The Localness and Asian-ness in Ishin-ha's Jan-Jan Opera Aisa Hayashi · 2016. 5. 25. · 22 【研究報告】 ... produced next year was entitled "Jugo Shonen Tanteidan: Doga-jaga

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【研究報告】

TheLocalnessandAsian-nessinIshin-ha's"Jan-JanOpera"　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　AisaHayashi

　以下に掲載するのは、2008年 7月 14日から18日にかけてソウルで開催された国際

演劇学会（IFTR:InternationalFederationforTheatreResearch）の年次大会において、林

愛沙さんが、大阪をベースとする演劇／パフォーマンス集団「維新派」について行った発

表原稿の全文である。ただし実際の発表では参考資料として維新派のDVDの一部も上映

したのだが、もちろんこれは紙面では再現することができない。IFTRのこの大会は、Re-

ConstructingAsian-ness(es)intheGlobalAgeをテーマとし、約200件の発表が行われた。

　当時林さんは、表現文化学専修前期博士課程（修士課程）2年だったのだが、IFTRで日

本の大学院生が発表したのは林さんが初めてだったはずである。

　林さんが発表したパネルは、テーマこそ日本演劇であったが、そこで発表したのはすべ

て（日本人からみた）外国人であり、その中に混じって、林さんは初めての国際学会で健

闘したと思う。

　特に司会を務めたキャサリン・ミーザーという、筆者と旧知の研究者が「発表後のディ

スカッションを充実させるために各自の発表時間を20分以内にする」と突然宣言した時

にはどうなるかと思ったのだが（事前のリハーサルでは与えられた発表時間を25分とし、

余裕を見て23分で終わらせるという想定だった）、林さんはその場で発表原稿の冒頭の一

部を思いきって削除し、制限時間内に終わらせることができた。

　発表の態度も落ちついて堂々としており、内容もたいへん好評であった。残念ながら、

と言うべきかどうかはわからないが、林さんは修士課程を終えた段階で一般企業に就職す

る道を選んだ。ただ、こうした経験を積んだことが今後何かの役に立ってくれることを願っ

ている。

　また林さんに続いて、大学院の表現文化学専修で学ぶ学生が、今後どんどん国際学会で

活躍することを期待している。（小田中章浩）

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1.

TheaimofthepresentstudyistointroducetheworksofIshin-hain

termsof"Asian-ness", that is, theethnicdiversityofOsaka, thesecond

biggestcityinJapan.

Firstofall,whatisIshin-ha?Itisthenameofatheatercompany

whichmeansrenovationband,foundedin1970byaformerartschool

studentnamedMatsumotoYukichi.

ThemodernJapanesetheaterscenefromthelate60'stothemid

70'swas,likeinWesterncountries,inaturmoilofprotestandrevolution

againsttheestablishedtheaters,asisseeninWasedaShogeki-joofSuzuki

TadashiorTenjoSajikiofTerayamaShuji.Itisnodoubtthattheoriginal

ideaofformingIshin-haderivedfromthiscounter-culturalmovementas

itsname"renovationband"suggests.

Ishin-ha'sactivitiesfromthe70'suptothemid80'sarelessknown.At

thattimethecompanywascalledNihonIshin-ha,(literallytranslatedasJapan

RenovationBand).AccordingtoMatsumoto,NihonIshin-hawascomposedof

artistsofvariousbackgroundssuchasengraver,writer,andactors.Matsumoto

himself,havingmajoredinfineartsatOsakaUniversityofEducation,appeared

onstageasamainactor,alsotakingchargeofstagedesign.

Duringthisearlyperiodthecompanywasundertheinfluenceofvarious

artistssuchasKaraJuro,famousforhisAkaTent(theRedtenttheater

company),TerayamaandHijikataTatsumi(AnkokuButo).However,itseems

thatNihonIshin-hacouldnotestablishitsownstyle,searchingforextremely

radicalexpressions.Itissaidthattheyevenateexcrementorvomitedonstage.

In1986,Nihon Ishin-ha changed itsname simplyas Ishin-ha,

andMatsumotobegan towrite scripts for theproduction.Theplay

producednextyearwasentitled"JugoShonenTanteidan:Doga-jagaDon-

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don" (FifteenBoyDetectives:Doga-jagaDon-don isa transcriptionof

soundeffectproducedbyChindon-ya,Japanesestreetentertainers for

advertisementwhoseexistencewasquitecommonaround1920's).

Thisplay(orweshouldrathercallitperformance)couldbeseenas

aprototypeoflaterIshin-ha'sworksknownasJan-Janopera.

Inthefirstplace, itwasacompleteoutdoorperformancemaking

useofstagesettingsaswellasthesurroundingenvironment.Secondly,it

wasamixtureofchoreography,music,andscenography(stagedesign),

eachoftheelementsconstitutingtheessentialpartsoftheproduction.As

fortheworldrepresentedintheperformance,therealreadyexistseveral

motifsor themespreferred inMatsumoto'sscenarios:boysandgirls,

imageofthelosttown,andanostalgiaderivingfromit.

Thisviewcouldbeconfirmedsimplybyenumeratingthetitlesof

Jan-Janoperaproduced in the followingyears: "ShonenOpera" (Boy's

Opera)performedin1988,ScrapOperaperformedin1989,and"Shonen-

gai"(Boy'sTown)performedin1991.

In1999, thebandwas invitedto theAdelaideFestivalofArts in

Australia, andperformed "Mizumachi" (WaterCity). Since then they

performedRyusei (TheShootingStar) inHamburg(Germany),Rubiera

(Italy), andBelfast (theUK) in2001.Natsu-no-Tobira (TheDoorof

Summer)wasperformedinGuanajuato(Mexico)andSantos(Brazil) in

2007.TodayIshin-ha'sperformancehasreceivedfantasticreviewsnot

onlyinJapanbutworldwide.

2.

SofarwehaveseenabriefhistoryofIshin-ha.NowIamgoingto

analyze"A

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sian-ness" of Ishin-ha takingonlyoneperformance, "Oukoku" (the

Kingdom)produced in1998,duetothe limitof time.However,before

discussingtheproduction,weshouldalsoshedlightonthe locationof

Ishin-ha'sactivities,thecityofOsaka.

Asmentioned,OsakaisthesecondlargestcityinJapan.However,

during theEdoEra, inotherwords, from the17th to themid19th

century,Osakaenjoyedthestatusofcommercialaswellasculturalcenter

ofthecountry,manymerchantstradingriceaffordedtoBushi(samurai)

aswage.ItwasinOsakafamousplaywrightChikamatsuworkedfromthe

late17thtotheearly18thcenturies.

AftertheMeijiRestorationin1868,thecitytransformeditselfrapidly

fromamercantiletocapitalisttown,producingproblemssuchaspoverty,

discrimination,andsocialdisorder.

Evennow,Osaka,especially inthesoutherndistrictof thecity, is

associatedwith theremainsof thepast;problemsofZainichi (Korean

originpeople),peopleofBurakuorigin(akindofpariahoruntouchables

discriminatedintheEdoEraoreventodayfortheirprofessionofkilling

cattle)andtheleastpaiddayworkers(theirnumbersareincreasingdue

totherecentglobalcapitalism).

ItispreciselyinthesesurroundingsthattheJan-JanoperaofIshin-

hawasborn,becauseJan-JanisthenameofquarternearTennoji,southern

commercialcenterofOsaka.

The Jan-Jandistrict is found in the areawhere thename is

announcedastheplacebuiltbynew-comers;Shinsekai　(theNewWorld).

ThereisalsoafamoustouristattractioncalledtheTsutenkakuTower(the

TowertoReachtheHeaven).Around1900,thisareawasconceivedasa

commercialcenterforentertainmentinmodernizingOsaka.In1903,the

5thNational IndustrialExhibitionwasheldthere,anditwasasuccess.

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Afterthat,Shinsekaigrewmore,aspiringtobecomecities likeParisor

ConeyIslandintheUSA.Asitssymbol,anobservatorywaserectedand

peopletouteditastheEiffelTowerofJapan.ItwasthefirstTsutenkaku

Towerbuilt in1912(ItwasdemolishedduringtheWorldWarII.The

onewesee today is thesecondtowerrebuiltafter thewar).TheJan-

Jandistrictanditssurroundingsthusbearastrongatmosphereoffake

culturewithmake-believepompousness.

Matsumoto says thatunlike traditionalEuropeancities,Osaka,

especially in the southernhalf, spreadsout in chaoticdisorder.He

considersOsaka,connectedtothesea,asasettlementwherepeoplereach

afterlongjourneyandinwhichthenotionsoffluidityandwanderingare

born.

These imagescome from the fact thatmanypeoplecoming to

Osakamigratedfromtheircountriesorthecoloniesat thetime inthe

processofcapitalistindustrialization.Osakawasnotautopia.Matsumoto

seesOsakaasahuge livingorganismcalled "city"suckingpeopleup

fromcountryside.Matsumotohimselfwasborn inKyusyu, the third

biggest island inJapansurroundedbytheEastChinaSea,andmoved

toOsakaattheageofeight.Hesaysthathewasoverwhelmedwhenhe

sawindustrializedOsakaforthefirsttime.Osakaisnotonlyamixture

ofpeoplesandculturesofvariousorigins just likemanybigcities in

Asia,butalso it iscovered withsuperficial joy,cheapnessaswellas

resentmentagainstauthorities.TheJan-Janoperawasconceivedtogive

aforminthisMatsumoto'sviewofthecityandpeoplelivingthere.And

oneofhispersistingmotifs is the imageofChindon-ya,oncepopular

streetentertainers inJapan.Chindon-ya isreferred invariousways in

theperformanceofIshin-haanditremindsusthatthecityofOsakawith

itshigh-techskyscrapers,highwaysandbusinesspersonsisnotsomuch

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modernas itseemstobe,morechaotic, junkyandfrivolous,ethnically

diverseanduprooted.It'sa"floatingworld" ifweborrowanexpression

fromSaikaku,famousnovelistintheendof17thcenturyOsaka.

Wenow seehow this visionof theworldwas realized in the

productionofIshi-ha,intheperformancetitled"Oukoku"(theKingdom).

3.

"Oukoku"(theKingdom)seemsakindofcheapspaceopera ifwe

focusonthepathof"supposed"maincharacter;Takeru,orphanboy, is

borninimaginaryOsakainthenearfutureandlivesinthefights.When

TakerurobsChinese,hestabsoneofthemwithaknifeandheispursued.

HebarelyescapesfromtheChineseattackhidinghimselfinsewage(drain

pipes)whichcoverundergroundOsakalikeaweborplexus,andthere

hehearsthevoiceofboysinthepast.Theyappearfollowingthewater

flow.CommunicationbetweenTakeruandtheboysbeginsandwiththem

hedriftsthroughthecity.Aftertheiradventures,theboysdisappearand

Takeruisleftalone.Theirvoicesnevercomebackagain.

However, this rather sentimental storyonly serves as aouter

frameworkfortheaudiencetogointoamulti-layeredworldrepresented

byIshin-ha;becauseastheplayunfolds,itbecomesclearthatthisworld

isconstructedontheimagesof"flow";waterflow,cleanorrotten,flowof

blood,flowofpeopleandtheaudienceevenseeaflowofrealcarspassing

throughbehindtheopenstage,aswellasaflowof illuminationofreal

buildingsifyouglancebehindthetheaterspacefromlefttorightorright

toleft.Iwillshowyoutheopeningsceneof"Oukoku"(theKingdom);here

youseenotonlytheaudienceandthestagesettinginfront,butalsocars

andbuildingsoftherealcityofOsakabehind.

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WeaddinpassingthatcommercialactivitiesinOsaka,fromthe17th

centuryon,havebeensupportedbyriversandcanalsgoing through

it. "Oukoku" (theKingdom) is subtitledas "Goalonga river"and if

yougoalongariver inOsaka,youcouldreachNanko-portwherethe

performancetookplace.

ForMatsumoto"flow"issoimportantanimageas itwastakenup

inthenextwork"Mizu-machi"(WaterTown),constitutingatrilogywith

anotherperformance"Ryusei" (ShootingStar),allofwhichreflect the

imageofflow.

Theperformance is thuscloselyconnected to theplacewhere it

wasproduced:Nanko-port. Nankoisareclaimedlandfromtheseafor

commercialand industrialuse,developedduringaso-called "bubble"

periodinlatethe80'stoearly90's.WhenIshin-hafirstproducedtheir

workinNanko-portpracticallytherewasnothingaroundasaresultof

thedepressioncausedbythebubbleeconomy.Soitwasagoodplaceto

introduceanimaginaryOsakainthenearfuture.

Onthestagetheaudienceseesvarious imagesofOsaka,mostof

thembeingfragmentaryordeformed,andthereappearsaminiatureof

ruinedOsakacityinwhicheventheTsutenkauTowerisreproducedina

smallerscale.HereyouhavetheimageofthisminiatureofOsakainruins.

However,themost impressiveaspectoftheperformanceisfound

inthebandsofboysandgirlswho,withtheirpeculiarmovementsand

songs,actlikechorusinGreektragedy.Infact,itisnoexaggerationtosay

thattheperformanceissupportedbythesebandsofboysandgirlswho

constituteeachsceneincooperationwithdifferentstagesetting.Butthe

wordstheysingorchantaresodecomposedonphoneticlevelthatthey

aresometimesincomprehensiblelikeincantation,whileretainingastrong

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accentoftheOsakaregion.Asawhole,theirsongsremindusofKecakof

BaliIsland.

As for theirmovements, technically speaking it is very

"undeveloped": it seems that theyabandonambition toachieveany

physicalhighstandard.Buttheirbodiesarealwaysswaying,asiftoshow

thattheystandonnosolidground.

This strangemovement, accompaniedwith their voiceswhich

repeat simplephrasesor fragmentsofwordswithOsaka intonation

almost interminably, invitesspectatorstogointoanotherworld,afake

Osakawhichbelongs,whetherinthefutureorinthepast,tochimerical

imaginationofpeoplelivinginthisjunkcity.

ThenIwillshowyouanotherexert from"Oukoku"(theKingdom)

where thebandofgirls chant in the stage settingwhichevokesan

atmosphereofdowntownOsakaofolddays:

Inthisscenethegirls'chantrepeats"Shobai-hanjo"whichisroughly

translatedas"whole lottadeal",anexpressiontypicallyfoundinOsaka

merchants.Andagainst thisbackground, the festivities like thoseof

Chindon-ya,Japanesestreetentertainersofoldtimes,comeup.Sothe

audience,goingthroughtheperformance,seetheruinsofOsakainthe

nearfutureontheonehandandthepastofthecityevokedbythebands

ofboysandgirlsontheother,aswellastherealcitybehindthestage.

Theboysandgirls,withtheirbodiesswayingasmuchmechanically

aschildishly,givetheaudiencean impressionofdrifting.Theyarethe

symbolofdriftingpeopleinthiscitywhoaredestinedtoberestlessand

wholookfortheirhomeplaceonlybywayofnostalgia.Thisiswhythe

heroTakeruin"Oukoku"ishomeless.Hedriftsinthecityjustlikethese

boysandgirlsfromthepastaredrifting.

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4.

In conclusionwe could say that "Asian-ness" of Ishin-ha's

performanceisfoundinMatsumo's imageofdriftingpeople inthecity

whichaffordsnosolidgroundtoliveon.Andthissenseofhomeless-ness

isquitecommonnotonlyindevelopingAsianbigcitiesbutinthecityof

Osakawhichistornapartwithcontradictionsbetweenmodernandpre-

modernorethnicdiversityandculturalidentity.

Apartfrom"Oukoku", theperformanceof Ishin-ha isaccompanied

withasenseofcheapness; theworldrepresentedbyIshin-ha is fullof

junkimages.Alsothebodymovementandchantofplayersarefarfrom

refined.But it is clear that thisapproachofMatsumoto is strategic.

Puttingforwardthecheapnessof theperformance,heprotestsagainst

everyauthenticity,whateverculturalorpolitical.Andwemustadmitthat

thisstrategyoftheJan-Janoperahasbeenquiteeffective.