I have been interested in multi-cultural events for many years; the performance of “Akutagawa” at the CAPA theater last Sunday was one of the most memorable I can remember. Presented by the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts 6-12, it was a unique multi-media retrospective of the work of Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892 to 1928), the acknowledged “father of the Japanese short story”.
It would be difficult to imagine a production with more different dimensions, or, perhaps we should say, layers. First, of course, is the exposure to a different ethnic culture. I have been intrigued by Japanese culture ever since the “all-expenses paid” tour my Uncle Sam gave me in 1954 and 1955.
Next is the fact that this particular production is with puppets, in this case following the Kuruma Ningyo tradition. This tradition evolved from the Bunraku tradition which dates back to the 1600s and uses large (three feet tall) puppets, each manipulated by three puppeteers. Kuruma Ningyo utilizes a single puppeteer, seated on a four-wheeled cart that permits complete mobility about the stage. Sometime in the past I saw a performance in which the puppeteers were completely dressed in black, including hoods that included face coverings. In this performance, however, the puppeteers’ faces were visible, which I felt was slightly distracting.
In addition, the performance was based on stories that had been written in a different genre. This, of course, is not unusual; however, it does require a major effort to modify a story so it can be performed live. More importantly, the producers chose to knit together five completely independent stories in a fashion that chronologically matches the actual life of the storyteller.
In fact, a puppet representing Akutagawa is on stage throughout the performance. Initially he is seen at a desk at stage left sharpening his pens and beginning to create a character on paper, while a live puppet-maker is paralleling his efforts by constructing a puppet in center stage. After the puppet-maker triumphantly places a head on it and brings it to life, the writer is seen rejoicing that he has made progress in his work. Rear projection on a backdrop screen effectively sets the mood for each scene. Stage right is occupied by a percussionist with traditional Japanese drums; he also doubles occasionally on a long bamboo flute (shakuhachi).
The first story is “Rashomon”, a tale of desperation and of being pushed to the edge, which was the author’s first success, in 1915. A servant encounters an old woman stealing hair from corpses. She justifies this, as she needs to do it to survive. He then steals her robe, claiming he needs it to survive. This is not the story on which Kurosawa’s classic film is based; that was another Akutagawa short story, “In a Grove”, which in the film also references the short story “Rashomon.”
Next comes “Jigokuhen” (Hell Screen), a vivid example of the extent to which an artist will go in order to achieve a masterpiece. Yoshide, “the greatest painter in the land”, is hired by the Lord Horikawa to paint a folding screen depicting Hell. Lacking inspiration to paint a scene depicting a lady in a burning carriage, he tells the Lord he needs to witness a carriage in flames in order to paint it. The Lord agrees, but places Yoshide’s daughter in the carriage for further verisimilitude. Yoshihide finishes the painting, then hangs himself. The puppet Akutagawa is obviously struggling with the same dilemmas at this stage of his career.
The third story is “Ryu” (the Dragon), an almost whimsical illustration of the gullibility of most of us. As a practical joke, a monk posts a sign reporting that a dragon will ascend to heaven on a specific day. He is embarrassed when a large crowd arrives on that day. Fortunately, a thunderstorm arrives and everyone claims to have seen the dragon. The dragon in our performance certainly seemed real to me. Puppet Akutagawa appeared perplexed.
“Toshishun” is the fourth tale. The eponymous protagonist meets a wizard who grants him great wealth. When he squanders it, his friends desert him. He then encounters the wizard again, and begs to become a wizard. Toshishun fails when he must deny his parents, who are made to suffer in the afterlife in order to test him. He eventually finds contentment in a simple life. Apparently Akutagawa had a similar crisis in his career.
The final story was “Kappa”, a novella that has critics divided. Some consider it a satire on Japanese society; others, a reflection of the author’s decaying mental state. It is recited by a psychiatric patient, “Number 23”, who claims to have visited an alternate world, populated by kappa, mythical Japanese river elves. It is a world of opposites to our “real world”. One of its inhabitants is Tokku, a skeptical poet who has committed suicide. At this point our puppet Akutagawa commits suicide, as did his real-life doppelganger shortly after “Kappa” was published.
Everything about this performance was outstanding. It was the brain child of Tom Lee, Co-Director of the Chicago Puppet Lab and the Chicago Puppet Studio, and Koryu Nishikawa V, master of Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo in Tokyo. Mr. Lee studied acting at CMU. They also collaborated on a similar production, “Shank’s Mare”, from 2014 through 2019.
I am fortunate that my daughter Elizabeth made me aware of this production; she was heavily involved in the University’s role in bringing it here. Attendance at it was barely sufficient to justify the expense of staging it here. The potential audience for specialized events like this is limited, and the local mass media no longer make any effort to promote them. Kudos to the troupe who came to Pittsburgh to present “Akutagawa” and to those fortunate folks who supported it!