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Mahābhārata Senki

2022; University of Hawaii Press; Volume: 39; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/atj.2022.0008

1527-2109

Sang Mi Park,

Japanese History and Culture

Reviewed by: Mahābhārata Senki Sang Mi Park MAHĀBHĀRATA SENKI. Presented by Shochiku Co., Ltd. Kabuki-za Theatre, Tokyo, Japan. 1–25 October 2017. As part of the celebration for the 60th anniversary of the 1957 cultural agreement between Japan and India, a Hindu masterpiece was adapted for the Japanese audience in 2017. Mahābhārata Senki (The War Chronicles of the Mahabharata) demonstrates the extent to which kabuki theatre has reinvented itself and yet remains an integral part of Japanese tradition. The play’s opening scene presents a visual treat as spectators are wonderstruck by the transformation of kabuki and its age-old repertoires into a foreign atmosphere depicting the garden of heaven. The splendid mise-en-scène of act 1, scene 1, reveals an assembly of the Hindu gods Surya, Indra, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who are all solemnly seated, wearing resplendent kathakali-style costumes and glittery makeup, typical of the Indian dance-drama form (Fig. 1). The Indian epic Mahabharata, which depicts the power struggles between two branches of a royal family, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, has found expression in various versions of drama, literature, theatre, and film, including Peter Brook’s stage play and subsequent film in the 1980s. Shochiku’s grand kabuki is adapted from an earlier Indian storyline. In the Mahabharata, Karna, the son of Surya (the Sun God), and Arjuna, the son of Indra (the God of Lightning), are born to the same mother, Princess Kunti (who later becomes the queen of Hastinapura [End Page 209] or the Kingdom of Elephants). The princess’ sons are fated to follow different paths: Karna is brought up by his stepparents, who are not of royal origin, to become a valiant warrior. Arjuna, in contrast, enjoys a royal upbringing as the third among the five Pandava princes. Prince Duryodhana and his brothers, the Kauravas, are bitter rivals of Arjuna and his brothers, the Pandavas, in their struggle to gain succession to the throne. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. The opening scene of Mahābhārata Senki. (Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd) The Mahābhārata Senki naturalized this Indian story for the Japanese audience by altering it to suit kabuki’s conventions. The characters are renamed in kabuki-esque Chinese characters using their phonetic equivalents. In fact, the employment of the takemoto (narration) and the nagauta (chanting) musicians accompanied by the shamisen instrument and pounding percussion music heightens the angst of the characters grappling between giri (obligation) and ninjō (human feelings). Further, kabuki’s unique stage devices skillfully facilitate dramatic actions. For instance, the physical structure of the hanamichi—the long passageway from the main stage leading to the back of the theatre through the audience—symbolizes in this production the connection between the two worlds, those of gods and humans. The staging of the gods on the hanamichi, where they lament the absurdities of the human world and deliver messages to the princes, makes for a highly dynamic and interactive performance. [End Page 210] In terms of presentation, this production borrowed from classical kabuki pieces. For instance, the assembly of deities in a linear bi-layered arrangement in the opening act is similar to the way officials are seated at different levels in the castle in Kanadehon Chūshingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers), as well as its method of introducing the characters that was inspired by the bunraku puppet theatre, Chūshingura’s original form (Salz 2018: 140). The static mythical gods suddenly come alive as they awaken from slumber, open their eyes widely, and adopt the mie (frozen pose). Not just the opening act, particularly intense scenes also employ the bunraku element that the kurogo assistants, conventionally unseen onstage wearing black robes and hoods like puppeteers operating puppets, support the principal kabuki actors to change costume and props. The presence of onnagata (male specialists of female roles), one of the features of professional kabuki, makes this Mahābhārata Senki a highly distinctive production. In the battle between the cousins, Karna takes the side of his friend, Duryodhana. However, unlike in the Indian epic, the kabuki version portrays Duryodhana as a warrior princess, played by...