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Paper short abstract:

This presentation analyses Ichikawa Danjūrō II's enactment of Guan Yu on stage and how the struggles on stage were continued in commemorative publications after his death to discuss how the exotic literary figure functioned as a tool for transcending supernatural borders.

Paper long abstract:

During the Kyōhō Reforms, the import ban on foreign books was relaxed which sparked an interest in the Chinese classics which influenced not only the intellectual elite, but also the fighting scenes on the Kabuki stage.

During the preceding Genroku era, fighting scenes were often staged as dances where a deity appeared to save the day at the end, but in the Kyōhō era, these grandiose fighting scenes took a more intellectual approach. Ichikawa Danjūrō II (1688-1758), the most influential actor of this era, was a prolific reader. From his diary, we know that he also had a keen interest in the Chinese classics, had access to the Chinese versions and possessed several Japanese translations. Probably because of this, from the late 1730s, he increasingly borrowed its heroes to lend glamour to various Japanese warriors.

In this presentation, I will, based on Danjūrō II's diary records consider how he performed third century warlord Guan Yu's 'Breaking Through Five Barriers' from the novel 'Romance of Three Kingdoms,' successfully borrowing from the Chinese classics to enhance the splendor to 12th century Japanese warlord Iga no Mori's fighting in the play 'Loading the Ship with Sacred Treasures and the Chronicle of Great Peace' (艤貢太平記 Funayoso-oi mitsugi Taihei ki, 11th month, Nakamura za) in 1742. The scene was so successful that it was, after Danjūrō II's death, published in the commemorative books 'Guan Yu Breaking Through Five Barriers' (関羽五関破 Kan'U goseki yaburi, 1775) and 'Seven Times Breaking Through the Five Barriers' (七廻五関破 Nana meguri goseki yaburi, 1764). Here Danjuro II, as Guan Yu, is depicted breaking down the barriers to enlightenment in the other world.

This presentation will be based on the diary of Danjūrō II, the Actor's Reviews commenting on his enactment of Guan Yu, and the post-mortem publications, and will discuss how the borders of this world and the other world were transcended on stage and in print by using literary exotic elements of otherness in Kabuki fighting scenes.