Bunraku play in "Life of Oharu"

[Michael McCaskey]

Dear Kerim Yasar,

I'm sorry I could not find the title of the bunraku anywhere, but I think some of the items below may contain the information you wish.

Yoda Yoshikata wrote the scenario for this Mizoguchi film (and many others, as you know), so the details about the bunraku should be given in his scenario.


1) If you don't already have the scenario for Saikaku Ichidai Onna, Yoda's original scenarios, perhaps all of them, are in this 2-vol. set:

依田義賢シナリオ集 映人社   ISBN: 4871001091 ; 2 巻 (1984/10) 


2) There's also the following very specific and detailed scenario study:

Mizoguchi Kenji, Saikaku ichidai onna: Das Leben der Frau Oharu : Filmbeschreibung = The life of Oharu : shot-by-shot description verfasst und herausgegeben von Helmut F?rber ; Mitarbeit und ?bersetzung aus dem Japanischen von Kim Sonam ; Beratung bei der Schlussredaktion, Minoguchi Tan
2 vols., Munich: Einmalig Pub., 1986. ISBN 3980017818.
 
If you don't have this work at hand, you can probably get it via your interlibrary loan service, from this site: 

http://melvyl.cdlib.org/F/LI3JTUGF98INXK75SGMFAFVD2M746RHQ4ES8A3LCC8FBE1AI1U-02287?func=full-set-set&set_number=109854&set_entry=000001&format=999 


3) There's also a short book in French, Souvenirs de Kenji Mizoguchi, by Yoda Yoshikata. It's part of the Petite bibliotheque des Cahiers di cinema, 1997, ISBN 286642-182-5. It's 160 pages, about 30 of which are filmography. Yoda's brief anecdotes about the making of Saikaku Ichidai Onna are on pages 98-103, but he does not mention the bunraku scene.

4) This French book may very likely be an abridged version of the 347-page book about Mizoguchi by Yoda, below, and might have the details you are looking for:

溝口健二の人と芸術 現代教養文庫  社会思想社 ; ISBN: 439011588X ; (1996/03)

 
5) Finally, the URL below has some reminiscences by a bunraku performer re the filming the bunraku scene under Mizoguchi's direction, but the actual title of the bunraku piece does not seem to be there. Also, it's not clear whether the performer reminiscing, who is supposed to have done the gidayu chanting, is actually the same person who was credited for the work, or whether he heard the story from a close colleague. But it's an interesting story in any case.

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/rensai/movie/cinema050725.html

With Best Wishes,
Michael McCaskey


















----- Original Message -----
From: Kerim Yasar <kerimyasar at yahoo.com>
Date: Sunday, June 11, 2006 8:14 pm
Subject: Bunraku play in "Life of Oharu"

> Dear KineJapan members,
> 
> Does anybody know the title of the bunraku play performed at Lord 
> Matsudaira's residence about an hour into Mizoguchi Kenji's 
> "Saikaku ichidai onna" ("Life of Oharu")?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Kerim Yasar
> 
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