I recently watched Kokuho (National Treasure), a Japanese film about the son of a yakuza boss trying to become the number one kabuki actor in Japan, playing onnagata (male actor in female roles).
It is an amazing film. Beautiful, artistic, tragic. Also the actors are hot.
There are so many wonderfully complex elements to analyse, from the meta storytelling of the kabuki performances, to the ever-swining dynamic between winning and losing between the two leads, and there's also probably something to be said about the sad parts the women play in a film about men acting in female roles. But today little old me is gonna talk about blood because when the premise of the film became clear to me, all the little pieces of the textual integrity puzzle started falling into place and I was *excited*.
So now you get to witness me fangirl about it.
MAJOR SPOILER WARNING pls watch the film it is so good
and DISCLAIMER: I only watched the film once so I have very likely missed some things in my list and the quotes may be off. Also I only have passing knowledge of kabuki and have not watched any traditional kabuki before (ask me about which non-traditional kabuki show I watched).
Here are some depictions of blood and bloodlines in Kokuho.
The first segment of the film ends with the blood of Kikuo's dead father spilling on snow. The film ends with the scenery of unmarred snow that Kikuo finally finds after finally making it to the top of the kabuki world and becoming a 'National Treasure'.
Kikuo chooses to get a yakuza tattoo against his mother's wishes. She had wanted him to go into an honest profession. She did not want him to have the tattoo branding him a member of the Tachibana family. It is witnessing his father's death that spurs Kikuo to get a tattoo as a physical representation of his conviction for revenge. That is perhaps the moment the narrative dooms him. His revenge fails, yet he now has a permanent physical reminder of his bloodline, because he chose his father in that moment. And there are consequences for that in the world of kabuki.
The entire premise of the show is about succession. Kabuki is a family business. Shunsuke comes from a family of proud kabuki actors and is next to inherit his father, Hanai Hanjiro's prestigious title. He has the talent but occassionally slacks off on his training. However, even if he does not work as hard (and even if he eventually grows to hate kabuki), his blood protects him on the stage. This is why just before his biggest performance (where he literally has to live up to Hanjiro's legacy), Kikuo tells Shunsuke he wishes he could drink "a cup of his blood".
On the other hand, Kikuo loves kabuki but was born the son of a yakuza leader. He immediately catches Hanjiro's attention with his performance and is taken into the Hanai family as an apprentice after his family is killed. Though he is talented, trains almost nonstop and loves kabuki with all his being, he is consistently thwarted by his bloodline. Kabuki is a family business, but the uphill battle is made worse by Kikuo's family being yakuza. He tries to deny his blood; ignoring the illegitimate family he had with a geisha i.e. the actual continuation of his bloodline. Yet the traits associated with his blood (his pretty face, his temper, and his physical tattoo) continue to thwart his career, contributing to scandal and accelerating his downfall.
The first show featuring Hanjiro and Shunsuke that Kikuo watches is about a father's strict love for his son (and the story apparently ends with the father kicking his son off a cliff???). This is clear foreshadowing. Hanjiro later choose Kikuo over Shunsuke to replace him in a performance he cannot make due to injury. Kikuo's success from then on leads to Shunsuke running away, meaning it is Kikuo who ends up succeeding Hanjiro's title.
Blood literally spills from Hanjiro's mouth as he dies on-stage midway through the succession ceremony. Despite Kikuo, who literally just inherited his title, being right next to him, his final words are calling out for his biological son, Shunsuke.
Diabetes, a hereditary disease, is what ends the lives and careers of both Hanjiro and Shunsuke, the father and son of the Hanai family.
The Hanai blood is associated with an innate desire for the stage. Hanjiro wants the prestige of succeeding the name of Hanai Byakko. Despite being bedridden, he insists on the ceremony so he can "bloom" on stage once again. Shunsuke hates kabuki by the time he returns to it, yet he does so to support his family - to protect his blood. Even then, he wants to do one last performance with Kikuo before he retires permanently.
In stark contrast, Kikuo does everything he can to reject his blood once he becomes a prominent kabuki actor. He has a daughter with a geisha, but barely pays them any attention, and tries to ignore them completely just before the succession ceremony where he inherits another family's title. The media later catches wind of his illegitimate family, and this contributes to his career's downfall.
It is implied that Mangiku, the 'National Treasure' onnagata, may have followed a similar life trajectory. He dies basically alone, without any family members, in a room that "has nothing beautiful in it". This is in line with how Kikuo basically throws away everything to make it to the top, and become the next National Treasure. And that is why there is no blood in that final snowscape...
Just realized I'm basically a walking advertisement for adult pacis and NorthShore pink MegaMax diapers. But hey, at least I can suck my paci and wet my diaper like a pro
#cats of tumblr
#lana del rey
