An event featuring English-language kyogen and kabuki took place on Sunday at the Setagaya Literature Museum in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward. Organized by Laurence Kominz, professor emeritus at Portland State University, and his former students, it drew enthusiastic applause from about 100 attendees. The performance was part of the ongoing Donald Keene Exhibition.
Five alumni from Portland State University (PSU) took the stage in traditional costumes and makeup. Three of them are currently teaching English at elementary, junior high, and high schools in Mie, Toyama, and Yamaguchi prefectures through the JET Program, administered by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and others.
The kyogen pieces included “The Mountain Wizard and the Persimmons,” where a hungry monk, returning from mountain training, climbs a persimmon tree in a field to eat the fruit but gets spotted by the landowner, and the Komai dance “Kyoto Children.” The kabuki featured a scene from “The Forty-Seven Ronin” called “The Attack in the Palace,” with highly polished performances.
At the venue, organizer Laurence Kominz explained, “Translations for stage performance differ from translations for reading.” While reading translations can use footnotes for difficult words or cultural contexts, stage versions must convey meaning through actors' lines and movements, sometimes requiring paraphrase over literal translation. However, exceptions exist: onomatopoeic sounds like animal cries in the kyogen were kept in Japanese, as American audiences find them entertaining.
Donald Keene first came to Japan in the summer of 1953, frequently attending noh, kabuki, and bunraku performances. In Kyoto, he became a disciple of a kyogen master and even performed on stage himself. In the United States, he emerged as the leading authority on Japanese traditional performing arts and literature.
Kominz, who studied under Keene at Columbia University's graduate school, taught Japanese literature at PSU for about 40 years, emphasizing traditional plays and arts. He staged kabuki and kyogen with students throughout his career and continues instructing as an emeritus professor after retiring in 2022.
Kominz's wife, Toshimi Tanaka, recalled at the event, “When I first met Kominz 40 years ago, the only stage costumes he had were seven or eight yukata.” She supported him as costume manager. Thirty years later, their 2016 “Forty-Seven Ronin” production involved 50 student performers, 60 roles, and 80 costumes for a three-hour show. Preparing traditional Japanese attire in the U.S. is challenging, so she made items with help from other Japanese women and adapted everyday objects, like using New Year's osechi decorations or curtain tassels for wig ornaments. “I believe my role is to show the next generation of students that you can build a stage with creativity and ingenuity,” she said.
When the audience asked the former students, “Is there anything tough about performing traditional Japanese arts?” they replied in unison, “Seiza [sitting on your heels] is tough,” drawing laughter from the venue.