"Nihon no Rekishi" (History of Japan), a new musical written and directed by Koki Mitani, has opened at the Setagaya Public Theatre in Tokyo's Sangenjaya district.
It's a bold attempt at compressing approximately 1,700 years -- from the reign of the shamanic ruler Himiko to the Pacific War -- into a 2-1/2-hour long musical.
Ahead of opening night on Dec. 4, The Yomiuri Shimbun interviewed Mitani and composer-pianist Kiyoko Ogino, who is an essential force in Mitani's works, on the key elements of the production.
Mitani has an innate love of history. When he was in high school, a teacher told him, "History is about cause and effect." These words remained in his mind and spurred him to start working on "Nihon no Rekishi."
"There's a cause that leads to an effect. History has been going on like that uninterrupted. I wanted to do it in its entirety, not picking up particular sections. I thought I could do it in a musical because a musical can express the feelings of multiple characters through singing dialogue," Mitani said.
Famous historical figures, such as Taira no Kiyomori and Oda Nobunaga, appear onstage one after another, singing songs and weaving historical episodes.
At first, Mitani was thinking of featuring only minor figures who might appeal to history buffs, but he changed his plan after Ogino pointed out that ordinary people would not be able to follow the story.
"I'm not uninterested [in history], but I haven't felt a great need for it in my life, or let's say I've been doing OK without it," Ogino said. It seems her view on history, or lack thereof, worked favorably in the production.
"She wrote music that someone well-versed in history wouldn't be able to come up with." Mitani said. "Ogino has a talent for turning any line into music. She's good at making musical allusions, too. Sometimes she uses the same melody for two lines that are not supposed to be linked with each other."
"She wrote a passionate melody for Kiyomori, which makes you want to dance the bolero, and Nobunaga was given a theme song that's a bit freewheeling," Mitani said.
The 50-plus personalities are played by just seven cast members: Kiichi Nakai, Shingo Katori, Shinya Niiro, Jay Kabira, Sylvia Grab, Emma Miyazawa and Sayaka Akimoto. Four of the performers have both a Japanese and non-Japanese parent.
"I deliberately chose actors with international backgrounds, all the more because it's about the history of Japan," Mitani said.
The performers were sometimes given roles of the opposite sex, such as Miyazawa playing Kiyomori and Grab playing Nobunaga. Such gender twists make the show very interesting.
"It's called the 'History of Japan,' but it turned out to be a universal story about all human beings that questions what humans are. I hope it reminds people that they are also part of this long history," Ogino said.
"There were many figures and episodes I had to cut," Mitani said. "If everything goes well this time, I want to do Part 2 and Part 3 as well. It'd be nice if we could do a series on the history of other countries."
Performances continue through Dec. 28 at Setagaya Public Theatre in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. Osaka performances will take place from Jan. 6-13 at Theater Drama City in Osaka. Tickets are sold out for both cities, but a few may be available on the day before each performance in Tokyo.
For more information, please visit www.siscompany.com/mitani/
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
