「曖昧な国」ニッポンのエンターティンメント  Kabuki: Entertainment for Japan, the “country of ambiguity”

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ちょうど2年前にPen雑誌が歌舞伎の特集を発行しました。本屋さんの本棚に並んでいたこの雑誌を見たとき、将来的にいい歌舞伎の「教科書」になると判断し、その場で購入しました。徹底した分析、そしてそのまとめはあまり網羅しすぎて、全部を完全に「消化」しきれていないです。その特集の紹介記事では非常に興味深いことが書かれていました。その記事によると、歌舞伎を通して、日本という国の歴史の流れ、あるいは日本という方法(プロセス)が窺えて来るとのことです。

Two years ago the Japanese magazine Pen came out with a Kabuki special feature. When I saw it on the shelves in the book shop, I knew it would make for a great future “reference” book on the subject, so I went ahead and bought it. The exhaustive analysis and depth of this feature simply blows my mind.
The introductory article to the special feature contained a fascinating passage. It essentially claims that Kabuki provides us with a window into the historical narrative, or more precisely the "process" of the country we know as Japan.

 

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“曖昧な国”ニッポンのエンターティンメント

Kabuki: Entertainment for Japan, the “country of ambiguity”

 

 (歌舞伎は)時代とともに変わってしまう面もあれば、普遍的な側面もある。変幻自在さが歌舞伎の面白さだ。

Certain aspects (of Kabuki) change with the times, while there are those that remain universal. The surreal and ever-changing nature of Kabuki is the very thing that makes it fascinating.

 

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「歌舞伎には定本がないです。そこがシェイクスピアとは決定的に違う点。脚本主義ではなく、演出主義。歌舞伎=演出ともいえます。そして演出を伝えるのが役者です。西洋では、芝居は戯曲が本質になるのでしょうが、日本というのは本質の国ではないのです。あくまでも周縁に価値を置く。ディテールに優秀なものを残し、外側、表面、外面に対して力を発揮する民族です。それは文化を全部外から取り入れた。“周辺の国”だから。本質を問い詰めることなく、曖昧にしておく。常に外から文化を取り入れて、それが何故なのかということを考えない。脚本よりも演出が肥大化している歌舞伎は非常に日本的と言えます。」

 “There’s no standard text (for a play) in Kabuki. That’s what sets it apart from Shakespeare. It’s not based on the notion of a script, but rather the performance. You could say that Kabuki is synonymous with performance, and the actors are the ones who deliver that performance. In the West, the essential substance of theater is the dramatic tale that is told. Japan, on the other hand, is a country with no actual substance to it. As a nation, Japan has always valued the elements on the fringes. The Japanese people leave the details of the highest caliber and demonstrate their prowess by channeling their energies into that which lies outside, on the surface, and on the exterior. The reason for this trait is that Japan has always imported culture from the outside. It’s a “country on the fringes” in every sense of the meaning. Japan never strives to pack in the essence of a specific culture, but instead leaves those elements shrouded in ambiguity. It simply takes in culture from the outside without ever really thinking as to why. Kabuki embellishes performance and makes it much bigger than the script, so in that regard as an art form it is extremely Japanese.”

 

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まあ、この定義に基づいてきゃりぱみゅぱみゅを捉えますと、非常に日本的ですな。David Bowieのジッギースターダストとの共通点は案外に多いです。
Well, if you use this definition as the grounds for interpreting Kyari Pamyu Pamyu, then she is very Japanese. Surprising number of similarities between her and David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwWm3om-gSw