading post
The lights from the Nirobashi Bridge (the main entrance to the business district that grew up around it in the 1600's and then europeanized after 1868. There are two left, now surrounded by elevated train lines and skyscrapers.
A statue of a little girl tucked into a shrub at the edge of
one of the busiest street crossings
One of the last small stores that may be torn down
In one of the last character areas left
I have been on subway lines every day and every one is different. Most are metro but some are private and apparently they were built years ago by the big department store owners who wanted their own stations. There are women only cars for those who don't want to be groped in the crush at rush hour and all cell phones make a noise when the camera is in use so people are warned that a picture is being taken.
On a side note There have been a lot of men in suits carrying brief cases at the museums and parks. I wondered about them being there in the middle of a work day. There is speculation that with all the job losses this year they may have been laid off and not told their families, still pretending to go to work. At any rate I have never seen so many black suits and white shirts although Washington came close.
Ginza looks like any other big city, with some great architecture but the character of what Tokyo was is being lost. What was interesting were the stories of what it used to be like. Japan was settled by two main groups of people, one from the south and one from the west. They brought two distinct styles with them one that we think of as zen simplicity and the other more ornate and busy. It is reflected in the different shrines, clothing, decorations and modern culture of young people forsaking tatami mats for beds covered in little stuffed animals, even business men have little figures hooked to their briefcases and checks have kitty or manga characters on them. I am ready to go out to the countryside tomorrow.
The Courthouse
Some examples of what will replace the older areas
Not my Mom's vision of St. Peter waiting for her at the Pearly Gates
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