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Home , Noh, Throne of Blood

Bridgewater Review

Volume 30 | Issue 2 Article 8

Dec-2011 The Art of Japanese in ’s Minae Yamamoto Savas Bridgewater State University, [email protected]

Recommended Citation Savas, Minae Yamamoto (2011). The Art of Japanese Noh Theatre in Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood. Bridgewater Review, 30(2), 19-23. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/br_rev/vol30/iss2/8

This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. ical or legendary figures. Many of the The Art of Japanese NohTheatre Noh plays written and revised in the medieval period are performed to this in Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood day while going through changes reflec - MinaeYamamoto Savas tive of shifts in patronage, audiences, and social climate.The ideal of simplicity in raditional Japanese theatre has a continuous the art of Noh and other art forms, such performance tradition spanning several as flower arrangement, tea ceremony, hundred years. Japanese Noh theatre has a landscape gardening, and monochro - T matic painting that flourished in the particularly rich theatrical and aesthetic heritage that (1336-1573), is offers a doorway into Japanese history and culture. closely associated with the aesthetic concepts of ideal beauty.The study of Japanese Noh plays unify and harmonize mime and Noh theatre and its significance as a dramatic elements with dance, chant, and an orchestra living art today thus not only gives us composed of a flute and three drums .The other critical an insight into the culture of medieval , but also helps us focus on certain elements involved in the performance Thus a person who goes to see Noh cultural continuities bridging traditional of a Noh are , robes, the mode has certain responsibilities. A different and contemporary Japanese societies. of production, and the unique stage is created for each member of the space in relation to the audience.These audience because Noh effects a direct Akira Kurosawa’s elements are intricately woven together exchange between the hearts of the Adaptation of in into a harmonious whole creating a uni - performers and of each spectator…[A] his Postwar Japanese Film fied aesthetic experience. As Komparu given actor will perform in a given play Kunio, an established contemporary with a given group of performers only The influence of Noh on the films of performer of Noh, stated in The Noh once on any given day.” Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) is particu - : Principles and Perspectives , “Noh larly evident in Kumonosu-jō (“Castle of The subdued and symbolic movements is an event to be experienced directly the Spider’sWeb,” also known as Throne of Noh depict impressive images of clas - and personally. It is not a panorama like of Blood , 1957). Basing his work on sical and medieval heroes and heroines. or , aimed at a large group Shakespeare’s Macbeth , Kurosawa set this Noh plays draw on episodes from older of spectators in a one-way process. film in the middle ages (1185-1600) of texts, as well as folktales featuring histor - Japan, a period when warriors first rose up to challenge the authority of the established court.While the early medieval period marks the firmly established governance by the shoguns, hereditary commanders of a military force, the late middle ages saw more frequent incidents of the overthrow of a superior by his own retainers.This significant historical and social phenom - enon of the late medieval Japan coin - cides with the phenomenon presented in the world of Macbeth . By transplanting Macbeth to medieval Japan and incorpo - rating Noh elements in Throne of Blood , Kurosawa has further pursued the theme of Macbeth . In Throne of Blood , Kurosawa allows his audience to scrutinize human desire for power, cruelty, and weakness

A Noh performance within the film ( Throne of Blood , 1957Toho Company)

December 2011 19 that yields to temptation. The Throne of struggle of the individual for ego.This modernization to enjoy the fruits of Blood begins with the following song. struggle is artistically manifested in the progress.The struggle within Japan is Noh-style interaction betweenWashizu manifested in the film, crafted by the Look upon the ruin (Macbeth) and his wife Asaji (Lady hand of the director. Kurosawa was born Of the castle of delusion Macbeth), not through the soliloquy as at the tail end of the period Haunted only now in Macbeth .WhileWashizu and Asaji (1868-1912), the dramatic era of mod - Of those who perished work together to achieve their mutual ernization and westernization. He lived A scene of carnage goals driven by their own desire for through the twentieth century, experi - Born of consuming desire power, they struggle with their own encing the war years of intense national - Never changing internal contradictions.Washizu is torn ism and Japan’s postwar period of rapid Now and throughout eternity between two irreconcilable feelings: his economic growth.The battle between This introductory chant gives a vivid loyalty toward LordTsuzuki (King old and new has been conspicuous description of the emptiness of General Duncan) as well as his friend Miki in the films of Kurosawa, who was Washizu’s (Macbeth) ambition and of () and his ambition of becoming educated in both Japanese tradition and human desire for power. After defeating the absolute authoritative figure. Asaji western knowledge. In Japanese cultural rebel armies, GeneralsWashizu and Miki criticizes such ambivalence thatWashizu tradition the importance of joint (Banquo) are lost in the dense Cobweb reveals, enticing him into proving him - responsibilities linking members of the Forest on their way to the fortress of self to be the man. She says, “Ambition group is highly valued while in western LordTsuzuki (). In the makes the man.” Much of Asaji’s appar - culture a special emphasis is placed on forest they meet a ghostly prophet. As ent mercilessness is, however, merely individuality. In Throne of Blood , the she predicts,Washizu and Miki are both protective camouflage to conceal her complex interplay of eastern and west - immediately promoted by LordTsuzuki. own innermost fragility. Not able to ern cultures is embodied, and Noh The prophecy further deludesWashizu cope with her own internal conflicts at performance is effectively incorporated into believing that he will ascend to the the end, she is the one who loses her to reflect the historical era in which the throne. Encouraged and manipulated by mental equilibrium, notWashizu. film is set. Kurosawa also used ritualized his ambitious wife, he plots the murder elements of Noh to highlight the ten - Such struggle of the individual featured of his lord, which eventually brings him sion and intensity Asaji () in this postwar film is in some way and his wife to ruin. conveys. For example, her fixed expres - indicative of Japan’s constant struggle sion reminds the audience of a Noh In Throne of Blood Kurosawa emphasizes between preserving Japanese cultural with its suggestion of restrained or the narcissism of Macbeth , underling the tradition and yielding to the forces of suppressed emotions hidden behind the mask. Her highly stylized movements often conceal the deliberate nature of her actions. Chants resounded through Throne of Blood are modeled on the traditions of Noh songs.There are many allusions to well-known Noh plays, creating a cinematic world of multiple dimensions. Kurosawa maneuvered such highly evocative substances of Noh to awaken the imagination of the audience, which is the essence of Japanese Noh theatre of medieval origin. The Influence of Noh on the Throne of Blood In his 1984 book entitled The Films of Akira , well-known American Japan film critic delineates Asaji (Lady Macbeth) sitting next toWashizu (Macbeth) ( Throne of Blood , 1957Toho Company) Kurosawa’s indebtedness to Japanese

20 Bridgewater Review Noh drama, quoting Kurosawa’s words: “I like [Noh] because it is the real heart, the core of all Japanese drama. Its degree of compression is extreme, and it is full of symbols, full of subtlety. It is as though the actors and the audience are engaged in a kind of contest and as though this contest involves the entire Japanese cultural heritage… I wanted to use the way that Noh actors have of moving their bodies, the way they have of walk - ing, and the general composition which the Noh stage provides.” Richie argues that another reason for using Noh in this film is that Kurosawa was interested in the limitations of character; that is, “the Noh offered the clearest visual indication of these limitations ”There are certain “limitations” that one can express using stylized movements and Asaji’s madness ( Throne of Blood , 1957Toho Company) – this image is from the final scenes of the film in masks of Noh, as Richie points out. which Asaji loses her mind after she discovers her baby is stillborn. However, these visibly imposed “limita - tions” are indeed effective at expressing entitled Japanese ClassicalTheatre in restrained or suppressed emotions on Films , claims that in some scenes, while the Noh stage. Washizu’s features work in expressions of horror and dismay, his wife Asaji’s Richie indicates the Noh elements are face is a study in absolute control: static, mostly associated with Asaji for “she is cold, and impassive, like a female blank the most limited, the most confined, the Noh mask. most driven, the most evil.” Similarly, Keiko McDonald, in her 1994 book Asaji’s face resembles fukai or shakumi masks designating a middle-aged woman. Some scholars claim that the female Noh mask is virtually expres - sionless because it represents what may be called “neutral expression” or “inter - mediate expression.” However, the “expressionlessness” of Noh masks is deliberate. Using the expressionless Noh mask is one of the most effective ways to A Hannya Mask express what is beyond expression. In a protagonist displays her madness, this scene her Noh mask-like expression hidden under the expressionless masks. effectively reveals the hidden power of A madwoman in Noh plays often the dark side of human nature, bringing forgets herself because of some kind of out intense moments. It is true that Asaji traumatic event that triggers the mental conceals her feelings more thoroughly disequilibrium.The majority of these than her husband does. As a result, she is types of plays feature a mother’s affec - more overwhelmed with the intensity tion for her child and her suffering of internal conflict thanWashizu. when parted from that child.The mad - In madwoman Noh plays, this would ness is expressed in a subtle yet intense A fukai mask is expressive of the sorrow of the be the most dramatic moment in which manner. Such restrained madness often woman who has lost her child.

December 2011 21 monks seek lodging for the night in dimensions of the film. For those who the house of a poor woman at Kurozuka are familiar with the Noh play Black in Adachigahara.To entertain the guests, Mound , it indicates human weakness and the mistress of the house spins a hem falling into temptation.What is ironic thread on a spinning wheel while about this play is that the ascetic monks reciting a lament for her empty and who are practicing severe service of bitter life. For the Japanese audience, self-discipline and abstention cannot the early scene from the film in which simply resist their curiosity. Their lack Washizu encounters an obscure woman of self-discipline ignites the anger of the spinning thread on a wheel deep in demonic woman who attempted to a forest thus signifies the cycle of suffer - offer some help by providing them ings of all beings. with shelter and warmth. In the Noh play Black Mound , the mis - For those who see the horrifying scene A demonic woman in the Noh play Kurozuka tress warns the monks not to look into as is, it signifies the futility of human (Black Mound) her bedroom when leaving them to egos, which in some cases drive people effectively conveys agony, suffering, and collect firewood to keep them warm, to kill each other.Throughout the film despair of the female protagonist.With but one of the monks is unable to we do not see any brutal murder scenes. a strong indication of derangement, her restrain his curiosity. Peeping into her Instead of relying on what is visible in dramatic expression resembles that of room, there he finds a pile of skeletons. the film, Kurosawa makes the best use a demonic woman wearing hannya or Realizing that they are in the house of of what is invisible by allowing the ja masks. Her expression of madness a demon, they flee hurriedly. Appearing imagination of the audience its full play, reveals profound sadness, rooted in the as an angry demon, the mistress chases which is the fundamental principle of vanity of all desires of the will. them down until she finally is overcome Japanese Noh theatre. Based on the Kurosawa’s adoption of Noh is not by the power of the monks’ prayers. same principle, to conquer our fear, limited to the performance of Asaji and This scene from the Noh plays reminds we must look at everything straight on. Washizu.The film also contains a signifi - us of the scene from the film in which According to Kurosawa in his 1982 cant allusion to the well-known Noh Washizu and Miki (Banquo) pass book Something Like an Autobiography , Play Kurozuka , or Black Mound .The mounds of unburied human skeletons. Kurosawa’s brother said to him, when Noh play begins when two itinerant This scene effectively presents multiple he took Kurosawa to the ruins of the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, “If you shut your eyes to a frightening sight, you end up being frightened. If you look at everything straight on, there is nothing to be afraid of.”We have to look at the pile of the skeletons straight on.This is a reality from which we cannot escape. This brief shot is more visually powerful than any of the actual brutal murdering scenes ever filmed. Finally, the structure of Noh has also greatly influenced Kurosawa’s filmmak - ing. Kurosawa adopted one of the most important aesthetic concepts in Noh, the three organizational steps based on the ancient Chinese court music: jo (beginning and preparation), ha (break

An old woman in Throne of Blood ( Throne of Blood , 1957Toho Company)

22 Bridgewater Review of human desire to linger in the audience’s mind. Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood embodies the intricate interplay of eastern and western cultures. Minae Savas is an Assistant Professor in the Foreign Languages Department.

A pile of skeletons in Throne of Blood ( Throne of Blood , 1957Toho Company) and rupture), and kyū (rapid or urgent). Washizu and Asaji delicately apply in In relation to the full dramatic action of their performance emphasize the ten - Throne of Blood , the introductory chant sion and intensity that they intend to in the film, as mentioned above, consti - convey.The allusion of a Noh play that tutes the first jo section, where a slow Kurosawa includes in the film produces and dignified tempo is used for the multiple layers of meaning. Kurosawa’s opening part.The rapid ha phase effec - employment of the three organizational tively builds and vacillates.This section jo-ha-kyū steps effectively builds up to designates a shift to a faster tempo, a climax at the very end of the film, which accentuatesWashizu’s torment which allows the effects of the vanity due to his own troop’s betrayal as well as the death of his wife.The final kyū scene reaches a state of controlled frenzy, in which an even more rapid tempo is adopted to conclude the story. In this final scene,Washizu’s own archers turn on him and fill his body with a barrage of arrows, including one straight through his neck.The final kyū thus builds to climax. In Throne of Blood , Kurosawa exploits various theatrical elements of Noh such as its structural organization, masks, music, chant, and choreography to reproduce the total theatre experience of Noh in his film.The highly stylized Noh movements and expressions

Washizu’s body filled with arrows ( Throne of Blood , 1957Toho Company)

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