Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail

[Junkerman John]

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
> ----------------------------------------------
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>

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