Photo: AP/Yuri Kageyama via Economic Times.
Ten-year-old Maholo is an emerging star in Japan’s 420 year-old Kabuki theater. And he happens to be French.
Having once been turned down for a New Shoreham committee because I was not a year-round resident, I love hearing about famously hidebound organizations that decide to open up. Today’s story is features Kabuki theater opening up.
Yuri Kageyama writes at the Associated Press (AP), “Ten-year-old Maholo Terajima Ghnassia loves watching anime and playing baseball. … And he’s breaking conventions in Japan’s 420-year-old Kabuki theater tradition.
“In Kabuki, all the roles are played by men, including beautiful princesses — a role Maholo accomplishes stunningly in his official stage debut as Maholo Onoe at the Kabuki Theater in downtown Tokyo. … He starts out disguised as a woman, dancing gracefully, before transforming into sword-wielding warrior Iwami Jutaro. He then makes a quick costume change right there on the stage, all while delivering singsong lines in a clear resonating voice unaided by a microphone.
“Out to avenge his father’s death, striking spectacular poses, Maholo performs swashbuckling fight scenes and slays a furry baboon.
” ‘I like “tachimawari” (fight scenes). It feels good, and people who are watching it think it’s cool,’ said Maholo. …
“Maholo’s grandfather, Kikugoro Onoe, appears as the God of War. He praises Maholo’s character, Iwami, and tells him to keep at his art, promising to always be at his side and help him attain his goals.
“Kabuki is typically passed from father to son, the art form largely limited to Japanese men. But Kikugoro Onoe is Maholo’s maternal grandfather; the young Kabuki performer’s father, Laurent Ghnassia, is French. …
“The huge curtain for the stage, which also works as advertising space, is speckled with fluttering dots of purple and orange, designed by French artist Xavier Veilhan of fashion house Chanel. This was Ghnassia’s idea — as an art director, he designs venues, installations, shops and events to market fashion brands, contemporary art and film ventures. …
“Maholo himself isn’t sure yet if he will stick with the strict, demanding art form and someday adopt his grandfather’s stage name, Kikugoro — a prized name in Kabuki passed down through generations of Onoe men.
“Child Kabuki actors go through a difficult transitional period when their voices change with puberty but they aren’t yet mature enough to take adult roles. Only the truly determined ones pull through that stretch to succeed.
“ ‘Unless he is recognized and in demand, he won’t get any roles. He must have the passion. It’s not easy. It’s up to him,’ said Maholo’s mother, renowned actor Shinobu Terajima. She won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival for her poignant performance in the 2010 film Caterpillar.
‘It’s not easy, but choosing the harder path makes life more worthwhile. The more hurdles there are, the climb becomes worth it,’ Terajima said.
“Although Japan has been known for discriminatory attitudes toward foreigners and outsiders, Terajima hopes her son’s French cultural background will give Maholo a unique edge in the world of Kabuki. But he may become a film actor like herself, Terajima said.
“ ‘It must be felt. It’s not just the lines you speak,’ she said. ‘I want him to act by digesting within what’s received from the other, and then return that, changing one’s heart with that received energy. That’s fundamental to acting.’ “
More at AP, here. No firewall.
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