New-York tribune., 1901-10-13

tains death by forty-seven retainers and which
to this day remains a stock play. to draw
full houses when all others have failed Dan
juro has played the part no less than seventy
eight times, fact which may not impress an
American public, accustomed to hundred night
runs. but which, here in Japan. where audiences
still demand variety and would resent machine
made performances, is considered a remarkable
record.
The class spirit which is essential feat
ure Of Japanese civilization. dominates even the
actors profession. There is a theatrical aris-
tocracy which one may enter who has not
had the good fortune of inheriting great name.
The members of this aristocracy called
'nadai' They are entitled to advertise their
| names on the playboards the entrance to
their theatre. AS there only five actors in
Toxic. including Danjuro and Kikugoro. who
enjoy this privilege. it will be that it is a
| by no means common All these matters
are regulated by the Actors Guild. which. until
few years ago, is said to have been very
exclusive affair.
Among the middle class OF actors there are
frequently found men of considerable talent
In only rare instances. however can they hope
to become nadai upon their own merits. An
actor without family antecedents surmouns
these class barriers only by being adopted into
| some aristocratic family of Thespians. The
| supes' form the lowest class. The laws OF
| their guild do not permit them TO play at two
or more theatres the same day. a privilege
enjoyed by their more distinguished associates
Their lot, indeed, may be said to be hard
| Like revolving bookcases and many other
meritorious things. the idea of continuous per-
formances'' probably came from Japan. For
merly theatre open from dawn till close
upon midnight, and even now a performance in
Toxic never lasts less than eight hours. In the
country the confirmed playgOer still insists upon
getting all his moneys worth. and grumbles il
| the performance takes less than fifteen hours
To so TO the play. therefore. is really hard
work. y whole days performance. however. is
| rarely taken up by single play. There
generally parts of two three different plays
run on the stage the same day The usual
course pursued is TO have first historical or
o-ye. play. The former deals with warlike and
| unsettled times the favorite subjects being
| those connected with the events Immediately
preceding the establishment of the Shogunate.
in the early part of the twelfth century. The
latter treats. as a rule of the frequent attempts
made in the times OF the TOkusawa dynasty to
| supplant the righ,ful heirs of noble houses.
Next comes domestic drama, which pictures
| the life Of the common people. their quarrels
troubles ana tribuIations. The whole concludes
with . scene in which dancing forms the chief
feature In short. the taste Of every one seems
| To be consulted. We study 10 please might
Well be the motto of the Japanese theatre man
| agement it is that Of the "drygoods empo-
! RUM at home.
| The conservatism of the Japanese finds an apt
| illustration in the fact that women DO not as a
! rule perform on the stage with men, The two
sexes act in separate theatres Recent attempts
TO bring them together have been only partly
successful. The public doesn't seem TO like IT,
| In all the great theatres only are to be
! seen. Many of them make speciality of wOrn-
ems roles. In feudal times such actors affected
| in private life the attire and manners OF women
The Restoration of 1865 put a stop to the GUS
tom by prohibiting the wearing of clothes OF
/ the opposite sex. Actors here are in the habit
of declaiming the stage in a voice OF a pe-
culiar register, which makes it easier for them
To mimic woman's voice than if they talked
naturally and for that reason they frequently
show remarkable skill in mpersOnating women
/ The foreigner. certainly. has great difficulty in
such cases to determine whether it is a man or
| Il woman who is performing the part
The social status of the actor in Japau has
undergone a great Improvement within the last
| century. In feudal times he probably was con-
sidered no better than his European colleague
/ Indeed from the first theatre in Kyoto being
bulit on the river side. he swas dubbed river
side beSSar. He may not hope for many Years
! To come To occupy the position which in Eng