Dancing between the Times, Connecting the Ages: Hanayagi Juraku and the Century of Japanese Dance (1918-2007)

Dancing between the Times, Connecting the Ages: Hanayagi Juraku and the Century of Japanese Dance (1918-2007)

Hanayagi Juraku II's career coincided with the dynamism of Japanese culture from the interwar years of the Showa period through postwar reconstruction, rapid economic growth, the television era, and the Heisei era. It was a period in which he refined his body at the interface between the classical and modern worlds, training in the fundamentals of the stage through kata while also incorporating sensibilities from actor education and Kabuki breathing.

A major turning point came after the war. The Cultural Properties Protection Law of 1950 expanded the scope of protection to include the intangible, and later established the system of "Important Intangible Cultural Properties (Living National Treasures). The transmission of dance moved from the intra-household practice of the head of a family to a "cultural policy framework" that received social and public support. Juraku's generation was the first to connect the private art to the public system.

In 1965, he assumed the name Hanayagi Juraku. In the period of cultural investment and theater development after the Tokyo Olympics and the expansion of the stage industry culminating in the World Exposition, he refined his classical moves while also venturing into creative dance. His involvement in the choreography of the Takarazuka Revue and his bridging of Japanese dance with large theaters and popular media was symbolic, a practice that adapted the beauty of gesture (pause, carry, and gaze) to the optics and acoustics of modern spaces.

Recognition is also institutionalized. Juraku was designated a "living national treasure" and a member of the Nihon Geijutsuin (Japan Art Academy)-although there is some historical uncertainty as to the year of recognition. The Nihon Buyo Kyokai's "Master Artists" page states that he was certified in 1992 and became a member of the Art Academy in 2003, while the official family website states that he was certified in 1991 and Wikipedia states that he was certified in 2002 and became a member of the Art Academy in 2003. Although there are differences between the sources, they agree that the maturation of postwar cultural policy supported his achievement.

The significance of Jugaku in Japanese dance lies in the fact that it combines the "kata" of the classics with the "eventfulness" of the modern age. The form of stillness that stretches the pause, the breathing of the fan and footsteps, and even the swaying of the hair and robe, are integrated into the ongaku and stage set-up to tune the audience's sense of time. Jugaku became a "bridge" between the late Showa and Heisei eras in that it expanded the scope of the art without losing its core, between institutionalized preservation (cultural asset protection) and the expansion (popular culture) represented by television, reviews, and revues.

It is as an extension of this bridge that Juraku Hanayagi III continues to renew his lineage by crossing over into other fields of activity, including kabuki performances, contemporary theater, and instruction in the performance of kabuki plays for broadcasting and vaudeville. It can be said that the Nisei are visualizing the path of the opening up of the family art to the common property of society, and their successors are managing this path.

In short, the Hanayagi Juraku era was a century in which "preservation" and "creation" proceeded simultaneously. The historical significance of Juraku lies in the fact that the system preserved the art, the stage industry expanded the art, and both were reconnected by a single physical act.