A new kabuki version of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" starring Onoe Kikunosuke was a big hit at the end of last year, and now fans have a chance to see it again -- footage of the stage production is currently being shown on movie screens nationwide.
Tickets sold out immediately for the stage production, which adapted the graphic novel series by animation master Hayao Miyazaki into the classical Japanese art form of kabuki. Shochiku Co. produced the stage show, and in response to ardent demand from fans, it is presenting the six-hour-long epic in two parts on screen.
Kikunosuke spent five years creating a kabuki version of "Nausicaa," a story about the coexistence of nature and humans. He re-created the animator's magnificent world through his skilled use of theatrical music played on such traditional Japanese instruments as shamisen and koto, as well as traditional kabuki techniques including hayagawari (an instantaneous change of roles), chunori (midair performance) and renjishi (two lions).
"Every day in the practice room was an experiment, and all the members of the troupe put their heads together," Kikunosuke said. "After watching the video, I was thrilled to know this piece would become a classic."
Last December, Kikunosuke broke his left arm during the third-day matinee at the Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre in Tokyo after falling from the back of a character called Toriuma. The evening performance was canceled, but he returned to the stage the following day. Part of Kikunosuke's acting was re-choreographed because he couldn't move his arm, but in the film, the original performance including the Nausicaa dance can be seen.
Thanks to his experience in creating this new kabuki, Kikunosuke said he was able to relive the passion of his predecessors who created and refined kabuki.
During the March kabuki lineup on March 3-26 at the National Theatre in Tokyo, Kikunosuke appears in the classic kabuki "Yoshitsune Senbonzakura" (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees) performing the three main characters: Sato Tadanobu (aka. fantastic fox Genkuro), general Taira no Tomomori and Igami no Gonta.
The roles of Gonta and Tadanobu have been cherished and inherited by Otowaya -- the stage name of the Onoe Kikugoro family -- for generations, including Kikunosuke's father Kikugoro, 77. His father-in-law Nakamura Kichiemon, 75, trained Kikunosuke how to perform Tomomori.
"It was my long-cherished dream to play all three roles," Kikunosuke said.
On March 14, Kikugoro will appear at the opening ceremony of Japan Cultural Expo, a culture and art festival, at Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, Tokyo. During the special performance, Kikunosuke will stand on an open-air stage for the dance performance "Shakkyo" (Stone bridge) along with masters of various traditional performing arts such as noh and bunraku.
The first part of "Nausicaa" is being shown on screens around the nation through Feb. 20. The second part will be shown from Feb. 28 to March 5. Togeki Cinema in Tokyo's Higashiginza district, however, will run the movie for longer than other theaters, through Feb. 27 for the first part and through March 12 for the second.
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