Kabuki Marathon – Ten Hours of Chûshingura!

OK.  I’m not a total lunatic, but I have never seen the whole play done at one time and it was the last day.  All kabuki performances tend to run from the first of the month to the 25th or26th and everything closed today…so this was the last chance I had.  Stood in line for an hour and got 4th floor cheap seats at the Kabuki-za for the entire day…11am to 9pm…with breaks.  I was practically on a first name basis with all the staff by the end of the day.

(picture of the Kabuki-za countdown clock)

And incredible performance. Chûshingura is a very special play, and the historic Kabuki-za in Ginza will be torn down in April, so this was the last time they will perform this play in this space.  The energy was palpable – even on the fourth floor, and I feel as though I participated in something rather monumental. The silence during the seppuku scene (Act 4) was breathtaking – literally – and during the breaks audience members were chatting to each other like party guests. 

Lots of kakegoe (audience calls to the stage) – in fact I ended up talking to one of the kaegoe “pros” named Yamamoto-san.  He attends kabuki every second day, trains in kakegoe with one of the main kabuki actors, and is pretty incredible.  A kind of “star” on the upper balcony as it were.  He was there all day as well, calling out the actors’ names at precisely the right moments.  It was a rather tour-de-force performance and he was is so involved in the play he was exhausted by the end. He himself said he actually “plays” all the characters and has to breathe with the actors. All this and he’s a volunteer…I think he may have even paid for his ticket!  Talk about a die-hard fan.

check out:
http://www.shochiku.co.jp/play/kabukiza/theater/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABshingura