Abstract:

This volume collects the three great dances of Kabuki performed by some of the greatest onnagata (female role) performers. FUJI MUSUME (The Wisteria Maiden), featuring Onoe Baiko VII, is a dance of unrequited love; the Wisteria Maiden recalls the promises of an unfaithful lover. YASUNA, featuring Nakamura Shikan VII, is a court astrologer who goes mad with grief after his betrothed commits suicide when caught up in a court intrigue. SAGI MUSUME (The Heron Maiden), featuring Bando Tamasaburo V, is also a story of unrequited love. The heron is transformed as a maiden who remembers her tragically unfulfilled longings through dance. || Fuji Musume was originally recorded live at Tokyo's famed Kabuki-za theater in 1987 and broadcast by NHK, the Japanese Broadcast Company. Yasuna in 2003, and Sagi Musume in 2002. An optional English translation and commentary by Kabuki scholars Paul M. Griffith, Ronald Cavaye and Valerie Durham follows the stories and provides additional information to help international audiences appreciation of Kabuki performance, history, music and dance.