Kikunojo's first straight play
Appeared in Shinpa's "Shinhen Itozakura"

Hello. This is Kikunosuke Onoe. As I briefly mentioned last time, I appeared in the theater unit Shinpa no Ko Kinshu's performance ``Shinhen Itozakura'' for two days on October 10th and 12th. Although I have many years of stage experience, this is my first time playing straight. It was a very exciting experience.

``Shinhen Itozakura'' is a performance by ``Theatrical Unit Shinpa no Ko,'' represented by Masafumi Saito of the Shinpa Theater Company. This is a wonderful work that vividly captures the life of Kawatake Mokuami's daughter, Ito-san. Mokuami Kawatake built an era as a Kabuki creator from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period. After the death of her father, Mokuami, a great author known as Japan's Shakespeare, her daughter Ito remained single for the rest of her life in order to protect his works and the author's family, and Ito's adopted son Shigetoshi, It is a story about Mitsu, his wife, who are not related by blood, and become a family, and how each of them searches for their own path in life.

Mr. Saito's script is wonderful. Her daughter Ito, who was unable to become a playwright like her respected father because she was a woman, and Namino, who was born into a family of Kabuki actors but never appeared on the Kabuki stage because she was a woman. Kuriko-san. The existence of these two women is truly a film of reality and reality. With this in mind, Dr. Saito appointed a woman named Ito-san for Kuriko-san. The character I played, Shigetoshi, was a young student who was active in the theater reform movement and translated Ibsen's ``A Doll's House.'' His emotional growth, including his confusion at being adopted into the family of a Kabuki author, and his decision to pursue a career as a researcher at Waseda University instead of becoming a Kabuki author, as expected, is reflected in the story of the late Mokuami. I draw on the events that occur at home.

It was a really fun and wonderful experience. It was my first time, so of course I was excited. However, as I practiced, I gradually got used to acting seriously. When you watch a play in a theater, you can feel the energy of the actors being transmitted to the audience seats, but the impact of that actor's energy directly hitting me, who is also performing on the stage, is amazing. . I was able to experience the feeling of having Kuriko's energy hit me directly because I faced it as an actor. It was different from what I normally feel when choreographing or directing.

During the lesson, Mr. Saito told me, ``I want you to open up more and express your emotions.'' You say you should have been more blunt, but this was my first time acting with lines and movements, so I don't know if I was able to do it. Even though I thought I was expressing my emotions, I don't know if I was able to release them. He may have held his emotions in his stomach and expressed them, as he did when he danced. There were times when I thought to myself, ``Oh, I'm holding back.''

The daily practice was very fulfilling and I continued to make new discoveries. The more I acted, although it was difficult, the more I enjoyed it, and the more I realized how fascinating being an actor is. This time it was a short performance of 3 performances, but I wanted to perform even more. There are things that you can feel and express for the first time through repeated performances. I would love to try it again.

I want to convey the charm of Japanese dance
About the Japanese dance caravan that travels around the country

From August to January 8, "Japanese Buyo Caravan" performances will be held all over the country. It is also an important job that I am involved in as a director of the Japan Dance Association. In order to bring the charm of Japanese dance to as many people as possible, I will be performing in Kochi in November and Okinawa in December.

At the Kochi performance on November 11rd, I will dance ``Nagauta Renshishi'' with Jusuke Hanayagi, headmaster of Hanayagi-ryu. I have worked with Jusuke on ``Renshishi'' in the past, but this time the theme was different from last time. The dance ``Renjishi'' is well known to all of you, but there are actually two types of renshishi, ``Katsuzaburo Renjishi'' and ``Shojiro Renjishi.'' The one you will see this time is ``Shojiro Renjishi.'' In common parlance, we abbreviate ``Katsuzaburo Renjishi'' to ``Katsuren,'' and ``Shojiro Renjishi'' to ``Shoren.'' In the first place, the song Renshishi was written by Mokuami Kawatake for the first Jusuke Hanayagi.

Hanayagi-ryu especially values ​​``Katsuzaburo Renshishi,'' and in the past I danced with Jusuke Hanayagi in Hanayagi-ryu's ``Katsuzaburo Renshishi,'' also known as ``Katsuren.'' Hanayagi-ryu's Renjishi has a lot of rotating movements, so when you practice for the first time, you'll be spinning a lot! I remember feeling a difference from Onoue. This time, we received a happy request from Jusuke, saying, ``I'd like to try Onoue's choreography,'' so we decided to perform Onoue's ``Shojiro Renshishi'' together.

What makes ``Renshishi'' so interesting is that it shows the relationship between the two actors. Renjishi is a work that is often performed by actual parents and children, teacher and student. When I was young, my father, Bokuyuki, served as the parent lion and I served as the cub many times. When parents and children dance together, that relationship comes to the fore, and I think the audience can empathize more with the dance.

I think that when the performers are not parent and child, as in this case, the main focus of the work itself and the dancers' techniques become clearer. That's what makes research so challenging and rewarding.

When I danced Katsuren for the first time, I was surprised and confused by the difference. When I think about it now, I realize that this sense of surprise, confusion, and discomfort was important. My body is used to the Onoue style of choreography that I normally dance with, so it's only natural that I would be confused by the Hanayagi style of choreography. But I realize that this strange feeling of doing things that my body doesn't normally do expands my capacity. This is because you will be able to better understand the differences in swings and interpretations from Onyu and the key points. It's a great opportunity to learn a lot.

Every dancer has various attachments to the work ``Renshishi''. It's a blessing to be able to do this with both of our styles of choreography. Please bring it!

Kikunojo Onoe

Born in March 1976 as the eldest son of Kikunojo Onoe (currently Bokuyuki), the third generation head of Nihon Buyo Onoe and the second generation. He studied under his father from the age of 3, and made his stage debut in ``Pine Green'' at the National Theater in 1981 (at the age of 1990). In 14 (at the age of 2011) he was allowed the name Seikaede Onoe. In August 8 (age 34), he inherited the title of Onoue's fourth iemoto, and at the same time assumed the name Onoue Kikunojo, the third. In addition to presiding over the Onoe-kai and Kikuju-kai dance clubs, he also presides over the "Itsei-kai" (a two-person gathering with Kyogen master Ippei Shigeyama) and his own recitals, creating both classical and new works. He continues to put a lot of effort into releasing various works. He is also actively collaborating with artists of various genres, including Eitetsu Hayashi, one of Japan's leading Japanese drum players.

For inquiries to “Kikunojo FAN CLUB”, please contact:Onoue official website

◆Please also see the interview with Kikunojo Onoe

Onoue Kikunojo Onoue's prologue to his challenge - to the production of the new Kabuki "Touken Ranbu" (Part 1)

Onoue Kikunojo Onoue's prologue to his challenge - to the production of the new Kabuki "Touken Ranbu" (Part 2)