CINEMA KABUKI: HERON MAIDEN

Thanks to the outward-looking focus of Shochiku, the venerable theater-and-film institution that presides over Japan’s largest Kabuki empire, there have been increasing opportunities for international audiences at home (not just overseas, where cinema kabuki screenings are becoming a regular ticket) to savor the splendor of the classical all-male artform.

The latest screening is a starring arguably the most acclaimed onnagata performer of the modern era, Bando Tamasaburo V. The Heron Maiden (Sagi Musume) first entered the kabuki repertoire in 1762, and is considered one of its most demanding roles, with 15 musicians on stage and quick costume changes in swirling snow.

A tale of mounting passion, it begins with a young girl in a pure white kimono as she alights on a snow-covered set, looking just like a heron (considered messengers of the gods). As she begins dancing, the lyrics of her sorrowful song compare her emotions to the snow piling up on her umbrella, as if her unrequited love is like the delicate snowflakes inexorably melting away.

Is she really a girl or a heron? As the stage darkens and brightens, and Bando changes kimono again and again, this enigmatic, visually stunning tale becomes ever more captivating.