RongRong & Inri’s "Tsumari Story" at Mizuma Art Gallery

Mizuma Art Gallery (Ichigaya Tamachi)

June 11 (Wed.) - July 12 (Sat.) 2014/ 11:00-19:00

closed on Sun. Mon. and Holidays

Opening this evening, Mizuma Art Gallery is presenting a solo exhibition of the Chinese-Japanese artistic team RongRong & Inri (荣荣和映里). 

RongRong (b. 1968) is a Chinese photographer from Fujian Province who made a name for himself in the 1990s for his portraits of life in the East Village of Beijing.  Inri (b. 1973), who is from Kanagawa, began her career as a portrait photographer for a Japanese newspaper before pursuing an independent career starting in 1997.  Since meeting in 2000, this husband and wife team have become known for their collaborations together. 

RongRong & Inri are based in Beijing but have exhibited their work together worldwide. In 2007, they established the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing’s Caochangdi District - the first private art centre in China dedicated to photography. They continue to be at the centre of Beijing’s photographic art world.  For example, since 2010 they have been organizers of the Caochangdi PhotoSpring Festival in collaboration with Arles International Photography Festival in Southern France. In recent years they have also held numerous exhibitions in Japan: they held a solo show at Shiseido Gallery (2011), participated in the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (2012), and their works have also been acclaimed as part of last years ‘LOVE’ exhibition at the Mori Art Museum and in the collection exhibition of Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.

This exhibition will revisit work shown in 2012 at Echigo-Tsumari, with the addition of new pieces created this year. In Tsumari Story they will use experimental forms of prints to exhibit their work. If one compares the location of Tsumari in Niigata Prefecture, adjacent to the Sea of Japan, this is a region markedly different to the Pacific Ocean side of the country. Perhaps because its transport network was comparatively late to upgrade, it has somewhat escaped the homogenization effected by globalization. Even today, the unique characteristics of its culture remain prominent. During its long winters, large volumes of white snow may totally cut off road access. There, time flows according to its own rhythm, allowing for the creation of unique stories.

It has been suggested that the origin of the name of this mountainous region of Niigata lies in the phrase “dontzumari” (meaning ‘dead end’, or ‘impasse’), which takes it beyond a place name to being an aspect of Japanese culture - or possibly a symbol for the whole of Japan, existing as a chain of islands surrounded by the sea. “It is only once you have escaped everything and you reach the final impasse, that you find the love you were searching for”: this artwork was created in a place in which such folklore as this remains.  As such, in today’s ever-shrinking world of increasing homogenization, perhaps this work bears the power to leave behind a unique and deep impression.

In the encounter of a man and woman and their children, RongRong & Inri’s photographs have at the centre of their creative process “the circle of life”.  Within their tales, perhaps we may feel a premonition of the future that is to come. In this age of growing awareness of the land on which we live, the Mizuma Art Gallery warmly invites you to view the exhibition of RongRong & Inri’s story.

This post is an edited version of a press release by Mizuma Art Gallery.  For more on Rong Rong & Inri see their profile on Art Speak China.

cmmhotes 2014

Geidai Animation: 4th Graduate Works 2013 (DVD)

Geidai Animation: 4^th Graduate Works 2013 (DVD)

東京藝術大学大学院映像研究科アニメーション専攻第四期生修了作品集 2013

The class of 2013 was taught by Professors Yuichi Ito (Model Animation), Mitsuko Okamoto (Production), Takehito Deguchi (Screenwriting), and Koji Yamamura (2D animation).  Assistant Professors were animator Hiromitsu Murakami and lecturer Ilan Nguyen.  Hiroki Kono, Hiroko Tochigi and Yuichi Matsumoto provided additional assistance.  Sound instructors for the films were Tatsuhko Nishioka, Toru Kamekawa, Yuichi Kishino, and Hiroshi Takayama.

Order Geidai Animation 2013

As Geidai only offers a graduate programme in animation, their students are always the cream of the crop, having already proven themselves as undergraduate students at other institutions.  For the fourth year in a row, the work of Geidai students were warmly received at animation festivals around the world with many making the Jury Selection at the 17^th Japan Media Arts Festival.  2013 was the first year that Nippon Connection featured a selection of works by Tokyo University of the Arts graduates (learn more here) thanks to support from The City of Yokohama Frankfurt Representative Office (Yokohama and Frankfurt am Main have been sister cities since 2011).

As in the previous year, this DVD features strong animators from overseas – Hakhyun Kim from Seoul, who had also done his undergraduate in animation in Japan, has an original personal style and his film Maze King (2013) did well on the festival circuit.  Among the first year films is a short by Yantong Zhu, a Chinese animator from the class of 2014.  Zhu is one of a number up-and-coming young women filmmakers from Geidai.  The DVD features impressive graduates such as Saki Muramoto, Yuka Imabayashi, Ayasa Kugenuma, and many more. 

One of my favourite animators from this graduating class is Kazuhiko Okushita, who is known for using a line drawing style that reminds me of Italian animator Cava (Osvaldo Cavandoli, 1920-2007), whose animated shorts series La Linea (The Line, 1972-1991) is a childhood favourite of mine.  I first became aware of Okushita’s work when I saw his undergraduate film The Red Thread in 2010 (read my review).  His Geidai works Imagination Trip and Watakushiritori (read my review) are outstanding and he has already been able to commercialize his talents as a successful freelancer.   Check out the many commercials and logos he has designed on his official website.  I particularly love the CD cover art Okushita did for musician Aoki Ken.  Ototoy has an interview with Aoki Ken with sample tracks from this album including the ability to purchase the album online.

Sample and order this album here.

The film descriptions below, unless otherwise noted, are from the DVD booklet.  The illustrations for the poster and cover art were done by Hakhyun Kim and Eri Kawaguchi.  The opening trailer is directed by Saki Muramoto, with the animation assistance from her peers.  The animator bios have been updated with current information including links to homepages, blogs, and other online profiles that I could find.  

Graduate Films

収録作品  第三期生修了作品

From a Stone

石から / Ishi kara / 2013年 / 02'56"

“Four years ago while out for a walk in Ome, I picked up an intriguing stone of 30cm across.  Then I wanted to pursue its image until its ultimate end.”

Tatsuhiro Ariyoshi (有吉達宏, b. 1985) was born in Aichi.  He has a BA from the Department of Imaging Arts and Sciences at Musashino Art University (2009) and completed his MA in Animation at Geidai in 2013.  On his official homepage he gives links for all his various online profiles.

USALULLABY

2013年 / 05'33"

“Increasing in number, small rabbits take care of a great dolphin.  Can the dolphin get to sleep by rabbits’ gentle caress?  May many people have [a] good sleep and sweet dreams tonight even in the world with whining sounds and wriggle of yin and yang.”

Asami Ike (池亜佐美, b. 1987) is a native of Tokyo.  She has a BA in Design (2011) and an MA in Animation (2013) from Geidai.  Check out her official website and online shop where she sells pins and bags made using her unique characters.

MyakuMyaku – Drops of Life –

みゃくみゃく—Drops of Life— / 2013年 / 06'05"

“Blood is circulated around, calmly replacing itself, making us alive.  It throbs ceaselessly without any attention.  It carries on.” 

Yuka Imabayashi (今林由佳, b. 1985) is from Chiba.  She has a BA in Painting (2010) and an MA in Animation (2013) from Geidai.  Follow her on twitter. 

Of Mice and Clockworks

ねじ巻き劇場とねずみ / Nejimaki Gekijō to Nezumi / 2013年 / 03'01"

“A rat happens to find a small theater and falls in love with a small wind-up doll girl there.”

Satomi Usui (臼井聡美, b. 1986) was born in Toshigi.  She has a BA in Design (2011) and an MA in Animation (2013) from Geidai. Check out her official website for film clips and photographs of her work.

Watakushiritori

わたくしりとり / 2013年 / 03'55"

“One day is presented by shiritori, a word game of last and first.  A chain of images in one line evolves the story of this game.”    Read my full review of Watakushiritori.

Kazuhiko Okushita (奥下和彦, b. 1985) is from Ishikawa.  He graduated from Kanazawa College of Art (2009) and completed his MA in Animation at Geidai in 2013.  Since graduation he has had great success as a freelancer, check out his work on his official website.

2PM at the Glass House

午後２時、温室にて / Gogo 2-ji, Onshitsu nite / 2013年 / 07'23"

“A story of two boys told through a dragonfly specimen.  Is the story told from the boy’s side?  Or is this a dragonfly’s dream?”

Yumi Kawai (河井ゆう美, b. 1987) was born in Saitama.  She majored in Animation in the Depart of Design at Tokyo Zokei University (2011) before doing her MA in Animation at Geidai (2013).  Follow her on twitter.

Wild Wild Ham

底なしウィンナー / Sokonashi Winnā / 2013年 / 04'46"

“How to spend a ten-minute break at club activities.  Let us take off [our] shoes and socks, and enjoy the fresh breeze between our toes.  We are all flesh after all.”

Eri Kawaguchi (川口恵里, b. 1989) is a native of Yokohama.  She did her BA in Graphic Design at Tama Art University (2011) and completed her MA in Animation at Geidai in 2013.  Follow her on tumblr.

MAZE KING

2013年 / 07'01"

“We cannot stay here any longer.  We must leave tomorrow morning.  A clown convinces and hurries the residents of an amusement park, a girl, a gay, a soldier, a dog, to be in time for the merry-go-round.”

Hakhyun Kim (キム・ハケン, 1982) was born in Seoul, South Korea. He did his BA in Animation at Tokyo Polytechnic University (2010) before coming to Geidai for his MA (2013).  You can follow him on vimeo.

Marie’s Sugar Plum

コンペイトウのおまじない/ Konpeitou no Omajinai / 2013年 / 05'00"

“Marie has lost the precious memories of her mother and her magic spell.  One day she meets a mysterious nutcracker in her dream and strays off into an extraordinary world.”

Risa Kimpara (金原里紗, b. 1985) is from Shizuoka.  She has a BA in Animation from Tokyo Polytechnic University and completed her MA in Animation at Geidai in 2013. 

The Blooms

2013年 / 05'40"

“Deep down in the forest there lived flower fairies in flower gardens, waking up with the sunrise, eating sweets, and chatting with each other.  One day they had a visit from his and then.  .  .”  Read my full review of The Blooms.

Ayasa Kugenuma (久下沼朱紗, b. 1987) was born in Tokyo.  She did her BA in Graphic Design at Tama Art University (2011) and her MA in Animation at Geidai (2013).  In addition to animation, Kugenuma does freelance animation.  Check out her illustrations and other work on her official website.

Fox Spirits

きつね / Kitsune / 2013年 / 03'24"

“Some by walking, some by car or trains, or in the relay of vehicles, foxes get together for an annual assembly.”

Hitomi Nakamura (中村仁美, b. 1988) is a native of Tokyo.  She completed her BA in Painting at Tama Art University (2011) and her MA in Animation at Geidai (2013). 

Darkeling

やみのけ  / Yami no ke / 2013年 / 07'08"

“Off-street mysteries.  There are many things we don’t find in the main streets.  We might find many happenings in the back street, which don’t happen in the main streets.”

Yuri Nakamoto (仲本有里) was born in Shizuoka Prefecture.  She has a degree in Design from Tokai University.  Before coming to Geidai, she studied puppet animation at Laputa Art Animation School.  Follow her on tumblr.

Two Under the Grayish Sky

失われた空の下で二人 /  Ushinawareta Sora no Shita de Futari / 2013年 / 09'15"

“This story takes place in future earth, where people are restricted to go outside because of radioactive pollution.  In the dark room, the boy is dying to play outside, and his elder sister is full of anxiety.  ‘Gray’ is one of the unit to measure radiation.”

Masataka Hiroyasu (廣安正敬) is from Tokyo.  He has a degree in Economics from Keio University.  While working as an office worker, he studied animation at Laputa Art Animation School.  He completed his MA in Animation at Geidai in 2013.

Mimoptera

キドモモドキ / Kidomomodoki / 2013年 / 05'04"

“Mimoptera has a nature to assimilate with its surroundings.  It assimilates its own form into the environment to avoid the attention.  What would imitation bring on?  Will mimoptera keep imitating.  .  . life?”

Shizuka Miyazaki (宮崎しずか) was born in Kyoto.  After studying sculpture and fashion design, she tried her hand at animation.  She graduated from Geidai in 2013. 

It’s Time for Supper

夜ごはんの時刻/ Yorugohan no jikoku / 2013年 / 08'28"

"Playtime ends at the five o'clock chime.  And there comes the indefinable time between vanishing playtime and dinner time at home."

Read my full review of It's Time for Supper.

Saki Muramoto (村本咲, b. 1988) was born in Shizuoka.  She did her undergraduate studies in the Department of Visual Media at Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences (2011) and has an MA in Animation from Tokyo University of the Arts (2013).  It’s Time for Supper made the Jury Selection for the 17^th Japan Media Arts Festival (2013).  Follow her on twitter, her blog, and vimeo.

First Year Films

一年次作品2012

The Cloudy Dog Talk About

ほこり犬のはなし / Hakori Inu no Hanashi /  池亜佐美 / Asami IKE / 2012年 / 03'30"

“. .  .  The film is of the memory love and gratitude of the dusty dog, and many other dogs, tracing their senses and memories, dedicating to you who gave love to them.”

Rain Drops

臼井聡美 / Satomi USUI / 2012年 / 03'03"

“The film is [about] the water cycle. Each of [the] rain drops transform.  .  .  [as they follow] the cycle of nature, uniting [with] each other, parting, or being absorbed in the course of the[ir] journey.”

Imagination Trip

奥下和彦 / Kazuhiko OKUSHITA / 2012年 / 02'04"

“Visualization of the phenomenon one has [when one seeks] some inspiration.  [A] female protagonist.  .  .  goes on an imaginary trip to generate some ideas.  She creates some new ideas with the [elements found on] that trip.”

Over Her Curtain

襖の奥/ Fusuma no oku /河井ゆう美 / Yumi KAWAI / 2012年 / 04'23"

“The theme [comes] from [unique Japanese] folklore, Red Uncleanness or defilement with blood.  A girl, whose [thought] pattern jumps at a leap.  .  . confines her various thoughts [on] the other side of the mirror and inside the sliding doors to go outside.”

Flower and Steam

花と嫁 / Hana to Yome /川口恵里 / Eri KAWAGUCHI / 2012年 / 04'06"

“A bridge runs [at] full speed, with her veil flapping, and with steam.  When you happen to encounter a bride in her wedding dress, you would love to bless her with a wave of your hand.  Brides symbolize beauty and happiness.  They are also athletes who won their happiness.”

awaiting

キム・ハケン / Hakyun KIM / 2012年 / 03'30"

“A man is waiting for someone in a small boat.  In loneliness he keeps waiting for someone.  For whom, or why he is waiting is not very important.  He wishes to see the sight of formless ‘happiness,’ which can vanish in a blink of an eye as long as possible.”

HARAPEKO MUSEUM

久下沼朱紗 / Ayasa Kugenuma / 2012年 / 03'30"

“There is a strange museum somewhere in the world.  The museum is called HARAPEKO MUSEUM, or Hungry Museum.  There are many kinds of colourful foods exhibited.  At night they wake up in their frames and start to move freely.  .  .”

The Man Who Ate an Apple

朱彦潼 / Yantong ZHU / 2012年 / 03'57"

“An apple comes out of a man’s mouth.  The man’s life goes backward, as video player is reversed.  Many kinds of food accelerated to come out of his mouth and the man becomes younger and younger.  Time goes back without end.”

Tobacco

中村仁美 / Hitomi NAKAMURA / 2012年 / 03'11"

“Tobacco has.  .  .  fascinated people for centuries and does not allow them to stop smoking even when they want to.  Even though you want to finish with smoking, the spirits of tobacco are just behind you.  Let’s enjoy a trip to the world of tobacco.”

Feather Robe from Heaven

羽衣 / Hagoromo / 仲本有里 / Yuri NAKAMOTO / 2012年 / 04'22"

“Story of Hagoromo, or feather robe from heaven, is a legend of Miho Beach.  An angel sets her foot on the beach to bathe in the sea.  Watching her, a fisherman sneaks her robe out, but returns it [due to] feeling guilty.  That makes the angel very happy and she flies up to.  .  .  heaven, dancing in the sky.”

The Town Musicians of Bremen

ブレーメンの音楽隊 / Burēmen no Ongakutai / 廣安正敬 / Masataka HIROYASU / 2012年 / 03'38"

“A donkey has grown old and weak after having worked for [a] human being for a long time.  Realizing his prime time has passed, the donkey decides to go to Bremen to join the town musicians.  On the way there, he meets a dog, a cat, and a rooster, and they find the robbers’ house.  Four animals scare the robbers away from the house.  They make their new lives with their new home.”

Deep Awakening

宮崎しずか / Shizuka MIYAZAKI / 2012年 / 03'05"

“‘He’ has kept moving forward through his life.  Nothing else bothered him.  But, one day by chance he realized that he has definitely grown old.  And eventually he makes a [complete] stop.”

People who are Eating

食べる人たち / Taberu Hitotachi / 村本咲 / Saki MURAMOTO / 2012年 / 02'58"

“People can show some other personality when eating.  Some become like herbivores, chewing so many times.  Some becomes like carp, crowing around [bait].  Some become like hamsters, with their mouths full, etc.  Everyone is unique and worth observation.”

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2014

Sunset Flower Blooming (夕化粧, 2012)

Yuanyuan Hu’s Sunset Flower Blooming (夕化粧/Yugesho, 2012) is set in the countryside in 1960s China.  A grandmother sits and hums in her walled garden as her granddaughters play with evening primroses (夕化粧/Yugesho). The growing shadows let us know that the day is coming to an end – the time at which the primroses open their small pink buds.  The granddaughters decorate their grandmother’s hair with primroses and one girl brings her a mirror to show her their handiwork.  The girl pauses and looks down at her grandmother’s feet encased in tiny pointy shoes.  She then moves her own bare feet in large, boxy sandals as if comparing sizes. 

This gesture draws attention to the cultural gap between the two generations of females in this film.  The grandmother was born into a time when foot binding (also known as “lotus feet”) was still a common practice in China.  For centuries it was considered a symbol of beauty and status for girls to have small feet.  Starting between the ages of 4-9, girls’ feet were broken and bound using (horrific) traditional methods that would force the ball and heel of each foot close together (learn more).  The practice was banned in the early decades of the 20^th century, but not strongly enforced until the Communists rose to power in 1949.  Thus the young girls in the film and their mother(s) would not have been subjected to this cruel tradition.

After this brief, but significant, moment the grandmother puts down the mirror and takes a primrose from her hair, twirling it gently with her fingers.  Expertly using graphic matches of the grandmother at varying ages, Hu takes us on a journey to the past as the grandmother recalls her early childhood and preparations for marrying someone of status.  Although the sound of children at play bridges over into the past from the film’s “present”, the way in which the children are depicted in a washed out fashion suggest that they may have been imaginary friends – or that they were only fleeting friends who figured only briefly in the grandmother’s life.  Despite the beauty of the natural world and the lovely depiction of the changing seasons, imagery of confinement (closed behind latticed screens and windows in dark rooms, walled gardens, moths trapped inside a lantern with a burning flame, and so on) and loneliness remind us of the lack of choice the grandmother had as a child.  Her psychic trauma is depicted through brief, haunting sequences such as a needle and thread through cloth transforming into a pool of blood, and a twirling evening primrose turning into blood red flames. 

In the end; however, the film does not present a picture of bitterness and resentment on the part of the central protagonist.  The gentle soundtrack (music, wind and other natural sounds) and the framing narrative of the laughter in the garden, suggest that the grandmother has come to terms with the path of her life.  Yuanyuan Hu used digital computer drawing to give the film a look of watercolour paint on soft paper.  Although it has been realised on computer, the animation at times has the look of woodblock printing and kirigami (cutouts).  It is a hauntingly beautiful tale that educates about the wrongs done to women in the past with a positive outlook for future generations of girls in China.

Yuanyuan Hu (胡 嫄嫄/コ・ユェンユェン, b. 1986) is from Nanjing, China.  She has a master’s degree in animation from Tokyo University of the Arts.  She continues to live and work in Yokohama.  Sunset Flower Blooming was named to the Jury Selection at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2012.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2014

My Milk Cup Cow (コップの中の子牛, 2014)

For her Geidai graduate film, Chinese animator Yantong Zhu has created a very personal hand drawn animation that has been lovingly dedicated to her father.  My Milk Cup Cow (コップの中の子牛/Koppu no naka no Koushi, 2014) is told from the perspective of a four-year-old girl called Nunu who lives alone with her single father.  Not only is there a first-person narration voiced by the animator herself of the central protagonist recalling her childhood, but the visual perspective of many scenes within the animation has been done from the point-of-view of a small child. 

Through the voice-over narration we learn that Nunu’s early childhood is very unsettled.  Her mother is absent from her life, and she and her father have moved several times.  In response to the constant upheaval of adjusting to new communities and nursery schools, Nunu becomes a picky eater.  Her father tries to convince her to drink up her milk by telling her a fanciful tale that if she drinks up all milk she will discover a cow he has hidden at the bottom of her cup using magic.  Nunu is intrigued by this and drinks up her milk only to discover an empty cup.  Her father tells her that she must have swallowed the cow and if she listens very carefully she will hear it in her belly.

Through a series of interlayered vignettes, this animated short gives us a glimpse into the everyday life of Nunu.  She overhears the whispers in the playground about her unusual family situation, she notices that her father has troubles getting enough money together to pay their rent, she rides in the basket of her father’s bicycle through the city on hot summer evenings taking a different route home every time.  Gradually, Nunu starts to realize that her father is weaving a fabric of white lies in order to protect her from the harsh realities of their hard scrabble life.  .  .  and as she grows up she may need to do the same in order to avoid causing her father more worry.

Yantong Zhu has created a very touching story.  Although it is ably narrated, the real emotional content of the film comes from the depiction of the child’s perspective on the world around her.  It is a very sensory experience, showing us both Nunu’s amusing observations (her father’s prickly chin feeling like a hedgehog) and her fears (that her father must have eyes in his knees to be able to see that she is peering through the slats of the bathroom door while he is on the toilet).  The emotional content of the film, and its nostalgic feel, are heightened by the use of a music composed by Asuka Horiguchi and performed on an erhu (Chinese violin) by Yingzi Li, as well as a lilting traditional northeastern Chinese lullaby arranged by Jianchun Zhen and performed by Long Wu (piano) and Guang Yang (singer).

Yantong Zhu (朱彦潼/シュ・ゲンドウ, b. 1988) grew up in Nanjing, China and graduated with a degree in Advertising from the Nanjing University of Finance and Economics in 2010.  She graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts’ graduate programme in animation this year.  My Milk Cup Cow is screening at international festivals this year.  It will screen at Nippon Connection on Thursday, May 29, 2014.  Click here to learn more.  You can follow Yantong Zhu on twitter or vimeo.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2014 

Ningyōgeki Sangokushi 1: The Oath of the Peach Garden

Puppet Theatre: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

(人形劇 三国志 / Ningyōgeki: Sangokushi, 1982-4, 45’ x 68話, TV)

Episode 1: The Oath of the Peach Garden

桃園の誓い / Tōen no chikai  (2 October 1982)

Order: Ningyou geki Sangokushi zenshuu 1

Central Characters in Order of Appearance:

Ron-Ron  竜々　ろんろん

Shin-Shin  紳々　しんしん

Guan Yu 関羽雲長　かんう　うんちょう

Liu Bei 劉備玄徳　りゅうび　げんとく

Lu Zhi  廬植　ろしょく

Sūrin  淑玲　すうりん

Zhang Jue 　張角　ちょうかく

Cao Cao 　曹操孟徳　そうそう　もうとく

Zhang Fei　張飛翌徳　ちょうひ　よくとく

Mei Fan　美芳　めい　ふぁん

Episode Plot Summary:

Part I

• comic hosts Shinsuke Shimada and Ryūsuke Matsumoto introduce themselves and their puppet counterparts Shin-Shin and Ron-Ron
• an oppressive regime ruthlessly rounds up people, torturing them, and threatening them with execution
• Shin-Shin and Ron-Ron are thrown in jail where they meet the mighty Guan Yu (Kan-u Unchō), who demonstrates his super-human strength by busting them out of jail
• introduction of Liu Bei (Ryūbi Gentoku), with his over-sized ears (apparently a sign of virtue in ancient China)
• Liu Bei (Gentoku) learns of the preaching of the Taoist sect led by Zhang Jue (Chōkaku).  Suffering people have been told that if they follow his teachings they will be cured.
• Liu Bei meets the lovely Sūrin and her family, who have been suffering in poverty. Her grandfather is unwell. Liu Bei gives her money and then finds out that she has given all the money to Zhang Jue for a cure for her grandfather.  Liu Bei is suspicious of Zhang Jue’s real motives.
• Liu Bei and Zhang Jue meet and discuss the need for a revolt against the ruling regime.  Zhang Jue claims that the world is rotten from the inside and the emperor needs to be overthrown.  Liu Bei confronts Zhang Jue about why he abuses his alleged power to heal people by taking poor people’s money
• Zhang Jue claims that in order for a revolution to succeed that poor people need to first be made desperate for change by starvation and suffering.
• Liu Bei tells Zhang Jue that he is wrong, provoking Zhang Jue to attack him but they are interrupted by Cao Cao’s soldiers.
• the soldiers want to punish Liu Bei as a traitor but Cao Cao recognizes that Liu Bei does not side with Zhang Jue.  Cao Cao and Liu Bei acknowledge their respect for each other as great men.

Part II

• using a map, Shinsuke Shimada and Ryūsuke Matsumoto show the impressive 600km route south that Liu Bei took on foot from south of Youzhou (today Beijing) to Luoyang (洛陽/らくようし).  They compare it to walking from Aomori to Tokyo.
• Shimada and Matsumoto are wearing yellow headscarves as they introduce the Yellow Turban Rebellion
• the Yellow Turban rebels are on the move – a group of them attack Sūrin’s home, killing her family. Some of the men try to rape Sūrin but she is rescued by Zhang Fei (Chōhi Yokutoku)
• Liu Bei returns to the home of Sūrin and finds only an old woman who tells them of their fate.  As he pay respects to the dead he is taken capture by Zhang Jue and his Yellow Turban rebels
• Liu Bei criticizes Zhang Jue, who angrily tells Liu Bei that they are now enemies, declaring: “This is a world where he who wins is right and he who loses is wrong.”
• Zhang Jue decides to hang Liu Bei, but moments before Zhang Jue whips the horse out from under Liu Bei, Guan Yu throws his dagger at the rope and rescues him.  Zhang Jue tries to whip Guan Yu but he startles Zhang Jue’s horse.  Guan Yu laughs as Zhang Jue’s men disperse in fear of him.
• Zhang Fei takes Sūrin home with him and introduces her to his wife Mei Fan. Zhang Fei is a butcher, and he and his wife also sell sake.
• Zhang Fei’s unusual method of preparing wild boar is to hang it in the well under a large boulder (I hope they don’t drink that water!).  He places a sign at the well telling people that they need to pay a fee for him to remove the boulder.  If they can remove the boulder on their own, they get the meat as a reward.
• Guan Yu arrives, sees the sign, and easily removes the boulder.  Zhang Fei is shocked and tries to renegotiate his promise and the men start to fight one another.  Mei Fan tries in vain to stop the fight.  The fight is interrupted by the arrival of Liu Bei – much to the delight of Sūrin
• the men realize that they share the same political aims and they form a brotherhood
• the episode ends with Lui Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei feasting together at a table in the famous Peach Garden.  

Historical Context:

The Great Wall of China has already been built generations ago to protect the region from invaders from the north and continues to be kept up, or even expanded.  Since the year 168, the Eastern Han Dynasty has been under the rule of the very young Emperor Ling of Han (156-189) with the previous emperor’s wife, Empress Dou initially acting as regent.  168 was a tumultuous year in which Confusion scholars, who had bravely denounced the powerful court eunuchs, were arrested, killed or banished from the capital of Luoyang.  This is the second episode of the Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions, which did not formally end until 184 with the start of the Yellow Turban Rebellion (184-205).

Sometime before 183, a significant Taoist movement has emerged from Ji Province.  The Taoist Taiping Sect was led by Zhang Jiao (1??-184), who claimed that he could cure the sick with his magical powers.  His teachings and followers spread to eight provinces.  Many imperial officials became concerned about Zhang Jiao’s powers and recommended that the Taiping Sect be disbanded; however, Emperor Ling did not heed their warnings.

In fact, Zhang Jiao was actually planning a rebellion.  The plot was discovered in early 184, and one of Zhang Jiao’s commanders, Ma Yuanyi, was arrested and executed. Emperor Ling then called for the execution of all Taiping Sect members, causing Zhang Jiao to incite the rebellion.  The members of the rebellion wore yellow turbans as a declaration of their loyalties. 

Review:

In addition to the beautiful puppets, what makes this adaptation of Sangokushi unique is the introduction of modern day hosts to lead the spectator through the complicated historical and cultural circumstances.  The NHK could have chosen historians for this role, but instead have gone for popular entertainment figures Shinsuke Shimada (島田紳助, b.1956) and Ryūsuke Matsumoto (松本竜助, 1956-2006).  They play a crucial role not only in giving the historical context for the action, but also in injecting much needed humour into the proceedings.  As one also sees in Shakespeare, comedy is the counterpoint to tragedy, and Shimada and Matsumoto’s commentary provides much needed moments of levity to a story that is filled with bloodshed and loss. 

Shimada and Matsumoto also act as our bridge from the modern world into the ancient one in the form of their puppet counterparts Shin-Shin and Ron-Ron.  These are not characters found in the original novel but observers of the action, who do interact with the key figures and events of Sangokushi in order to elicit significant story or character information in addition to bringing added laughs.  They are bumbling characters who find themselves caught up in circumstances beyond their control, much like the peasants who are mostly secondary or even background figures in this drama. 

One gets so caught up in the drama that one often forgets that one is watching puppet theatre.  The puppets are so expressive – from Guan Yu’s scowling to Zhang Fei rolling his eyes and knitting his eyebrows, it is truly remarkable what a range of emotion the puppeteers can elicit throw movement and gesture.  While watching the first episode of Gao Xixi’s live action television series (China, 2010) for comparison, I was reminded of Kihachirō Kawamoto’s observations about the differences between puppets and live action in interviews over the years.  Kawamoto felt that puppets were best at depicting historical and mythological figures because they exist in their own puppet world.  I actually was distracted by the casting and performances of several of the actors in Xixi Gao’s adaptation, whereas I got completely caught up in the drama of the puppets in the NHK version.  The main difference is that actors can only play at being historical figures, but the puppets can really embody the characters when the puppet artisan and puppeteers get the balance right.  The great Czech puppet animator Jiří Trnka famously told Kawamoto in Prague in 1953 that when the puppets fail it is not the fault of the puppets but the fault of the director.  The more performances I see of Kawamoto’s puppets, the more I understand what Trnka meant.

The script does not follow the text of the novel religiously.  Many of the events do come from Chapter One, but many are also excluded.  The characters are introduced in scenarios that give some exposition about what kind of a person they are.  Thus, Liu Bei is shown to be noble in his demeanor yet empathetic to the sufferings of the poor, Guan Yu is a fierce fighter with a strong sense loyalty and of what is right, and Zhang Fei is comical in his scheming but his heart is in the right place.

The episode concludes with the lovely spring scene of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei feasting together at a table under the blossoms of the Peach Garden.  They pledge fealty to one another, forging the famous brotherhood that has inspired generations of male only societies in East Asia.  It is a fitting ending to the introductory episode – as if the men are also toasting the start of a really fine dramatic series. 

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Episode 2: The Storm of the Yellow Turbans /黄巾の嵐 / Kōkin no Arashi