Sidelights on Peking Opera and Kabuki Joint Show

On April 2 and April 3， Chinese Peking Opera and Japanese Kabuki were performed on the same stage to sell-out audiences at the Beijing Mei Lanfang Grand Theater. Two classics of Peking Opera， Farewell My Concubine and The Great Enthronement， were performed respectively in the first half of the show， followed in the second half by a famous Kabuki play， The Mirror Lion — A Spring Entertainment.

More than two weeks in advance it had been hard to find a single ticket given the presence of a host of performers of the highest artistic level from the China National Peking Opera Company （CNPOC） and Japan’s Shochiku Co. Ltd.

The 1，800-plus people lucky enough to obtain tickets were certainly not disappointed by the intoxicating and enthralling theatrical performances.

The event was co-sponsored by the CPAFFC， the China-Japan Friendship Association （CJFA）， the CNPOC and the Shochiku Co. Ltd.， with support from the Chinese Ministry of Culture， the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and the respective Chinese and Japanese embassies.

CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin wrote a message of congratulations. CJFA President Tang Jiaxuan， CPAFFC Vice Presidents Xie Yuan and Song Jingwu， as well as Japanese Diet members and the Japanese Ambassador to China and his wife attended the event and met the main performers， while leading Chinese and Japanese media provided extensive coverage.

I

Of particular interest was the presence of Kikunosuke Onoe， a well-known Kabuki dan （female role） performer who comes from a well-known Kabuki family and now shoulders much responsibility for the future of the art.

In 1979 after the signing of the Sino-Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty， Shochiku was the first Japanese cultural delegation to visit China， gaining acclaim for the same play， The Mirror Lion — A Spring Entertainment with Baikou Onoe， Kikunosuke’s grandfather， in the leading role.

It is a much praised part of Kabuki classical repertory in which the leading actor plays two roles， first， a graceful charming girl， and then later a powerful and bold male lion.

Thirty six years later， playing the same role as his grandfather， his exquisite and expressive performance brought round after round of applause from the audience reflecting their hopes for more cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Kikunosuke said with emotion that this performance in China was fated to take place and was a heavy mission he should undertake.

The CNPOC contributed some of its most outstanding young performers including Ma Xiangfei， Liu Kueikuei， Wang Fang and Zhu Hong to appear with their Japanese Kabuki colleagues and carefully chose a traditional repertoire. The story of Farewell My Concubine is well known to Japanese audiences， and The Great Enthronement， a story of happy reunion， is often played during the New Year festival.

Peking Opera fans in the theater expressed their delight at the chance to watch Chinese Peking Opera and Japanese Kabuki side-by-side enabling the similarities and respective characteristics of these two performing arts to be discerned. Many Japanese in the audience said delightedly that it was really a rare chance to enjoy genuine Kabuki and at the same time Peking Opera in Beijing.

II

Off the stage， participants exchange experiences in performing. Kikunosuke asked the Chinese performers about Peking Opera’s origins and development and showed great interest to learn its body movements and footwork. They shared their knowledge about the characteristics， acting skills and stage design of each genre， and also discussed the materials of hair and beard used by characters in the show and composition of the musical accompaniment.

All agreed the shared performance had realized a long-cherished wish of deepening exchanges between the theatrical circles of the two countries.

Despite similarities between the two genres， however， each has its own peculiarities. Peking Opera usually uses implied stage settings， while Kabuki needs to build real stage scenery. To express their respect for the guests， the hosts arranged for Kabuki to be performed in the second half of the show. But how could the palace setting be completed during the intermission of only 15 minutes？

Unexpectedly， with the concerted efforts of about 20 stage hands from both sides， the changes were completed in a very short time. The audience could not help feeling amazed， saying jokingly that， in the twinkling of an eye， a palace had sprung from the ground.

When it was time for performers of the two sides to answer curtain calls together， a small problem arose. Performers wearing shoes are not allowed to step on the Syosadai （the scenery stage of Kabuki）.

After considering various options， they finally adopted the option of rapidly laying a red carpet on the Syosadai after the end of Kabuki performance. In this way performers of both sides were finally able to stand side by side to answer curtain calls. For answering the curtain calls， Peking Opera performers had to wait with makeup on for more than one hour after finishing the first half of the show， while Kikunosuke， dripping with sweat just after finishing the lion dance， had to stand on stage with heavy lion crown on his head. All got a prolonged standing ovation.

III

Exchanges between Peking Opera and Kabuki have a long tradition. As early as about 100 years ago， Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang performed Celestial Beauty Scattering Flowers in the Imperial Theater in Tokyo. A Japanese Kabuki delegation paid its first visit to China in 1955. In the 1980s and 1990s， Dragon King was created jointly by troupes of these two types of drama.

In 2007 the CPAFFC invited Japanese Shochiku Grand Kabuki Chikamatsu-za to visit China. In 2008 The Peony Pavilion jointly performed by Japanese Kabuki artist Tamasaburo Banto and the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theater delighted audiences in both China and Japan. There is no lack of Kabuki fans in China and Peking Opera fans in Japan. However， due to many reasons such as enormous expense of performance and tight schedule， they have never been performed together before.

At the beginning of this year， the Shochiku Co. Ltd. told the CPAFFC that it intended to send a Kabuki delegation to visit China and wished to have a shared performance with Peking Opera. The CPAFFC made extensive contacts to discuss selection of repertories， the schedule， fund raising and staffing， so that it only took half a month for an outline agreement to be reached between the Shochiku Co. Ltd. and the CNPOC and undertaken by the Mei Lanfang Grand Theater.

Normally， many free tickets are offered to selected personages for performances of cultural exchanges； this time， however， tickets were sold at a low price to benefit the audience， and we used all kinds of promotional means such as WeChat， MicroBlog as well as posters and one-page brochures. Despite less than two months of preparatory time， all tickets were sold. In the theater we saw many young people interested in traditional cultures of the two countries and deeply touched by the profound and meaningful contents of the traditional arts.

Behind the performance was the aspiration of the relevant personages and organizations of various circles for cultural exchanges and friendship between China and Japan. This meeting in “Pear Garden*” was witnessed by artists and cast members of the two theatrical troupes who had cooperated fully and the audience and media who responded enthusiastically.

This year， the CNPOC will celebrate its 60th birthday and Shochiku Co. Ltd. the 120th anniversary of its founding. We sincerely hope that the two operatic troupes dedicating themselves to inheriting and innovating traditional arts will continue to create classical works and train young performers. May new chapters of mutual learning between the two arts be endlessly written.

*Pear Garden — the theater （originally of a college of dramatics founded by imperial decree in the Tang Dynasty）