UTOU

Morishita Studio  
Tokunoshima Art Project
July, 2014

For an original piece of Noh theater in ARICA style, we invited from India Jyoti Dogra, a master of the legendary Grotowski acting method, and theater maker with international fame for her unique approach to the body. Based on the Noh play UTOU (The Rhinoceros Puffin), the play is about the wandering spirit of the hunter who in his living days had hunted and killed many puffins known for the love of their offspring. The spirit comes across a monk whom he pleads to visit his wife and son, who are living in the Sotonohama fishing village of Mutsu Country, and take to them the hat and one arm of the jacket he had left back at home as proof of his identity. When the monk finds the mother and son, the spirit also appears alongside, but the moment he tries to touch his son’s hair, the son’s image vanishes away. Reflecting upon his own sinful deeds, the hunter demonstrates his hunting of the birds, but as soon as he recalls the pleasure of killing he is turned into a pheasant to be hunted down in turn by the former victim puffins, who transform into monster birds, dogs and hawks. The spirit asks the monk to save him from the agony before melting into thin air.
Conscious of all kinds of social discrimination, ARICA’s interpretation of the play also suggests the caste system in India. Following the premiere in Tokyo, the production traveled to the beach of Tokunoshima Island, where it was staged against the scenic backdrop of the waters of the Amami Archipelago, Southern Japan.

DIRECTED BY: Yasuki Fujita
TEXT AND CONCEPT BY : Shino Kuraishi
PERFORMED BY: Tomoko Ando Jyoti Dogra Natsuko Motegi
MUSIC COMPOSED AND PERFORMED BY: Yutaka Fukuoka
STAGE MANAGER:Eiji Torakawa
COSTUME DESIGNER : Yoko Ando
COSTUME CREATOR:Naoya Watabe
GRAPHIC DESIGNER : Yuri Suyama
ASSISTANT: Eijiro Takahashi Keizo Maeda
PHOTOGRAPHER : Ryuji Miyamoto
PRODUCER : Satoko Suchi