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Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the opening of Kanagawa Kenmin Hall | Recommendation for the opera “Kinkakuji”

神奈川県民ホール開館40周年記念|オペラ「金閣寺」のススメ

Yukio Mishima's representative novel "Kinkakuji"

Speaking of Kinkaku-ji, it is a tourist spot that represents Kyoto! Many of you may have memories of visiting on a school trip or trip to Kyoto. The official name of the temple is Rokuon-ji, but it is commonly called Kinkaku-ji because it is particularly famous for its three-story building called Kinkaku. In fact, Kinkaku-ji was destroyed by arson in 1950 by a learned monk, and the image we see today is the one that was rebuilt in 1955. The Kinkakuji arson incident was the subject of Yukio Mishima's novel ``Kinkakuji,'' which was serialized in the magazine ``Shincho'' in 1956 for 10 issues and received high praise worldwide.

Now, let's introduce the characters of "Kinkakuji".

Recommendation for the opera “Kinkakuji”

Mizoguchi
The main character of this work is a boy who was born with a disability (a stutter in the original story, and a cripple in one hand in the opera). This disorder prevents people from coming into contact with the outside world through the basic act of ``speaking'' in life, and increases the extent to which they fantasize about expanding their inner cognitive world. The novel is written in the form of Mizoguchi's internal monologues up until he sets Kinkaku-ji on fire.

Opera “Kinkakuji” Character introduction

Uiko
A girl of the opposite sex that Mizoguchi has always admired and a symbol of living beauty. He died tragically while rejecting Mizoguchi. This is the source of the suffering that Mizoguchi sought but could not reach, and it is also the beauty that Mizoguchi tried to erase along with Kinkaku.

Tsurukawa
A friend looks warmly at Mizoguchi, a lonely man who has moved to Kinkakuji Temple as an apprentice after his father passed away. Mizoguchi was the only person to whom he confided his strange obsession with the Kinkaku, and if Mizoguchi was the negative of the photograph, Tsurukawa was its positive.

Kashiwagi
Mizoguchi, who was recognized by his master and went on to university, met a classmate who, like Mizoguchi, has a physical disability. He is a devilish man with a high degree of knowledge and immoral cunning, and he uses his disability to his advantage to seduce women from high social classes.

``Kinkakuji'' is based on an opera! Composed by Toshiro Mayuzumi!

After the war, during cultural exchange through opera with the Deutsche Oper Berlin opera house, Japan was asked if it would be possible to perform an original Japanese opera by a Japanese composer in Germany, and the composer As a result, Toshiro Mayuzumi was chosen. In addition, the Kabuki play ``Terakoya'' and the novel ``Kinkakuji'' were proposed as opera scripts by the Berlin German Opera, and ``Kinkakuji'', which was translated into German and published as one of the masterpieces of Yukio Mishima, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, was also proposed as an opera libretto. ' was selected.

Yukio Mishima x Toshiro Mayuzumi

Yukio Mishima
At the age of 27, Mishima traveled to Paris and got caught up in a black money exchange operation and had his traveler's check swindled. With only a small amount of money left, he ends up staying for a month in a cheap hotel run by a Japanese man, but Toshiro Mayuzumi, who is studying abroad at the Conservatoire de Paris, lives near this inn. there was. Mayuzumi ends up helping Mishima in some way as a guide and translator while Mishima is staying in Paris.

Toshiro Mayuzumi
A composer who built the foundation of postwar Japanese musical culture with his rare talent. He was a standard-bearer of the avant-garde, releasing musique concrète, a type of electronic music that uses acoustics and recording technology, for the first time in Japan. In later years, Mayuzumi, who developed a devotion to Japanese materials and an interest in Buddhist music, composed music rich in tension for the opera Kinkakuji, which had a strong psychological element, and shocked the audience. give. He is also famous for hosting the TV program ``Untitled Concert'' for about 33 years.

Special content to learn more about Toshiro Mayuzumi is now available!
“Commemorating the performance of the opera “Kinkakuji” – What kind of person is Toshiro Mayuzumi? ? ”
While delving into the five "amazing things" about Toshiro Mayuzumi, we get to know his personality.

↓Check here for details!
What kind of person is Toshiro Mayuzumi?

In 1991, the opera "Kinkakuji" was performed in Japan in a re-imported language!

The opera ``Kinkakuji'' was commissioned by Deutsche Oper Berlin to Toshiro Mayuzumi. The opera libretto was written by Klaus H. Henneberg, a librettist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In other words, the pure literary novel "Kinkakuji" written in Japanese was translated into German, and based on it, it was adapted into an opera libretto by a German, and a Japanese composer composed the music for the German opera libretto. It's Kinkaku-ji. It can be said that the passions of artists of the era were exchanged through the category of ``opera'', transcending national borders.

The opera ``Kinkakuji'' was first performed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in Germany in 1976, and then had its full-length premiere in Japan in 1991. When it was performed in Japan, it was translated into Japanese using subtitles, making it a veritable performance in a re-imported language.

Performance image of the opera “Kinkakuji”
As a representation of Mizoguchi's obsession, ``Kinkaku-ji must be burnt down!'', Kinkaku-ji stands out in a mysterious yet beautiful way on the stage of the opera.

40th anniversary of Kanagawa Kenmin Hall! The opera “Kinkakuji” will be performed for the first time in 16 years!

Kanagawa Kenmin Hall has continued to produce and perform operas by Japanese composers. The opera ``Kinkakuji'' composed by Toshiro Mayuzumi, a native of Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, was chosen as the performance for the 40th anniversary of the museum's opening. The long-awaited performance in Japan for the first time in 16 years! This is a newly produced performance created by the gathering of Japan's leading young talents, with conductor Tatsuya Shimono, director Satoshi Taoshita, and performers Teruhiko Komori and Masumitsu Miyamoto. Don't miss out on this special 2-day performance!

Kanagawa Prefectural Hall

Staff and cast members who are active both domestically and internationally. Expectations are high to see what kind of passionate performance she will show in the opera “Kinkakuji”!

Mr. Tatsuya Shimono
Mr. Tetsu Taoshita
Mr. Teruhiko Komori
Mr. Masumitsu Miyamoto

What did you think of the world of the opera “Kinkakuji”?
You can enjoy the original novel by Yukio Mishima, the music world of Toshiro Mayuzumi, or of course, go to the performance at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall first!
Please use your sensitivity to experience this unique world view!

Text: Miyoko Inoue (CLIMBERS)
Illustration: Tamako Kubota

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