Coverage: Kanjincho – Japan Society

Yuichi Kinoshita’s Kanjincho draws from the Noh play that centers on Yoshitsune’s attempt to cross the border in Japan to escape his brother’s death warrant.  The theme that resonated for me here is borders/lines and hierarchy.  I found this production to be innovative in drawing upon Kabuki (to name only a few: the tachimawari scene, the mie poses) while refining it.  For the mie poses, I found Yoshitsune’s (Noemi Takayama’s) stillness while feigning exhaustion exuded an excruciating quietness that emotionally juxtaposed with the more overt tension of Benkei and Togashi’s verbal interactions. 

Lee V’s (Benkei’s) distress at beating his master is also extremely poignant with the choice of stillness.   Here we plainly see his trauma through his sweat and steam emanating from his body.

Takada’s, Nagasaka’s, and Sugimoto’s lights supported the themes of borders and lines, which, when Yoshitsune travels (excruciatingly slow) heightens the dangerousness of the noble’s journey.  Generally speaking, Yoshitsune’s slow walk easily drew me in emotionally and heightened the emotional stakes in this journey.

I found the technique of Togashi (Ryotaro Sakaguchi) used smoking a cigarette to give the audience both vertical (breathing the smoke out) and horizontal lines (holding the cigarette steady) innovative stagecraft that supported the theme.

I found the song (I don’t have the specific lyrics) about getting rid of the lines essentially to be a great statement on these themes.  For me, however, the rap piece took me out of the story.

Kinoshita’s production is a wonderful reinvention of Kabuki, Noh and Japanese historical stories brought into today and making them relevant to today’s world.

#kanjincho #japanSociety

Japan Society

Running Time: 80 minutes

1/08/26 – 01/11/26

(Off-Broadway review)