Manhattan Old Man 2023
Thank you for coming.
We look forward to seeing you again in 2024.
●Greetings
In 2023, we will open "Manhattan Old Man" on the 8th of the new year. After studying in New York in 1993, he performed a trial performance of this work in 2006, and since 2007 it has been on stage.
Indeed, 17 years ago was the story of immigrant people living in Manhattan. However, as of 2021, Japan has become a major immigrant country with 2.52 million foreign residents and 1.72 million foreign workers.
It seems that the consciousness of "living together with people from other countries" has not yet developed among Japanese people. The mentality of the Japanese sees them as "outsiders," which is probably linked to the recent response of the Japanese Immigration Bureau.
Spirits approach and speak to people who are "physically" poor. It is they who bring to life their disappearing ancestors and ancient spaces in their native land. The spirit worship of this land is what gives rise to performing arts.
The stage of Noh is not the story of a winner, but the soul of a nameless loser who has been crushed by society as the main character (shite) and speaks to us.
I would like to express my heartfelt prayers at the beginning of the new year, and perform the performances with the words of Okina.
● About the work
The story begins when three elderly men of Hispanic, Japanese and African descent living in Manhattan, New York, meet their deaths. They left their homeland and moved to Manhattan, where they died in poverty and loneliness. Heaven welcomes the three old men, blesses them with the birth of an old man in Manhattan, and auspicious visits.
■Original story/screenplay/starring: Makiko Sakurai
●Cast/Staff
Shite "Okina": Makiko Sakurai
Waki "Flower Spirit" Eye: Akira Yoshimatsu
Statement: Yukana Yamaguchi
Face box and chorus: Masako Yoshida
Nohkan and Shinobue: Hiromi Kaneko
Kotsuzumi: Mochizuki Tazae
Mask: Shuta Kitazawa
Design: Diminished Design Partners
Production/Operation: Maripla
■Manhattan Okina 2023 Performance Overview
Date and time January 8 (Sun) 16:30 open 17:00 start
●Venue: Rakudoan
●Location: 2-16 Kanda Tsukasacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Price: 3,000 yen in advance, 3,500 yen on the day
*Priority reservation for members from 11/14, general sales from 11/21
Inquiries: Makiko no Kai Secretariat (makikoclub2022@gmail.com/ 090-9236-0836)
● Reservation: Application formhttps://forms.gle/PuqC1K7mZvsuRA94A
●Access (From Rakudoan's website): Exit JR Kanda Station North or West Exit, turn left onto Kanda Keisatsu Dori (main street) and head west. Turn right at the corner of the third traffic light NTT Building and enter Chiyoda Komichi. Proceed with Kanda Sakurakan (Chiyoda Elementary School) on your left, then turn left at the next intersection (right corner of Ebisuya Taiwanese restaurant) (18th Street). You can see the signboard of Rakudo-an on the black door on the left side of the third building from the corner. The nearest subway station is Kanda on the Ginza Line, Awajicho on the Marunouchi Line, or Ogawamachi on the Shinjuku Line. Ginza Line GodAt Den station, take exit 1, 2 or 4. From the Ogawamachi/Awajicho subway line, turn south on Chiyoda Kodori between exits A1 and A2. After 4 blocks, turn right at the corner of Ichihachidori above and Rakudoan will be on your left.
●Synopsis
<Introduction> The flower spirit visits the old people.
act one
An elderly Hispanic man living on the East River in Manhattan. He came to this country by swimming the Rio Grande when he was a child. His parents died shortly after, but he outlived them as well. Spring has come again this year, and when I saw the white chrysanthemum flowers blooming in the vacant lot, I thought that this might be the last spring.
Then, the spirit of the white chrysanthemum speaks to the old man. "Someone who has always loved me. When you reach your end, we will be your platform and take you to heaven."
third act
An elderly African man dying at a charity hospital in Harlem, Manhattan. His ancestors were captured like animals from the African continent and loaded onto ships to work as slaves in this country. Emancipation and the civil rights movement did not escape poverty and crime. His family and friends died halfway through his life, but he lived up to that. But now, I can hardly breathe, my eyes are closed, and I have nothing to eat. The scent of the red lilies blooming on the African continent was there. "I am the spirit of the lily that visits your continent at midnight when all living things are asleep. If you follow my scent, you will reach a paradise where all living things can live happily. Let us become boats and sail towards heaven.”
second act
An old man of Japanese descent lying on a sickbed north of Manhattan. My parents migrated from Japan to the west coast of this country and worked together to cultivate rice fields. However, during World War II, their land was taken away and they moved to the East Coast after the war. He has a family and spends his days working again, but his wife and children have passed away.
Cherry blossoms are blooming when you look out the window. The cherry blossom season is the most beautiful day in Japan. Then the spirit of the cherry blossoms speaks to the old man. "We also came from your homeland. Let us now become your feathers and wings and depart for the kingdom of heaven."
Fourth Act
Heaven shines with joy as it welcomes the three old men of Manhattan. White chrysanthemums are in full bloom, cherry blossoms are fluttering, and the scent of lilies is in the air.
The three old men meet for the first time in heaven. The three old men ask the flower spirit. Why did he have to leave his home country to live in Manhattan and end his life in poverty and solitude? When. The flower spirit answers. ``There are many poor and lonely people in this city. In heaven, the three old men become old men, and auspicious visits to Manhattan.
About Okina
From ceremonies to performing arts, I continued my field work in search of creative forms. “Okina” is the root of performing arts in Japan. The salvation of people is the proposition of the village organization, and its power is that the lives of many people who need salvation pile up like the rings of an old tree, becoming the "Kami" of the spirit "Okina". has become symbolic. The person who plays "Okina" is the representative who delivers the proposition of Mura to "Kami", and that person is the one who carries the burden of all people and has the strongest power of prayer for their salvation. prize.
About Mr. George Yuzawa
In the fall of 2005, I was introduced to Mr. George Yuzawa when I asked, "Who is Manhattan's old man?" His parents are from Nagano prefecture. As an immigrant to California, he succeeded in cultivating California rice, but during World War II, all financial transactions were suddenly suspended from Bank of America, and like most Japanese Americans, he lost his land and property. Become. After the days of the Japanese American internment camp in Santa Fe, many Japanese Americans were accepted as workers at a cannery for the U.S. military in New Jersey. I moved to the East Coast. Mr. Yuzawa was a successful flower shop and a mentor to many Japanese Americans. After the war, it became the center of the activities of Nikkei people who transported food to Japan one after another by ship to aid Japan in the food crisis. Also, in the United States, all products made by Japanese people are obligated to display the logo "made by Japanese" along with "a picture of a Japanese man wearing black-rimmed glasses and holding a hammer." Then, he filed a civil lawsuit claiming it was "discrimination" and won. Mr. Yuzawa deserved to be called "Okina" by the people for his contributions to the Japanese American community. I would like to once again express my respect to him for helping the Japanese people in his home country after the war and for restoring the pride of the Japanese people from the United States.
●About face
The mask was made in collaboration with Mr. Shuta Kitazawa, a mask craftsman. First, I provided a picture of an old man, and then Mr. Kitazawa struck a mask.
The Hispanic old man mask is from the Afghan old man in the photo book "PHAIDON" by Steve McCurry. In 1979, in Muristan, Afghanistan, he prayed before a battle in front of many soldiers who had risen in arms against the Soviet invasion.
The Nikkei Okina Mask is from Tzilom George Sigal's "First Generation," a collection of photographs of old men who immigrated to Israel at the time Israel was founded. Born in 1910, he was an old man of Russian descent who had settled in Israel since 1935, before the founding of the state of Israel.
The African old man's mask is an old man from Ghana in the photo book "GHANA" by Paul Strand. It was taken in the 1960s when the American rethinking of Africa began.
Hispanic Japanese African
● script
<Introduction>
Flower Fairy: This Manhattan capital invites in many people, the pavilion rises high into the sky and casts many shadows on the ground. Nearby is a secret land that reveals the earth.
Jiutai: The scent of soil rises in the wind that contains water and sways. The pure white Daffadil flowers in early spring look up to the sky, and the cherry blossoms dance in the late spring breeze. The scent of lilies on late summer nights embraces the moon and wanders. The shadows of the Milky Way shine, reflecting the hearts of the poor and old.
Flower Spirit: I am the Flower Spirit. Visit sick people.
<Hispanic>
Statement: Wish I Am Here
Ai: An old Hispanic man living in the East River, Manhattan, New York. When he was a child, he and his family swam down the Rio Grande to come to this area. His parents passed away, and he lived frugally with his brothers and sisters.
One day in early spring, every morning, I made it a routine to take a walk along the river, but when I saw a Daffadell flower on a small piece of dirt on the side of the road, I thought that this year might be the last time I would see this flower. I realized my life expectancy.
Flower Spirit: I am called Daffadil, the Flower Spirit. A happy old man, a lucky riverside flower, a man who loves Dafadil.
Flower Fairy/Jiutai: Your gentle gaze watches over us all the time. Since we will be a flower stand together, please rest your feet. We'll lift you up, we'll lift you up, let's go to Heaven, let's go to Heaven.
Old man: Torafa Chiyaaruraararuraa Tararafuroworafa Chiiyaraa Chirurihiriraa Pull a Pull pull Pull pull pull flow
Flower Spirit/Shomyo/Jiutai: Tenjujirui Baizouikou
<Japanese>
Statement: Dojo
Ai: This person's parents crossed the sea from Japan many years ago, lived on the west coast of this country, plowed the fields, and produced abundant rice. But when war broke out, they lost their homes and property and were chained to the desert, but when the war ended, they moved to the east coast in search of work.
After the death of my parents, I started a family and lived with them. If you look out the window, there are cherry blossoms in bloom. He thought of his family, his parents and the country of his ancestors.
Flower Spirit: I am the Flower Spirit called Sakura. Lucky, old man who appreciates the lucky flowers. We also came across the sea from your homeland.
Okina: Spring is coming,
Flower Fairy: The cherry blossoms reflected in the window.
Old man: A beautiful day in the spring of our ancestors
Flower Spirit: A story told to the beautiful light.
Old man: Revived now, a faint glimmer of life.
Flower Spirit: Chiutai: If you were summoned to heaven, then instead of taking the form of the wind in which the flowers are falling, I will wrap you around you and become wings, and lead you to heaven. .
Old man: torihii hibiki, chiyaaruraararuraharooi, tariirahaarahiki, tariiyaratsurira, aritaratsurihiki
Hana no Sei, Shomyo, Jiutai: Past Spiritual Bodhisattva
<African>
Statement: Koge
Ai: Here is a poor old man of African descent in a charitable hospital in South Harlem, Manhattan, New York. His ancestors were captured by Europeans like animals from Africa and loaded onto ships to come to this country.
First worked as a slave and later freed from slavery, they were unable to escape poverty wherever they went. Sadness and suffering were constant, anger, violence and crime were constant. Both brothers and friends died halfway through life. With their memories, he decided to live on. But when he finally fell ill, there was no one to look after him or come to visit him. I was alone. His breath weakens, his eyes remain closed. I couldn't speak anything.
Okina: In the middle of the night, the water, the moonlight, and the heavens are dazzled by the shadows of the flowers, and I am intoxicated by myself. I am the one who lies down in this glamorous city, north of the capital, where the poor gather to recuperate.
Jiutai: Dew moistens the flowers Okina: Gaily blooming blossoms glisten with dew.
Okina: I think it's the flower of heaven.
Jiutai: Breeze gently blowing in darkest night.
Okina: It's hard to decide whether it's a dream or reality.
Jiutai: The flower smiles, the scent wafts in a dream, and the dream of an endless night breeze. Okina: Scented blossoms radiant perfuming the wind. Dreaming softly awakened from bight deepest sleep fragrant night winds retelling an ancient tales.
Old Man: The dew moistens the plants
Flower Spirit / Jiutai: The dew moistens the plants, but the flower buds do not tear. The scent of lilies blooming in the mid-night breeze wafts, embracing the moon. The dream never wakes up, and the night wind is forever in the dream.
Okina: The moment when the soul was summoned,
Flower Spirit/Jiutai: Filled with the scent of lilies, the vehicle that carries the soul becomes a ship of lily scent. Come away from your sickbed. Let's set out on the Milky Way, set off on a journey to heaven, set off on a journey to heaven.
Flower Spirit: Happily, taking care of the lives of friends and comrades, you become an old man and wrap yourself in the scent of lilies.
Ai: The scent came to him in a faint sense of being alive. It is a red lily flower.
Okina: After spring,
Old man: As if the scent of lilies disappears, my life, if it disappears here, where will my soul be? I remember hearing a story that the scent of It is said that if you follow the scent, you will reach a paradise where all creatures live in harmony. Just before he died, he encountered the scent of a red lily.
Flower Spirit: In the moonlight, the scent of lilies drifts in the waves
Flower Spirit: This impoverished old man.
Jiutai: Heavenly Sea, the Passerby
Flower Spirit: For heaven's gate opens wide.
Jiutai: We welcome you
Old man: Torihii, pull, pull, pull, roll, pull, pull, pull, pull
Flower spirit, shomyo, jiutai, ai: Tengeannonbanminhoraku
<Heaven>
Statement: Kuyo-o
Ai: This is heaven. Heaven is overjoyed to welcome three old men living in Manhattan, New York. The flowers of Daffadel are in full bloom, the cherry blossoms are dancing and falling on the earth, and the scent of lilies is in the air.
Flower Spirit: Auspicious visit here.
Manifesto: Hanakohin Dharma Kukyo No. 12 Yu 7
Kakohinsha Ming Gaku Togyo Inkami Minami Misumi Hanshin Shitsuno Choji Sutekan Toten Whose Buddhism Nyocho Zenka Scholar Choice Sutekan Toten Zenpaku Haku Nositokuka Tomoyo Koshi Illusory Law Existence Demagic flower bed Undeserved life and death Appearance Illusion nature Undetermined life and death Physical illness immediately withers Wakaka decline Death and life come to life Suspension Greedless Dissipation of people's thoughts Wicked wealth Deception Deception Arranged incense
Flower Fairy: An old man who rots in Manhattan, blessed with neither wealth nor happiness. I spent my days in poverty and loneliness, but now I am an old man in heaven. If you dance the old man's song, the sky will be filled with flowers and happiness, and in the glow of Manhattan, let's dance together
Flower Spirit: Heaven is
Okina: Heaven is
Flower Spirit: Three Poor People
Old man: old man
Flower Spirit: Welcome,
Okina: full of joy,
Flower Spirit: Singing.
Old Man (Hispanic): Flower of Daffadil,
Flower spirit: blooming, Okina: Blossom boastfully.
Okina (Japanese): Cherry blossoms
Flower Spirit: Dance in the Sky, Okina: Dance as they flutter.
Okina (African): Lily incense,
Flower Spirit: Wafts in the air.
The old men: I'm tired. Three poor old people meet for the first time in heaven. The old man asked the flower spirit.
Ai: Three old men who lived in Manhattan met for the first time in heaven. The three of them ask the flower spirit together. “We were poor, lonely, and from birth to death we were never happy or rich. Why did we have to live and die in Manhattan, New York? did you?”
Old men: From the time we were born until the day we died, we spent our days in solitude, never once blessed with either happiness or affluence.
Flower Spirit: We continue to watch that life.
Ai Hayashi: We continue to watch that life.
Old men: Abandoned from their homeland, it sounded like a rich city, but they spent their days and nights living in poverty. What a fate to end my life in the capital.
Flower Spirit: There are many poor people in this city.
Ai Hayashi: There are many poor people in this city.
Flower Fairy: To celebrate its people.
Ai Hayashi: To celebrate those people.
Old man: Torafa Chiyaaruraararuraa Tararafuroworafa Chiiyaraa Chirurihiriraa Pull a Pull pull Pull pull pull flow
torihii hibiki, tiyaaruraararuraharooi, tariirahaarahiki, tariiyaratsurira, aritaratsurihiki
Trihii, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull, pull
Let's dance a dance, Banzai Raku
Manzai, manzai, manzaiya, all kinds of manzaiya
Still good
Manzai, manzai, all kinds of manzai
Still good
Okina (African): Manzai
Okina (Hispanic): Hanakohinsha, Ming Gaku Togyo, Inkamijitsu, Ensebu Hanshin, Shino Choji, Sutekantoriten, Who Speaks, Nyochozenka, Scholar's Choice, Sutekantoriten, Zenpaku, Nousitokuka, Tomoyo Metaphor Illusionary law has a dead magic flower bed Unrequited life and death Appearance Illusionary natural unrequited life and death Physical illness withers away
Okina (Japanese descendant): Heaven and earth multiplied power, Bodaisei of the past spirits, Peace of the world, people's happiness
Flower Spirit, Ai: Requested Benkongoshu