[KineJapan] English-language benshi?

[Roger Macy]

In London, Ihave heard Tomoko KOMURA  interpret several Japanese films. Her englishis far better and more easily understood than that in the NHK film.  I don’t think I have ever interviewed orspoken with her, but my impression is that she follows Japanese practice withrather less of the subjective judgements that seem to have part of the historicpractice and which I, for one, still find intrusive despite their performanceauthenticity.  She adapts to the musicalaccompaniment, happy to let the musicians do some of the sound effects butwilling to give those that are required but in a less extrovert manner than inthe NHK clips.

I am still a supporter of having narrations delivered in the audiencelanguage to aid understanding and obviate an unnecessary addition of exoticism.We also need to note that such language may not be english. And, naturally, itgets more complicated at an international festival in a place where the locallanguage is not english.

I’d also like to put in a plug for screenings of Katsuben (Talkingthe Pictures, 2019, SUO Masayuki). It’s an engaging comedy that accurately hitsmany aspects of early Japanese film exhibition. I recall Aaron had a good wordfor it. Then Covid happened and seems to have lost any internationaldistribution, saving Nippon Connection in ’22.

Roger


    On Wednesday, 22 November 2023 at 02:40:16 GMT, Markus Nornes via KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:  
 
 I was so busy after taping that I never watched it and had no idea they added a Koyata benshi sequence! Her English is better than the other benshi, but her generally overt style is not my favorite.  One of the specific intentions of bringing Kataoka to Ann Arbor for a year was so he could work on his English and by extension English setsumei. It didn't go far. 
I have done a number of gigs with Ichiro where I do a little English setsumei to give audiences a flavor of the performance in their native language. And I always do different kinds of benshi setsumei for my students (I know Aaron does it, and I'm curious if others do as well). Students love it. But I am always struck by how awkward it is. One palpably senses how the silent film narration of benshi cleaves closely to the cadences, grammatical structures, and exclamative styles of Japanese language and specifically the approach to performance from popular storytelling/wagei.  English will never cut it, don't you think?
Markus

----- Forwarded message ----- From: quentin turnour via KineJapan <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>To: Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>Cc: quentin turnour <unkleque at yahoo.com.au>Sent: Sunday, 19 November 2023 at 23:51:57 GMTSubject: [KineJapan] English-language benshi?
 I'm a bit slow, so have only just stumbled across NHK World's 2021, 2-part How to Watch Ozu program, part of their J-Flicks magazine series on Japanese cinema. It's still on their on demand site at How to Watch Ozu - J-FLICKS | NHK WORLD-JAPAN On Demand. Great to seeMarcus introducing Ozu's visual style to English speaking audiences. But I was also very curious to see benshi Koyata Aso performing in English to short sections of two of Ozu's 1933 features,非常線の女 / DRAGNET GIRL and出来ごころ / PASSING FANCY. 
I’m unfamiliar with Ms. Koyata, and (although it’s no doubt been done) it’s the first time I've seen or heard a Japanese professional benshi giving a reasonably 'traditional' performance in English.   
There’s always ex-Japan forays into English-language benshi performances; Joseph L. Anderson’s are best-known, and it happens in the 'neo-benshi' experimental theatre margins. But I'm also aware of well-trod arguments that as a vernacular performance art these can never be 'authentic', and that a " traditional' performance in English" is a sort of contradiction in terms.

Anyone on the list familiar with Ms. Koyata's live performances in Japanese - or at greater length in English, if she has done this in Japan outside of the NHK World staging? She's got an extensive Japanese and English on-line presence, and a website 「麻生やた★子やた本舗」 – 活弁士　麻生八咫・麻生子八咫の公式サイト whose name indicates the preference she makes clear in the NHK program: for term活弁 /katsuben rather than 弁士 /benshi ( Joseph Anderson's preference also).
I'm putting this out with a little hesitation, aware I may be inviting inappropriate comment on the tight world of the Japanese professional benshi biz. So thoughts off list as well as on appreciated. 
Quentin Turnour, National Archives of Australia / Cinema Reborn Film Festival




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