Paper short abstract:

In 2021 Toshiki Okada directed the Japanese Opera Yuzuru and brought a contemporary perspective to the classic. He focused on actual influence of capitalism by putting Yohyo in the main role. This paper analyzes the dramaturgy of Yuzuru by comparing Junji Kinoshita's original to recent production.

Paper long abstract:

During the second world war, Junji Kinoshita (1914-2006) wrote plays based on Japanese folklore. Yuzuru is one of these plays based on the Japanese folk tale Tsuru no Ongaeshi (The Grateful Crane). He added a critique of postwar capitalism to the original by contrasting people obsessed with money with a crane who do not understand money. In 1947 he formed the Budo-no-kai theatre group with a shingeki actress Yasue Yamamoto, and she played the role of the main character Tsu (crane) in the play. It has been performed more than 1,000 times throughout Japan since its first performance in 1949. Ikuma Dan (1924-2001) composed the same name opera based on Kinoshita's script. This Japanese opera has been performed more than 800 times since its first performance in 1952 and is the most frequently performed Japanese opera in Japan. This opera was invited to Zurich Music Festival as the first Japanese opera in 1957, and it has been performed more than 50 times in 17 countries as a cultural ambassador to the world since then. Although the opera has been performed many times, most productions have been staged traditionally and have not been modernized. In 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic, Toshiki Okada (1973-) directed the opera at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and brought a contemporary perspective to the classic. He focused on the actual influence of capitalism by putting Yohyo, Tsu's husband, in the central role instead of Tsu. In the production, Yohyo is unaware of capitalism's progress, and Okada intends the audience to overlap with the husband. This paper analyzes the dramaturgy of Yuzuru by comparing Kinoshita's original to Okada's recent production.