Fuji Musume: Kabuki Dance
Tamasaburo Bando dances Fuji Musume.
First performed in 1826, Fuji Musume, the “Wisteria Maiden,” features the spirit of the wisteria plant, transformed into a bashful and romantic young woman.
In the town of Otsu a painting of the Wisteria Maiden catches the eye of a male passerby. As he gazes into the painting, the wisteria maiden becomes so infatuated with the man that she comes to life, stepping out of the painting to dance.
She writes heartfelt letters, but the letters go unanswered. The dance expresses the depth of emotion of her unrequited love, eventually leading her to sadness and despair. Heartbroken, she re-enters the painting, where she remains in the last pose of the dance.
This DVD also contains the dances, Yukari no Tuki, Yasuna, Aoi no Ue, Kane no Misaki.
Tamasaburo is world reknowned for his performances in film and on stage with Maurice Béjart, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Yo-Yo Ma. Now in this staging of one of the great classics of Japan, Tamasaburo shows himself to be a consummate artist of the Kabuki tradition.
This DVD features an excellent, comprehensive English language commentary by Oxford University scholar Paul M. Griffith explaining the history and details of the play and of the performance.
FUJI MUSUME is part of a six part series of DVDs featuring Tamasaburo.
95 mins, colour with English commentary, DVD only.
