Realism on the Japanese Stage

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 240, 4 February 1888, Page 7

Realism on the Japanese Stage

We spent an evening lately, September 27 last, in Kioto, third city of Japan, celebrated for its palace, its castle, its 945 Buddha temples, its 93 Kami halls, and for having been in the sixteenth century one of the fields of labour of the friend and discipline of Ignabus de Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, who, like his teacher and friend, carried the chivalry of knight-errantry into the priesthood. On the evening of the 27th we left our hotel in Kioto (the Ya-ami), at about 9 o'clock, and rode in jinrickshaws to the Theatre-street in less than fifteen minutes. At its entrance we get out of our vehicles, as 'rickshaws are not allowed to run in this thoroughfare, on account of the crowd. The street is small, level, scrupulously clean, roofed over with bamboos and some light fabrics, and presents at night a lively appearance. It was illumined by many Japanese paper part-coloured lanterns, and was crowded with playgoers and sightseers, matrons and pretty musmes, old men young men, and boys, all costumed in the native dress, save that many males, wore very shoddy European hats and shoes marring the picturesqueness of the effect. In front of each of the couple dozen temples of amusement were brightly -coloured pictoral representations of what was to be seen within. After surveying the scene for some minutes my companion and I bought our tickets at KO sen each, and entered a theatre, where we were regaled with a terribly realistic tragedy and geisha dancing. This was the plot of the play : A man becomes jealous of his mistress, and quarrels with her loudly and long, using strong language, and she answers in kind. Finally, after much byplay and rhetoric, he, in an exacerbation of passion, ebabs her to death, and is immediately seized with remorse. But hark ! some one approaches, as is evidenced by the clatter made with two sticks on the stage by an orchestra man. The murderer hides the body behind a screen, and a neighbour enters and asks for something, but soon goes away. Now to get rid of the damning evidence. He draws his victim's body away from its hiding place, and tears its clothing away, then he takes a weapon like a billhook, and butcher-like, severs an arm off, and throws it, dripping blood — yes dripping blood — and quivering, into a basket ; then he cuts off the other arm ; then the legs and head, and finally he divides the carcase into two, and the stage assumes the appearance of a human shambles ; then he collects the pieces and ties them up in a pack and slings it on his back, and is about to depart, when lo ! the police appear, and tableau ! It is needless to say, of course, that a dummy had been substituted behind the screen for the living article ; but so like was the substitute, that I had no idea of the fraud until I saw the arm come off. It was indeed a shockingly realistic and bloody performance. Yet, after all, I believe it was not much more harrowing than Sarah Bernhardb's or Mrs BernardBeeres mental vivisections, which we so much appreciate in London, nor half so harrowing as the realistic word-pictures of Balzac or Zola which some of us Britishers read for amusement. The step from the mimic death in the tetanic convulsions of strychnine poisoning of the London stage to the Japanese Wainwright performance is but small indeed, yet how great it appears to us ! Between the acts of the tragedy a troupe of geisha dancing girls appeared on the stage and danced, if their performance can be called dancing. They were prettily dressed in pink, flower- variegated kimonos, with yellow silk-lined sleeves, and wore obis, or Japanese 3ashes and dress improvers, of dove colour. Each carried an artistically-painted, foided-up pink fan, and their coiffures were most elaborate and ornamental. They sang poistunng and posing together, all going through tho same movements. First kneeling, they bowed to the audience, then they fanned themselves, then they waved their hands, .then they rose together and suddenly extended their right hands and looked to the left and nodded their heads, and did the same on tho other side, then they extended their left legs, &c, finally doing a chasee round one another. They sang the greater part of the time, and were accompanied by the samisens and koto of the orchestra. It was a much less leggy display than our ballets, but then the limbs exposed were in puris naturalibus.—" Pall Mall Gazette."