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readingsweetblueflowers · 6 years

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The play’s the thing

Takako Shimura’s use of Yukio Mishima’s 1956 play Rokumeikan in omnibus volume 3 of Sweet Blue Flowers is probably the best example of her fondness for using theatrical plays as elements in her manga. The interplay between the events and characters of the play and the events and characters of the manga contributes to that volume being overall the most excellent of the series.

The bits of the play presented in Sweet Blue Flowers are somewhat fragmentary. Shimura assumes a readership familiar with at least the basic outline of the play and its main characters. The play itself is available in an English translation by Hiroaki Sato (as part of the collection My Friend Hitler and Other Plays of Yukio Mishima), and for anyone interested I highly recommend seeking it out.

For those not willing or able to take the time to read the play, or daunted by the cost of the book, here’s a summary of the plot:

Act 1. On the Emperor’s birthday, November 3, 1886, a group of aristocratic women gather at a teahouse on the estate of Count Kageyama, a high-ranking government minister, and watch the military review being held in the Emperor’s honor. (This first scene is also the first depicted in the manga, on pages 233-235 of omnibus volume 2.) They are joined by Kageyama’s wife Asako (played by Kyoko Ikumi in the performance depicted in Sweet Blue Flowers), an ex-geisha elevated to the aristocracy by her marriage who is uncomfortable with her new status and never appears in public.

One of the women appeals to Asako on behalf of her daughter Akiko (played by Akira Okudaira) and her lover Hisao, a supporter of the opposition party whom Akiko fears will disrupt that night’s ball at the Rokumeikan and attempt to assassinate Kageyama. Perturbed at hearing Hisao’s name, Asako agrees to help, and after the ladies depart she sends to him to meet with her.

Asako reveals to Hisao that she is his mother by her former lover Kiyohara, leader of the opposition party, who took Hisao in after his birth. Hisao expresses his resentment of his father’s neglect of him and of his treatment compared to Kiyohara’s legitimate children, and reveals that he plans to kill not Kageyama but Kiyohara.

Act 2. After Hisao leaves Asako reaches out to Kiyohara (played by Ryoku Ueda) and he meets with her at the teahouse. She tells him she knows about the plan to disrupt the ball, and urges him to abandon it. Kiyohara resists, until she tells him that she plans to leave her private sphere and attend the ball herself.

Kiyohara leaves as Kageyama and his retainer Tobita enter the scene. Overheard by Asako, their conversation reveals that Kageyama knows about the plot to disrupt the ball and, with Tobita as his intermediary, is the mastermind behind Hisao’s plan to kill Kiyohara. (The bloodthirsty Tobita protests that he himself was not given the task of assassination.)

Asako reveals herself and tells Kageyama that in fact there will be no disturbance at the ball, and after Tobita leaves tells Kageyama of her own plans to attend. She then urges Kageyama to persuade Hisao to abandon his plan to kill his father, explaining her interest as simply that of helping a friend’s daughter.

Kageyama agrees, on condition that the ball not be disrupted. Immediately upon Asako leaving he grabs her maid Kusano and forces himself upon her.

Act 3. At the Rokumeikan before the ball, Akiko and Hisao talk of Asako’s role in bringing Hisao to the ball and then kiss, after which Asako enters and busies herself with directing the workmen decorating the rooms. Meanwhile Kageyama, having seduced Kusano with the promise of his favor, extracts from her the information that Asako is Hisao’s mother and Kiyohara’s former lover.

After conversing briefly with Asako, Kageyama seeks out Tobita and tells him that plans have changed: since the original plot to disrupt the ball was called off by Kiyohara, Tobita should now arrange a disruption himself. Kageyama then tells Kusano to summon Kiyohara to the Rokumeikan that evening in Asako’s name.

Akiko and Hisao talk of their plans to elope together and leave for a foreign tour. Kageyama interrupts them and upbraids Hisao for his giving in to romance and abandoning his plans, explaining that (contrary to what Asako told Hisao) a break-in will in fact occur and the (unnamed) target of Hisao’s assassination plot will be present on the grounds outside the Rokumeikan. Kageyama hands Hisao a pistol, which he accepts.

Kageyama rejoins Asako and her friends, and they drink a toast to the Emperor’s health (marred by the ill omen of Asako accidentally dropping her glass).

Act 4. As Asako, Kageyama, and their fellow aristocrats talk among themselves, the invited dignitaries begin to arrive at the ball, including the Prime Minister and various foreign guests. (Incidentally, Hirobumi Itō was the real-life Prime Minister in 1886 and is explicitly referred to as such in the play. It’s inexplicable to me why Mami Harono repeatedly refers to Kageyama as the Prime Minister in the paper “Anatomy of Mishima’s Most Successful Play Rokumeikan”.)

After the guests enter the ballroom, a report comes up from downstairs of men brandishing swords and destroying decorations. Asako goes to the head of the stairs and faces them down, after which Kageyama quietly directs Tobita to have the men withdraw. Meanwhile, thinking that his father has betrayed both him and Asako in ordering the plot to proceed, Hisao flies into a rage and leaves the building.

Soon thereafter shots are heard, and a distraught Kiyohara enters, explaining that Hisao is dead: Kiyohara was fired upon by an assailant hiding in the dark and fired back in self-defense, subsequently discovering that he had killed his son. Perceiving that Hisao had deliberately misdirected his shot, Kiyohara concludes that he wanted to be killed by his own father as a revenge upon him.

Kiyohara declares himself done with politics and sardonically congratulates Kageyama on achieving his goal of eliminating a political enemy. He also tells Asako that the men who broke into the Rokumeikan were not his own, declares that he kept his own promise (implying that Asako had not kept hers in calling him to the scene), declares he will never see her again, and exits.

Tobita exits as well (“with a conspiratorial air”, per the stage directions), as do Akiko and her mother after Asako attempts to comfort them, leaving Asako and Kageyama to face each other. Kageyama taunts Asako for believing in “fairy tales” of trust and cooperation between people, in ignorance of the real world of politics, while Asako accuses him of knowing and wanting nothing but power.

As Asako declares her intention to leave Kageyama for Kiyohara after this night, the arrival of the Imperial Princess is announced, the orchestra plays while Asako and Kageyama dance, and Asako claims that she hears a pistol shot in the distance. The music stops, Kageyama tells Asako the sound was only fireworks, and then the music and dance resume as the curtain falls.

#Sweet Blue Flowers #Aoi Hana #manga #Rokumeikan #Yukio Mishima

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mwsa-member · 3 years

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The Defiance of Reiko Murata by Allen Wittenborn

MWSA Review Pending

Author's Synopsis

Reiko Murata is shocked and dismayed when she receives a haiku poem from her late husband, an admiral in the Japanese Imperial Navy, suggesting she follow his example in committing seppuku, ritual suicide, an appeal she strongly resists. It’s 1947, and Reiko lives a solitary and uneventful life. As she grieves his death, and struggles to deal with her loneliness, she feels torn between her desire for autonomy and the rigid customs that define Japanese society. In her search, she encounters a younger man, Akira Kusano. They begin an affair, but she is wary of a deeper relationship, especially when she discovers he is connected to the yakuza. She’s drawn into the crime syndicate’s orbit when Akira introduces her to Kazuo Fujita, the yakuza godfather. Despite her misgivings and warnings from Akira, she begins working with Fujita, and finds herself at the center of a mystery involving secret maps to a hidden fortune called Golden Lily, an authentic historical episode.

Format(s) for review: Paper AND Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 250

#MWSA Review Pending #2022 Season #Historical Fiction

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dramaddict-and-proud-of-it · 6 years

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Nobuta wo Produce

Year : 2005 | Country : JP | Nb of episodes: 10

My rate: 3/10

Synopsis :

Kiritani Shuji is the popular guy who gets along with everyone, from the jerks to the nerds to the just plain weird. The one person Shuji cannot stand is Kusano Akira. To Shuji, Akira is just plain annoying. He laughs, talks and acts funny. Things heat up when a new student comes to school. Her name is Kotani Nobuko, a girl who has no self confidence at all and is content at being made fun of and bullied in school. Shuji and Akira come to an accord that in order to make use of their youth they will produce Nobuko as the next popular girl. One of the conditions, however, is that nobody should find out that they are working together as a team to make this concept possible. Unveiled here is the story of true friendship between three unlikely candidates who would not have been friends if not given the special circumstances.

Main cast :

Kamenashi Kazuya as Kiritani Shuji

Yamashita Tomohisa as Kusano Akira

Horikita Maki as Kotani Nobuko

Toda Erika as Uehara Mariko

Ukaji Takashi as Kiritani Satoru

Fukaura Kanako as Kiritani Nobuko

My thoughts on this drama :

This drama was insanely popular. I don't know why. I hated it. It's hard to explain why, but I found it weird and not that good in terms of acting, despite Maki Horikita's exceptional skills.

A Favorite ?

#nobuta wo produce #kamenashi kazuya #yamashita tomohisa #yamapi #horikita maki #erika toda #jdrama #drama

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cookstacey · 3 years

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kittiekitz · 7 years

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G-O-D right here! 😂 Aww Yamapi… I can’t help but be reminded of Kusano Akira with the way he’s acting 😆 Can we just pretend that this is a sequel to Nobuta Wo Produce? *haha* It’s just sad that Horikita Maki is no longer acting. It would have been icing on the cake if all three of them starred in a drama again… But still super excited to see this!! I missed Kamenashi so much!

Credit to user @yp1630409 on Instagram ❤️

#boku unmei no hito desu #tomohisa yamashita #kamenashi kazuya #ボク、運命の人です。#i'm so excited #亀と山p #kame と yamapi #山下智久 #亀梨和也

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irishcoffeeslushie · 7 years

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Nobuta wo Produce review (excerpts) - I

Disclaimer: I didn’t write this, although I wish I had. Source.

High school.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of teenage angst, it was the season of puppy love; it was the spring of maturity, it was the winter of childhood; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…

God bless his soul, but Mr. Dickens must be turning in his grave this very minute knowing that his iconic opener from “A Tale of Two Cities” was hijacked by some slush-brained Jdorama fangirl, and then bastardized into a paean to the Universal High School Experience. Even worse, imagine his horror to find this piece to be just a pretext for a long and gushy tribute to a rather unsightly pair of Japanese teen idols — one scrawny and effeminate, the other looking perpetually lobotomized — who, by their performances in the drama that’s about to be dissected, have effectively clinched said fangirl’s undying affections (pure and, uh, otherwise). If our esteemed Victorian novelist only knew that his classic lines would later be co-opted into a rhapsody about a couple of Johnnies fer gawdssakes, he wouldn’t just be turning in his grave by now, but doing freakin’ somersaults while chewing on his elbows or something — or worse, gyrating furiously to the “Seishun Amigo” chorus. (Sacrilege!!! Is nothing sacred now? Not even Dickens???)

I know it may sound funny (and even counterintuitive), but “sacred” is exactly what I hold this drama to be. Admittedly, Nobuta wo Produce hardly looks impressive on the surface, and can be dismissed by the casual observer as just another idoru vehicle set against the disposable backdrop of high school — with the fluff, the stereotypes, the puerile laughs — only to be swallowed in a sea of other mass-produced Jdramas of the same teen-wanking formula… But no. This one is different. Because once in a while we drama fans are gifted with a viewing experience so transcendent in both style and substance, a triumphant synergy of directorial creativity, of writing deep and resonant, and of characters so heartbreakingly authentic.

Nobuta wo Produce is the Jdrama that is closest to my heart, the one that means the most to me out of all that I’ve watched (and re-watched). (And you thought it was something Kimura had starred in? Close, but no ciggy.) Although I cannot speak for all fans of this drama, I know that many, like myself, have come to love its three protagonists — Shuji, Akira, Nobuta — with a fierce allegiance, and can identify with their own feelings of disquiet and trepidation as they stand, inevitably, on the brink of adulthood. This is a deeply personal drama to watch — and that, for me, is what makes it sacred in no small way. Just as we all — whoever and wherever we are — inwardly uphold as sacrosanct the universal themes that this drama explores to rich, rewarding ends: the painful reality of growing up, the strange duality of alienation and friendship, and the “self-revelatory odyssey” of finding yourself as you make your way through life.

Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times had this to say about another seminal teen drama from the other side of the world that remains, in my opinion, the best of its kind to ever be spawned by Hollywood — and also, regrettably, one of the most underrated and short-lived. The title? My So-Called Life (ABC, 1994).

“Every so often in the collaborative art called television a little miracle happens. There is a meeting of minds, a confluence of vision, a gathering of particular talents. The planets align, the cards fall into place, and something is born whose worth is instantly apparent to all involved, not as a generator of revenue — at which it might fail completely — but as an ennobling refraction of some little bit of the Truth, of what it means, or could mean, to be alive. Each department pushes the others a little bit harder; excellence from one corner prompts ambition in another. What might have begun as just the next greenlighted project or available job becomes a sort of holy mission, even if none of the participants would ever dare call it that — this being, after all, only television.”

These words also captured all that I felt about Nobuta wo Produce and had hoped to articulate in my own inadequate way. And the stars did seem to align for myself and this drama: a few minutes into the first episode I knew that something extraordinary was unfolding on my TV screen. There was no way this would turn out to be just another teen drama. Nor did it feel like an “idol drama” in spite of its cast; I saw no idols playacting for the paycheck, but three regular high school kids in a coming-of-age story that was all at once funny, heartfelt and bittersweet. NwP isn’t an outstanding high school drama, but an outstanding drama, period.

Based on the novel by Shiraiwa Gen, the screenplay by Kizara Izumi serves as the backbone of the whole drama… and oh my goodness, how can I NOT gush about THE WRITING — it both warms and pierces the heart. And it’s so… HIGH SCHOOL, y’know? It gets it, as in it really gets what high school is all about, that different planet we’ve ALL been to, where the drama and the heightened emotions and the clique wars and the desire for validation and the puppy love and the tortured ruminations matter more than they ever will by the time we’re these Big Old Boring Grownups. Nobuta wo Produce is about Becoming and Belonging, and about finding fast and true friends who will help you along the way.

Everyone loves Shuji – from his teachers right down to his peers, from his coterie of “bye-byecycle” homeboys to their simpering, magazine-flipping counterparts, from the resident toughies to the nerds and outcasts. And he lives for their acceptance, he craves their admiration, he likes to be liked by everyone… Well, maybe not everyone, because if there is one person he simply cannot stand, the bane of his high school existence, it’s this boy, the Weirdest Human Being Shuji has ever met. There simply is nobody else on earth quite like… Kusano Akira (Yamashita Tomohisa).

If Pinocchio were a special child and had magic mushrooms for breakfast every bleeping day of his life… then add a few more embellishments like the bleached hair and rolled-up shirtsleeves, the baggy pants and wallet chain, the spacey giggling and face-pulling, the repertoire of funny voices and horribly infectious expressions — bakayaro! kon-kon! Shu-uuuji-kun! sukebe! – and a partiality to quoting Nietzsche while incongruously flailing his arms like a gooney bird… voila! Kusano Akira, Resident Freak of 2-B. And the worst thing about this little creep? Is that he seems to harbor an unhealthy liking for… Shuji. (Oh NOES!!!) (Ohhhh YESSS!!!! Hehehe)

So what on earth makes this unlikely twosome team up for a common cause? Shortly after the new girl’s arrival, Shuji and Akira chance upon a particularly nasty case of girl-on-girl bullying coming from inside the ladies’ room. The victim turns out to be that odd little transferee Kotani Nobuko (Horikita Maki). Reluctant to get involved, Shuji stays outside the washroom while Akira goes inside to try and reason with the bullies. With no image to protect, Akira has nothing to lose by sticking up for someone like Nobuta — even if it means getting hosed down himself. For all his flakiness and irrational fears, Akira is no coward.

I like how the writing gives the viewer a comprehensive crash course in product development, brand marketing and image management. I have no background in this field, but still found this stuff incredibly fascinating. And there’s a certain *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* aspect to this drama, given that Shuji and Akira’s marketing strategy parallels how the entertainment industry manufactures, packages and sells celebrities, be they TV/film stars or recording artists or — yes, teen idols. (I really do wonder if Messrs. Kamenashi and Yamashita ever realized how meta the whole “Producing Nobuta” story line was. Did they ever look up from the script during one of the read-throughs and go, “Huh? But this is US!” Heh heh.)

A crucial point for Shuji comes in the Valentine’s Day episode, where he must choose between showering Nobuta with flower petals, or dousing her with cold water. The first option will spell kryptonite for his Cool Guy status, while the second will undoubtedly break Nobuta’s heart. What to do, what to do? As much as I wanted to wring Shuji’s neck for vacillating through most of the episode, you understand how much it means to him to put his popularity on the line.

This episode builds with delicious suspense — will he, or won’t he? — and concludes with a most unexpected twist. Damn, but when Bando (as a last-minute substitution, as per Nobuta’s request) pulls the cord and those petals come raining down on Nobuta, I frickin’ cried my eyes out. What’s more touching is when Nobuta realizes that Shuji, after an agonizing night of soul-searching, had in fact played, and played, and played a random eeny-meeny-miney-mo game until he finally arrived at “flower” instead of “water.” (Awwww, Shu-uuuji-kun!)

97% of the drama’s humor emanates from this singular bundle of goofy laughs. And Akira’s screwiness is surpassed only by how bloody endearing he is. You come to not only tolerate his foibles, but embrace them — because as a viewer you can look past appearances to see his good, stout and true heart. He may be off the wall (actually WAAAY off the wall, lol), but Akira is the Real Deal. He is also the perfect voice for an entire generation of aimless, unmotivated youngsters trying to make sense of, well, everything. “I dunno what youth is all about,” he bleats to Shuji on the rooftop in Episode 1. “I don’t have anything I want to do, and I don’t want to do anything.” (To which Shuji replies: “Isn’t everyone like that?” Hmm, good point, Shuji.)

If Shuji and Nobuta’s personal bugbears are dishonesty and low self-esteem, respectively, for Akira it is growing up. In Episode 6 he promptly leaves home to escape his dad’s mounting insistence that he take over the family-run company someday; and for the boy this is a most horrifying prospect, a life that will not only saddle him with a staggering load of adult responsibilities, but also take him far, far away from what he most holds dear. He tells Shuji before drifting off to sleep (having crashed the Kiritani home after a violent disagreement with his dad) “I don’t wanna go back home. I like that tofu guy and I can drink ‘mame chichi’ and be with Shuji and Nobuta everyday…” (Oh, Akira.)

Akira has the best lines when he’s at his tortured, lovesick worst. When Shuji the Cynic asks him what his immediate plans are — “What are you going to do? Confess to her, and then go to the zoo on a date, or something?” — Akira mulls it over a second, then answers: “What I want to do the most is… MARRY HER!!!….. How embarrassing!” (Then Shuji dryly comments via voice-over, “His reality goes way beyond my imagination.” LMAO!!!! Man I love those boys. *tear*) So, you don’t wish to deny him his petty fits of jealousy, like attempting to throw away Shuji’s short film – with insanely funny repercussions: “Akira DOWN!!!” (Lol!!!) Then, “My heart hurts…” (Awwww…) But he can’t keep his wrongdoing a secret from Shu-uuji-kun, so he confesses right there on the video room floor: “I’m the worst guy. The WORST.” To which Shuji quietly replies, “I’m the worst, too.” (Man I really, really love those boys. *tear*)

Salinger’s angstily f*cked-up hero Holden Caulfield fears becoming one of those adult “phonies” whom he detests so much, and instead envisions himself a catcher standing on the edge of a cliff, intercepting little kids as they come through a field of rye. In Nobuta wo Produce, Shuji, Nobuta and (most of all) Akira grapple with similar feelings as they face the terrifying inevitability of growing up. In this sense, both “Catcher” and NwP run counter to conventional Bildungsroman lines because the characters try to resist this process of maturity. It is only later that they learn to accept, and embrace it as part of life.

NwP is chock-full of these soul-stirring vignettes, and I’d like to include a few here. One unforgettable moment is a shot of Shuji and Akira on their bikes, pausing in the middle of a tree-lined road and turning to watch the adult pedestrians, these working stiffs in suits, hurry past in the other direction. Shuji: “I thought about how we’re gonna become like those boring-looking people someday.”

And this obviously pushes That Button inside Akira, sending him into Spaz Mode: “I don’t wanna be like that! Don’t wanna, don’t wanna, don’t wanna be like that!” (LOL oh Akiraaa)

#nobuta wo produce

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