Paris Sings Night and Day / The Himeyuri Monument -Tragedy of Okinawan Girls-
Picture Credit: program cover (Aratama Michiyo)
English Title: Paris Sings Night and Day / The Himeyuri Monument -Tragedy of Okinawan Girls-
Japanese Title: パリはいつも唄う / ひめゆりの塔
Romanized Title: Paris wa Itsumo Utau / Himeyuri no Tou
Troupe: Snow
Year: 1953
Performances: Imperial Theater (Tokyo), 09/03 - 09/25
Shinjin Kouen Performances: n/a
Paris Sings Night and Day:
Based On:
Author/Director/Choreographer: Takagi Shirou
Composer: Nakai Mitsuharu
Conductor (Takarazuka): n/a
Conductor (Tokyo):
The Himeyuri Monument:
Based On: The true story of the school girls who worked as nurses on the front lines during the 3-month long Battle of Okinawa.
Author/Director: Kikuta Kazuo
Composer: Takahashi Ren, Yamane Hisao, Oda Hajime, Kawamura Tokuji, Irie Kaoru
Choreographer: Yasumoto Shinji, Tamada Yuuzou, Watanabe Takeo
Conductor (Takarazuka): n/a
Conductor (Tokyo):
Available on DVD: No
Available on Blu-Ray: No
DVD Scene/Music Cuts: n/a
| Role | Cast | ||
| Namihira Keiko | Aratama Michiyo | ||
| Hirakawa Toshiaki, teacher | Akashi Teruko | ||
| Old Woman Kura / Nomura Matasuke, Hisatoshi's uncle | Fujino Takane (Japanese Dance Senka) | ||
| Miyagi Haruko, teacher | Tougou Haruko (Acting Senka) | ||
| Ishiyama Juuzou, deputy head teacher | Miyoshi Sakuko | ||
| Zamaei Harusuke, a wedding guest / Second Lieutenant Surgeon Oota | Mizuhara Setsuko | ||
| Chinen Maki, Haruko's mother / Head Nurse Uehara | Ruri Toyomi | ||
| Principal Yamaoka | Toyo Harue | ||
| Asato Shouko | Kusama Yoshie | ||
| Nurse Miyata | Hizakura Youko | ||
| Aragaki Gohei / Warrant Officer Yamazaki, surgeon | Midori Yachiyo | ||
| Chinen Haruko, student | Mitaka Keiko | ||
| Akinaga Junosuke, Hisatoshi's father | Takada Kazumi | ||
| Oyadomari Masae, student | Sakurama Hideko | ||
| Private Satou | Katsuragi Yutaka | ||
| Nurse Yokoyama / Yamanoha Sakae, dance teacher | Miyama Etsuko | ||
| Aragaki Masako / Misato Sachiko, student | Saga Miyaji | ||
| Private First-Class Kishimoto | Misaki Arisa | ||
| Kakihana Tsuru | Asaka Mitsuru | ||
| Ms. Uchida, teacher | Ookura Tamako | ||
| Akinaga Hisatoshi, the bridegroom | Tatsuki Noboru | ||
| Aragaki Yoshiko | Kouzuki Sachiko | ||
| Gibo Shouko, student | Shigure Otowa | ||
| Combat Medic Masaki | Wakamiya Tokiko | ||
| Nakamoto Funko | Kagawa Chigusa | ||
| Akinaga Nobue / Momonoyama Noriko | Miyuki Sachiko | ||
| Kinjou Kiyo | Shioji Michiru | ||
| Azama Kyouko | Konohana Sakuya | ||
| Maeyama Shizuka | Seto Akemi | ||
| Shinshiro Katsuko | Wakamizu Kumiko | ||
| Maeda Chie | Hanazono Kimiko | ||
| Amuro Kinuko | Wakasumi Kaoru | ||
| Combat Medic Noguchi | Soga Yukari | ||
| Unten Machiko, student | Hatobue Kurumi | ||
| Toyosato Masa | Harukaze Sumire | ||
| Hanagi Tomo | Yajima Yuuko[1] | ||
| Ooi Kiyoko | Shirayuki Shikibu | ||
| Shimabukuro Kiku | Suminoe Kayoko | ||
| Yamamura Yoshiko | Ariake Masumi | ||
| Odai Tsuru | Azami Misako | ||
| Yonamine Tadashi | Misugi Teiko | ||
| Nobutoki Yoshi | Murasaki Sumire | ||
| Chinen Asako, Haruko's sister / Tokashiki Naeko | Asanagi Mifune | ||
| Iwa Yoshiko | Tsubaki Chiyo | ||
| Nao Noriko, student | Ataka Juri | ||
| Hoshino Shizuko, student | Hama Yuuko | ||
| Sakamoto Nobu | Ukishiro Midori | ||
| Ebi Nobuko | Minashima Eiko | ||
| Uehara Bun | Kisaragi Miwako | ||
| Zaha Toshiko | Tsukushino Chizuru | ||
Other Cast: Yamadori Akemi, Tachibana Akiyo, Mitaki Noboru, Shikibu Midori, Mizumiya Toyoko, Takakura Aoi, Kibune Masaru
Other Cast (Paris only): Fukamidori Natsuko (Vocal Senka), Uji Kaoru (Moon)
WARNING!! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!
Paris Sings Night and Day
Scene 1: Prologue
Masked Lady: Mitaka Keiko
Masked Gentleman: Tatsuki Noboru
Singer: Uji Kaoru
etc.
Scene 2: The Tramp's Song "The Swallow of Paris"
The Tramp: Miyoshi Sakuko
Scene 3: The Guide's Song "Ah, Paris"
The Guide: Ookura Tamako
Indian Man: Takada Kazumi
Indian Woman: Sakurama Hideko
Englishman: Katsuragi Yutaka
Vietnamese Man: Misaki Arisa
Japanese Girl: Kouzuki Sachiko
Chinese Woman: Shigure Otowa
Scene 4: Returning Home to Paris
Singer: Fukamidori Natsuko
Scene 5: Spirit of Poetry
Poet: Akashi Teruko
Scene 6: La Chanson de Tes Amour
Youth: Mizuhara Setsuko
Girl: Hizakura Youko
etc.
Scene 7: Cest L'amour
Girl: Aratama Michiyo
Youth: Tatsuki Noboru
Cest L'amour Singer: Saga Miyaji
Scene 8: La Seine
Women: Miyama Etsuko, Saga Miyaji, Tachibana Akiyo, Asaka Mitsuru, Harukaze Sumire, Shirayuki Shikibu, Suminoe Kayoko
La Seine Singers: Ookura Tamako, Kagawa Chigusa, Shioji Michiru
Scene 9: A Dandy's Parisienne Song
Dandy: Akashi Teruko
Scene 10: Dry Leaves
Dry Leaf Singer: Fukamidori Natsuko
Scene 11: An Old Woman's Dream
Old Woman: Ruri Toyomi
Can-Can dancers, etc.
Scene 12: Gourmand de Paris
Singer (Man): Takada Kazumi
Singer (Woman): Shigure Otowa
Village Women: Ookura Tamako, Saga Miyaji
Sailors: Katsuragi Yutaka, Misaki Arisa
Old Man: Yamadori Akemi
Policemen: Wakamiya Tokiko, Kagawa Chigusa
Scene 13: The Tramp Sings Again "The Seine Flows Under the Sky of Paris"
The Tramp: Miyoshi Sakuko
Scene 14: Finale "Paris, The World's Sweetheart"
Gentlemen (A): Mizuhara Setsuko, Tatsuki Noboru
Ladies: Hizakura Youko, Mitaka Keiko
Singing Gentleman: Akashi Teruko
Singing Lady: Aratama Michiyo
etc.
The Himeyuri Monument -Tragedy of Okinawan Girls-
Toei's "The Himeyuri Monument", produced under the direction of Imai Tadashi, was a recent hit in Japanese filmdom. This tale by Kikuta Kazuo is based on the compositions collected under the title "Tragedy of Okinawa", written by former high school girls of Naha City, Okinawa, who belonged to the Himeyuri Corps during the Pacific War and who experienced the severe fighting on the island.
When the Allied forces landed on the island of Okinawa, the school girls were ordered to work in an army hospital of the Japanese army. and almost all of the teenagers were killed. This group of school girls was called the Himeyuri Corps.
The story of this performance begins with a bride, one of the survivors of the Himeyuri Corps, narrating the events of those terrible days.
As a screen-and-stage play, the performance includes fighting scenes such as air raids and bombings. Although miserable, tragic fighting and the hardships and deaths of the school girls is depicted, the performance also includes depictions of the festival of Naha City, as well as Okinawan dances, adding a poetic atmosphere.
It should be mentioned that the presentation includes such spectacles as in scene 5 (in which the ceiling of an air-raid shelter is blown off and refugees are burned alive), scene 10 (burning farm house), and a scene in the finale in which the dying girls, wrapped in mist, go up to heaven.
Yamada Sada, a teacher of Okinawan dance, joined the staff as a temporary teacher of native dance. She is now in Honshu to learn Japanese dances.
- You can find further information on the Himeyuri students here on Wikipedia. It was horrific. 211 students and 16 teachers were killed, of the 222 students and 18 teachers who were mobilized.
- I've found college productions of Kikuta Kazuo's "The Himeyuri Monument" listed online, one as recently as 2009, so it must be a good script!
- Daigo Shima goes into more detail about the plot of the show in his McGill University doctorate dissertation "The Purification of Victims: The Himeyuri Student Corps Through the Lens of Okinawa, Japan, and the U.S. 1945–1953". I found the pdf file in a google search, and you probably would be able to as well.
None yet.
Poster | DVD | VHS | CD
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None Yet | None Yet | None Yet | None Yet
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Footnotes:
- Yajima Yuuko's name is written throughout this program as 矢島裕子, although the name is written as 矢島悠子 in the 100th Anniversary Book, it is almost definitely the same actress.