is a
kabuki
is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...
dance
Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
with lyrics written by
Katsui Genpachi, choreography by
Fujima Taisuke and music by
Kineya Rokusaburô IV, first performed in 1826.
Originally part of a set of five different dances performed as a sequence, is the only one that has survived.
The first time these dances were staged in 1826 at the Nakamura-za in
Edo
Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...
, actor Seki Sanjuro II performed all of them as part of his farewell performance.
One of many revisions to the play, playwright and actor created a new, more supernatural version of the dance, staged for the first time in March 1937 at the
Kabuki-za
in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional ''kabuki'' drama form.
History
The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and o ...
. In this version, the maiden becomes the spirit of the
wisteria
''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae). The genus includes four species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and nor ...
.
The next year, performances of the dance by at the
Minami-za
is the primary kabuki theatre in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded in 1610 as . The current building, with a 1,086 seat capacity, was built in 1929.
History
The Minami-za is one of the earliest of the seven officially-licensed kabuki theatres built i ...
in
Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
and at the Kabuki-za in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, helped popularized the dance.
remains a popular and famous dance in the kabuki repertoire.
Characters
The titular Wisteria Maiden is the only character seen in the play, and is accompanied by a musical ensemble of singers, , drums, flute and small gongs.
Plot
"Fuji Musume" is the visual climax of a Kabuki show, in which the dancer performing the role of the Wisteria Maiden changes kimonos four times and dances against a gorgeous backdrop of clusters of mauve and purple wisteria flowers. There is no story to speak of; the pleasure of the dance comes from the fast changes of costume which are performed on stage behind the trunk of a tree and the charming and winsome glances of the maiden as she expresses sentiments of love.
Translation
The play was translated into English by Leonard C. Pronko in ''Kabuki Plays on Stage III: Darkness and Desire, 1804-1864'', edited by James R. Brandon and Samuel L. Leiter and published in 2002.
* ''Kabuki Plays on Stage III: Kabuki Plays on Stage III: Darkness and Desire, 1804-1864''. (2002) University of Hawaii Press, .
External links
Fuji Musume at Kabuki21.com
References
{{reflist, 2, refs=
[{{cite web , url=https://www.kabuki21.com/fuji_musume.php , title=FUJI MUSUME , author= , date= , website= , publisher=kabuki21 , access-date=2018-01-08 , quote=]
[''Kabuki Plays on Stage III: Kabuki Plays on Stage III: Darkness and Desire, 1804-1864''. (2002) p. 166-169.]
1826 plays
Kabuki plays