1971 » Japan » Stage design and costumes

JAPONSKO

There are two trends in the field of stage design in Japan: one tends from the time-honoured tradition of Kabuki and the other originates fnom the European realism. The origin of Kabuki is considered to be Okuni Kabuki that came into being around 1600. In the repertoire of Kabuki are included a number of classical works, and on their stage designs, they keep following the same old patterns that have been made up through three to four centuries' trial. Style, dimension, technique, painting etc. — a taking-over of the tradition. Included in Japanese traditional plays are, besides Kabuki, Kabuki dance, Noh of symbolic style, Bunraku Doll play based on form and so on. The stage designs of these plays are quite varied and they range from a mere plain back-drop to that of symbolism, realism and expressionism. The theatrical performance innovation movement in Japan — with the European realism as a turning point — started in 1909 when Kaoru Osanai established the Liberal Theatre. Then, during the period between 1924 and 1931, the Tsukiji Small Theatre was originated, and they started to adopt the stage design realism of the Moscow Art Theatre as well as Max Reinhardťs romanticism and Meyerholďs constructivism. After the termination of World War II in 1945, an international exchange became active, and the Japanese theatre made the most of it. Such famed plays of various countries of the world as the ones of the Moscow Art Theatre, the Bolshoi Opera, the Paris Opera, Comedie Francaise, the German Opera in Berlin etc. came to be introduced to Japan, stimulating the Japanese stage artists to design stage sets of their own. Furthermore the introduction of the off-Broadway plays, the plays of the French Anti-Theatre, the plays by Brecht etc. as well as the advent of the new theatre mechanism as a result of an elevated technical Innovation have brought about a change in the conception of stage. Reflecting upon such a trend of the theatrical concerns, there are stages depicting uneasiness or agony of the present life, and scenic designers are studying on new stage space, pursuing the inner description of a play with the world of unreasonableness as its theme. On the other hand, attempts are being made to create a new direction and design, taking advantage of the traditional style of play and technique of design. Ryotaro Mitsubayashi The Japan Stage and Television Artists Association takes a great pleasure in the possibility to participate in the Prague Quadrennial 1971. The Japanese traditional stage-plays of world-wide fame such as Noh, Kabuki, Bunraku and others have scored successes through centuries and still attract a number of audience. On the other hand the contemporary theatre, in having introduced on to the stage the European modem drama, is considered as the main current of Japanese theatre activities of seventy years' duration. Today both, the European classical and the most recent plays are being translated and performed in Japan. At the same time, the repertories of the large commercial theatres as well as of the small ones involve dramas by Japanese playwrights. And some theatres present new musical shows every month. The development of the Japanese television is remarkable. Its 105 stations telecast over 7 channels 20 hours a day for twenty millions of TV-receivers. The televised plays should be regarded as an important part of theatrical activities. The Japanese theatre and television have come into being from the ashes of a long war; a creative artistic world, however, cannot exist without any difficulty, being far both from national problems and restrictions, and from the influence of the international situation. Quite naturally, our situation, the situation of the stage and television artists, admits of no exception and we, too, have to contend with various problems. The Japan Stage and Television Artists Association is an organization with a membership of 258 artists, being composed of professional scenic designers, employees of theatres or of the television, and of free-lances. Our decision to accept the invitation to take part in the Prague Quadrennial 1971 originates in the desire to search for the artistic and technical progress as well as to deepen knowledge on an international level. We have participated in several international exhibitions of this type; so far as the PQ 71 is concerned, we have made up our mind to exposé at it above all works of young artists. We hope that our exhibits will comply with the object of the 2nd Prague Quadrennial, and that our exposition will contribute to the strengthening of international cultural relations and to a better mutual understanding through theatrical arts. Kotaro Maki

Exhibiting artists / ateliers

• Setsu Asakura

Additional information: Born in 1922 in Tokyo. Under the influence of her father, who was one of the foremost sculptors in Japan, she began her artistic career as a painter. She now teaches at the Institute of Industrid Design in Kuwazava. Among her most important stage designs are those for productions of Molière' s The Learned Ladies, Brecht´ s Mother Courage and Her Children, Becketť s Waiting for Godot, Sartre' s Dirty Hanods and Y. Fukuda's Where is the Robber Hakamadare? In 1978 she designed the sets for Medea at the Nissei Theatre and for Hamlet at the Teigeki Theatre. In October 1978 she designed the sets and also directed a production of the play by Taeko Tomioko, The Puppet Sisters, which was also played in the USA /in New York, San Francisco, Santa Fe and Dallas/ and which was very favourably received by critics. Among those who played in this production were Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Nobuko Miyamoto and Magosaburo Yuki. She is a member of JASTA, of ITI and OISTT. She participated in the Prague Quadrennial in 1971 and in 1975.

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Exhibiting works

• Eugene Ionesco: (The Chairs), Haiyuza Theatre 1970
  

  
  
  
• Junji Hamano

Additional information: Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Tokyo. He has been acting as stage designer for a period of fifteen years; at present he is at work as designer for the television. He is a member of the Japan Stage and Televison Artists Association.

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Exhibiting works

• : (Hakamadare Wa Dako Da), Shinkokugeki 1970
  

  
  
  
• Taku Iwasaki

Additional information: Plastic artist, painter; he designed the decor to Madame Butterfly for the Italian Teatro Massimo. His sets to Cleopatra having been performed at the Teatro Roma belong to his principal designs. Experimenting is a characteristic feature of his artistic creation. He is a member of the Japan Stage and Television Artists Association.

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• Takako Kasahara

Additional information: Graduated from the Tama School of Fine Arts. She became a member of the SHIKI Troupe and was at work at the Kanamori Corporation At present she acts as freelance costume designer. Characteristics of her works: exploitation of lighting effects. To her most important works belong the costume designs to The Trojans and Romulus.

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Exhibiting works

• Jean Racine: (Andromache), Theatre Haiyuza 1969
  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  
• Shigeo Kawamori

Additional information: Graduated from the Faculty of Aesthetics at the Imperial University. He is at work in the Costume Department of Haiyuza. His most important works are the designs of theatre costumes to Hamlet, to The Treepenny Opera and to The Marriage of Figaro. He is a member of the Japan Stage and Television Artists Association.

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• Tetsuhiko Maeda

Additional information: Born in 1937 in the province of Akita. He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnical University in Musashimi. His stage and costume designs are characterized by a complete freeing of the means of expression used by the dancer as a consequence of the use of very original costumes and by an enlivening of theatrical space in an atmosphere which alters the audience´s perception of reality. Among his best designes, for which he was awarded the Prize of the Japanese Festival of Art, are The Holy Family in 1967, Symposium in 1967 and the Celebra- tion in 1968. In his creative work he continues to endeavour for close links between the dancer and the stage set. At present he is the director of the firm Sigma Designs Co. and a vice-president of MOM Design Co. He is a member of JASTA and of OISTT.

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Exhibiting works

• : (Platon, Symposion), Sankei Hall 1967
  

  

  
  
  
• : (Religious Celebration), Sankei Hall 1968
  

  
  
  
• : (Suna No Onna), Toshi Center Hall 1967
  

  

  
  
  
• Takehisa Magofuku

Additional information: Graduated from the Tokyo Industrial College. He was at work at the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). At present he acts as free-lance stage designer. His most important designs are the stage sets to the plays We Are Not an Angel and The Stork. The characteristic feature of his works is an expressive realism of his stage settings.

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• Kotaro Maki

Additional information: Born in 1909 in the prefecture of Ibaragi. After graduation at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1934, where he studied mainly painting, he began to work as a designer. At present he works for the largest Japanese film and theatre company Toho as chief costume designer. Among his most important work, especially after World War II, are the costumes he designed for the Japanese productions of Broadway musicals, including Fiddler on the Roof. He is a member of the Association of Stage and Television Artists and of OISTT. He participated in the Prague Quadrennial in Prague in 1971.

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Exhibiting works

• : (Terrace of the Leper King), Imperial Theatre 1969
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  
• Hachiro Nakajima

Additional information: Born in 1923 in Tokyo. Since 1946 he has been working as a stage designer at the Tokyo Stage Design Workshop Kisaku Ito. He designs sets for traditional Japanese theatres, including the Kabuki theatre. He participated in the PQ in 1971, 1975, 1979 and in 1983.

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• Otoya Oda

Additional information: Born in 1920 in Tokyo; in 1941 he graduated from the Tokyo Art Academy. He began to work as a stage designer in 1947. He has obtained the Mainichi Theatrical Prize and the Ito Kisaku Prize. He is a member of the Association of Stage and Television Artists and of OISTT. A stress on historical detail, which arguments the value of traditional themes is typical for his stage designs. He has designed stage decorations for Kabuki plays, for classical Japanese drama and for Western type plays. He participated in the Prague Quadrennial in 1971.

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Exhibiting works

• : (Terace of the Leper King), Imperial Theatre 1969
  

  

  

  

  
  
  
• Yoshimasa Sugano

Additional information: Designer of television setting. He is a member of the Japan Stage and Television Artists Association.

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Exhibiting works

• : (Snow Fairy), Suginami Public Hall 1969
  

  

  

  

  
  
  
• Tadahiro Tada

Additional information: Born on the island of Hokkaido. After graduating from the Theatrical Faculty of the Nihon University, where he studied under stage designer Yoshida Kenkichi who was strongly influenced by expressionism, he designed several sets in this manner, but later purposely digressed from this artistic style. He became a designer for the NHK Television Company and at present is the chief of the JASTA chapter on the island of Hokkaido. As a designér he devotes his energies to the revival and development of theatrical space by stage action. He is a member of JASTA and OISTT.

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Exhibiting works

• : (An Account of Crump), Sapporo Public Hall 1971
  

  

  
  
  
• Ichiro Takada

* 1929, Tokyo
Additional information: He graduated in 1953 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Tokyo. In his work he endeavours to combine purely scenic space with traditional Japanese forms of expression and materials. Among his foremost designs are those for the contemporary Japanese play The Head of the Virgin Mary by Chikao Tanaka, for Sartre' s The Condemned of Altona and for Shakespeare´s Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello. He is Associate Professor at the University in Musashino. He obtained a Theatrical Prize from the magazine Shukan Yomiuri, a National Art Festival Prize and a Prize of the Biennial in Paris. He is a member of JASTA and of OISTT. ). V roce 1963 obdržel Cenu na Bienále v Paříži. Vystavoval na PQ 1971, 1975, 1979, 1987, 1991, 1995.

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Exhibiting works

• : (A Morbid Story of Yotsuya), National Theatre 1968
  

  

  

  
  
  
• : (Oeidipus), Giraud 1967
  
  
  
• : (Summer Play - White Comedy), Art Theatre 1970
  
  
  
• : (Medea), Giraud 1967
  
  
  
• Šigeo Okajima

* 1927, Tokyo
Specialization: set designer
Additional information: Set designer, collaborating with Tokyo Engeki Ensemble. He participated in PQ 1983, 1987, 1991.