Sept. 12, 2002--Onoe Umenosuke, a professional kabuki actor from Tokyo, will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the art of onnagata, a Japanese theatrical tradition dating back to 1629, at a special program at 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 15, in the Bacchus Theatre of the Perkins Student Center.

Onoe Umenosuke

The program is being presented by UD, in collaboration with Franklin and Marshall College and the University of Pennsylvania's Center for East Asian Studies, with support from The Japan Foundation.

The tradition of employing onnagata, male actors who play women's roles, began when the Japanese government banned women from the kabuki stage. These portrayals of women were so highly regarded that they began to imitated by women from the pleasure quarters, according to scholars.

In the Sept. 15 program, entitled “World of Onnagata,” Onoe will dazzle the audience a demonstration that begins with him without makeup and dressed in an informal cotton kimono and ends with his dance as a beautiful, Japanese "woman." Before the audience, he will apply the white makeup, black eyeliner, eyebrows, and rouge of an onnagata.

Onoe will then complete his costume by dressing in elaborate layers of kimono and donning a large, decorated wig. In full costume, he will demonstrate some of the feminized movements, speech and other techniques from the onnagata's performance repertoire. Selected audience members may have an opportunity to participate.

Finally, Onoe will perform the dance, "Ayame ("Iris")," which features a Japanese paper umbrella.

All members of the UD community are invited, and admission is free.

Onoe Umenosuke in costume

During his 30-year career as an onnagata performer, Onoe has charmed audiences in countries all over the world, including Japan, the United States, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Austria, India, Nepal, France and Spain. He also has participated in numerous summer kabuki workshops at the University of Hawai'i.

On-campus sponsor for Onoe's visit is the Sayo Kato Yotsukura Fund for Global Communication in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, supplemented by support from the UD East Asian Studies Committee and the Department of English.

For further information, contact Lawrence E. Marceau, associate professor of Japanese, on campus at 831-2589, or at [lmarceau@udel.edu].