貞奴のロンドン : 絵画化された貞奴
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概要
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The troupe of Mr. and Mrs. Kawakami (Otojiro and Sadayakko) left Japan in 1899, and started their first overseas performances in the U.S.A. They then went to England, and finally performed at the 1900 Exposition in Paris, where they caused a great sensation. They came back to Japan and in 1901 went to Europe again. They performed their own adaptation of Kabuki and Japanese dance which again won great popularity. In this research paper, I explain their first performance in London in detail and investigate how the first Japanese actress Sadayakko was created on their journey. The first part focuses on the performances in London because these occurred between the performances in the America and those in Paris. In America the troupe changed their dramaturgy by trial and error, so it was still unstable. On the other hand, although the work was stable by the time they reached Paris and they met with the greatest success in Paris, we cannot deny that part of this success was due to the popularity of Japonisme which prevailed on the European continent at that time. Also, the Exposition itself was just a festival. Their performances in London were more normal and stable, because they were not performed in an atmosphere of a special festival such as the international exposition. Another reason is that England has been a traditional country from a viewpoint of the theatre since Shakespeare. So the evaluation of the performances in the dramatic reviews in British newspapers and journals deserve consideration. Although the troupe had performances in London twice, first in 1900 and then again in 1901, the London Stage only includes records of the second set of performances. There is no record of the 1900 performances in London in the book. This first set of performances in London is the focus of this research paper. Around 1900 in Japan "the new actors" felt inferior to "the old actors" (that is, Kabuki actors), because the old actors traditionally had their own skills for the songs and dances. However, when he watched a Western drama for the first time, Otojiro recognized in Western drama a dramatic outlet for actors with no skill for songs and dance. Otojiro started to perform new Western dramas. But the person who wanted to abandon conventional Japanese drama such as Kabuki actually first performed the adaptation of Kabuki overseas. Sadayakko could not help standing out on stage as the leading actress. After the troupe returned to Japan, they played Western dramas such as Shakespeare. Ironically, if Sadayakko had not been skilled in traditional songs and dances, she would never have succeeded in America and Europe. The barrier of a foreign language led these audiences to attend to the choreography, dances, songs and music more than the lines of the drama. So it might be said that the first Japanese actress was born from this strange combination of opportunities and demands. One of the most famous topics of their first performances in London is the performance at Buckingham Palace on June 27, 1900. But this was a big lie of Otojiro. Although this has already been proven by Berg (1995) and Downer (2003), this paper corroborates their findings with formerly neglected material: 'Court Circular' (The Times, June 28, 1900, p. 8) and an article of Jiji-shinpo, July 20, 1903. (Cf. Nobuo Shirakawa, 1985, 408.) This paper also introduces an article from The Sketch (May 23, 1900, p. 222) which is probably the first article about the troupe's performance in London. This article is not cited by Berg or Downer. During the tours with the Kawakami Otojiro's theatre company in America and Europe from 1899 to 1901, Sadayakko's Nihon Buyo performances received positive reviews in the newspapers. Critics especially appreciated her facial expressions and hand movements. Several artists, including Picasso, were also very impressed by her performances and painted and drew portraits of Sadayakko. In this article, Sadayakko's reputation in America and Europe is discussed by comparing the written critiques with the representations by western artists. We would like to thank Ms. Mieko Marumo (professor of College of Art, Nihon University) and Ms. Lesley Downer who is the author of Madame Sadayakko. Ms. Downer was kind enough to discuss Sadayakko with me at Starbucks near the Belsize Park Station, and she gave me many valuable materials on Otojiro and Sadayakko's performances in London. I would also like to thank Ms. Jill Kelsey, Deputy Registrar, Royal Archives, Windsor Castle who gave me valuable information on Otojiro's lie about the performance at Buckingham Palace.