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Jessica So Ren Tang

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Ayami Kojima.

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少女椿

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rebellitude

(rebelliousness)

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Japanese DVD cover for Lady Snowblood (修羅雪姫), 1973, directed by Toshiya Fujita (藤田敏八) and starring Meiko Kaji (梶芽衣子).

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Japanese Hina dolls

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Takahashi Macoto

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Shunkyō Kagami Jishi, or simply Kagami Jishi (‘Mirror Lionʼ) is a dance play (shosagoto) telling a story of an unusual transformation. The scene takes place in the residence of the shōgun; Yaoi, a young lady in waiting, is chosen to perform the ceremonial lion dance. Its purpose is to drive out evil spirits at the beginning of the new year. As many other Japanese ceremonial dances, the lion dance also involve the use of a wooden mask. Yaoi, however, does not feel at ease; she is locked in a room with the mask and told to practice. She begins shyly and with hesitation, but as she progresses, her movements gain in confidence. Finally, the lion spirit takes control of Yaoiʼs body, leading to the final transformation. The actor leaves the stage only to reappear after an interlude wearing a dazzling lion costume, a splendid mane on his head. The rest of the dance is pure energy.

The whole shosagoto is considered particularly difficult. The same actor has to perform the shy Yaoi in a typical onnagata style, and the dynamic shishi. The dance requires perfect ‘cooperation�� of the human body and the costume, especially in the second part, in which the actorʼs movements need to be very precise given the unwieldiness of the outfit and the wig.

You can watch the whole play [here] (with Bandō Tamasaburō as Yaoi/Shishi). The version available [here], with Onoe Kikugoro IV in the main role,  is a very interesting fragment of a documentary promoting Japanese culture made by Yasujirō Ozu in 1936 (for supplementary information on the film, see [here]). 

Photos (top to bottom, left to right): 1 and 2—Bandō Tamasaburō as Yaoi (by Kishin Shinoyama) [source 1] [source 2]; 3 and 4—Onoe Ukon as Yaoi and Shishi [source]; 5—Nakamura Kanzaburō as Shish (by Kishin Shinoyama)i [source]; Ichikawa Ebizo as Shishi (by Kishin Shinoyama) [source].

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Michael Garfield

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Miuchi Suzue

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House ( ハウス ) || dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi, (1977)