The Courtesan Akoya(2007)

剧情简介

Akoya - "The Courtesan Akoya" 　　The scene entitled Akoya no Kotozeme, "Akoya's Torture by Koto" featured on DVD originally formed Act III of the long play Dannoura Kabuto Gunki, 'The War Chronicles at Dannoura'. The play was written for the puppets by Matsuda Bunkôdô and Hasegawa Senshi and first performed in 1732 at Osaka's Takemoto-za. The Kabuki version was first staged in 1733 at Osaka's Kado no Shibai. Only the act described here is regularly performed today. 　　It is the late 12th century and civil war rages between two military clans, the Heike and the Genji. Since their recent victories in battle, the Genji now have the upper hand and iin order to consolidate their position they are searching out and destroying all remaining Heike warriors. One of the greatest is the Heike commander, Kegekiyo. 　　Kagekiyo's whereabouts are a mystery but, believing that his lover is bound to know, the Genji forces have captured the courtesan Akoya and will subject her to torture if she does not divulge this information. 　　Story and Highlights 　　Presiding over Akoya's interrogation are two senior-ranking Genji men, the wise and benevolent governor of Chichibu, Hatakeyama Shgetada, and the vicious coward Iwanaga Saemon. The contrast between these two is important. While Shigetada is played as a gentle sabakiyaku type, always thoughtful and prudent, Iwanaga is a comic red-faced villain performed in the amusing ningyô uri acting technique. Seen occasionally in both plays and dances, this actor is "manipulated" by kôken stage assistants as though he were himself a Bunraku puppet. 　　Akoya is led in under armed escort, her showy appearace in the magnificent robes and ornaments of a top-ranking courtesan contrasting with her sad expression. This entrance along the hanamichi is one of the most spectacular in Kabuki. 　　Iwanaga immediately objects to the fact that she is not tied up and promises that when he takes over the interrogation tomorrow his skill at torture will soon have her confessing everything. For today, however, Shigatada is in charge and they must abide by his judgement. So far, Akoya has only been subjected to quiet reasoning and, claiming that she knows anything, has not told them Kagekiyo's place of hiding. Shigetada says regretfully that if she will not confess they must torture her. 　　The delighted Iwanaga calls for his men to bring in the equipment at once. These men are also comic, performed to resemble minor-role puppets that bob up and down. Akoya shudders at the sight of the equipment but remains defiant. 　　Shigetada orders it sent away, alling instead for his own. What is bought in, however, are not instruments of torture at all but rather instruments of music. He demands that Akoya play three musical instruments in succession starting with the multi-stringed koto. After this will be the shamisen and finally the Chinese fiddle, kokyû. This is the great highlight of the play requiring many years of training of the Kabuki actor who, unlike the puppets of Bunraku, must play and sing by himself. 　　Iwanaga is outraged at the idea of a musical recital given under the pretext of torture but Shigetada ignores him. He knows that during her performance, Akoya will pour out her true feelings of anxiety and love for Kagekiyo and it will be by these very emotions that he will judge her. 　　After listening to the Koto, Shigetada asks Akoya when she first met Kagekiyo and how they came to be intimate. This leads into another hightlight, the kudoki, during which dialogue is shared between actor and chanter as Akoya describes their first meeting and how they shared a single umbrella in the late autumn shower. The passage is famous for its romantic lyricism. 　　When Akoya plays the kokyû the music becomes increasingly emotional with the screeching high notes expressing perfectly the feelings that tear at Akoya's heart. Fainally, Shigetada is convinced that she really does not know Kagekiyo's whereaouts and declares the torture at an end. Akoya is free to go.