Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail

[Sarah Maline]

I wonder if that's because in the scene we ultimately are most moved by
Togashi's response, so we are given something approximating his point of
view.  As Togashi realizes that Benkei's Benkei's virtuoso
performance/deception is driven by his passionate loyalty to his master,
Togashi basically gives up his life to allow the group to pass.

On Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 11:19 AM, Nornes, Markus <amnornes at umich.edu> wrote:

> Thanks for the info. On Jonathan Zwicker's advice, I looked at the database
> of kabuki prints at Enpaku and it was rather stunning that none of them show
> the blank page, like Kurosawa. They are all frontal images showing the back
> of the scroll.
>
> Markus
>
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=201-0950
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=201-0983
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=201-2164
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=201-0962
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=201-0993
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=101-5163
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=101-5163
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=100-8088
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=100-2751
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=100-2782
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=100-2799
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=100-2805
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=100-2824
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=100-2824
>
>
> http://www.enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.php?shiryo_no=100-2839
>
>
>
> *
> A. M. Nornes
> Chair, Dept. of Screen Arts & Cultures
> Professor of Asian Film, Dept. of Asian Languages & Cultures
> Professor, School of Art & Design
> ===============================
> Department of Screen Arts & Cultures
> University of Michigan
> 6330 North Quad
> 105 South State Street
> Ann Arbor, MI  48109-1285*
> *----------------------------------------------*
> *Office: 734-764-0147*
> *FAX: 734-936-1846*
>
> On Jan 26, 2011, at 10:40 AM, Junkerman John wrote:
>
> Hey Markus,
>
> I think this is a reference to the Kabuki play "Kanjincho" (The
> Subscription List). Benkei and Yoshitsune get through a checkpoint disguised
> as Buddhist priests, but since they're only in disguise, the "subscription
> list" Benkei reads from is actually blank. After they're let through the
> checkpoint, the chorus sings
>
> *
> Having trod the tiger's tail
> and escaped the viper's venom,
> they go on their way,
> on to the province of Mutsu.
>   *
>
> John
>
>
> On Jan 27, 2011, at 12:22 AM, Nornes, Markus wrote:
>
> In Kurosawa's Men Who Tread, there is a scene where Okochi Denjiro takes
> out a scroll, unravels it and reads it. However, Enoken is thrown for a loop
> when he sees that the paper is completely blank, which the camera
> dramatically emphasizes with a wonderful truck up and around the scroll.
>
> Is this a convention of Noh or Kabuki performance, writing not being
> necessary because of the formalist nature of the dramaturgy? Or is it a
> reference to a specific play (or plays?)?
>
> I have heard of Chinese opera films with the same phenomenon. Can anyone
> think of other examples?
>
> Markus
>
>
>
>
>
> *
> A. M. Nornes
> Chair, Dept. of Screen Arts & Cultures
> Professor of Asian Film, Dept. of Asian Languages & Cultures
> Professor, School of Art & Design
> ===============================
> Department of Screen Arts & Cultures
> University of Michigan
> 6330 North Quad
> 105 South State Street
> Ann Arbor, MI  48109-1285*
> *----------------------------------------------*
> *Office: 734-764-0147*
> *FAX: 734-936-1846*
>
>
>
>


-- 
Sarah Maline, PhD
Chair, Department of Sound, Performance, and Visual Inquiry
Associate Professor of Art History
University of Maine Farmington
Farmington, Maine 04938
207.778.7321
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