Memorable Bill of Japanese Masterworks

In the great dance-theater idioms of Asia, classic stories are told in many ways. Take “Shunkan,” which the Grand Kabuki of Japan presented here last September--and which also exists in the older Noh tradition and in a Bunraku (puppet theater) version.

On Saturday, this intense depiction of the bitterness of exile returned in a brand-new form, presented by the distinguished Nihon Buyo Foundation, the guardian of an artistic legacy closely related to Kabuki but emphasizing pure classical Japanese dance.

At the Japan America Theatre, “Shunkan” took place against banks of sliding screen panels painted with waves: a minimalist abstraction of the island setting for the dance drama. In the title role, 79-year-old Hanayagi Juraku--designated a living national treasure in Japan--offered an extraordinary demonstration of interpretive transparency: the sense that the performer has dissolved and what you’re seeing is pure, deep emotion washing over someone like the wind or waves.

To watch this remarkable artist turn to stone at the very end while the musicians (led by Honjoh Hidetaro) conveyed overwhelming frenzy was unforgettable.

But, as re-conceived by Michiba Ogi and choreographed by Tachibana Yoshie, this “Shunkan” offered other impressive portrayals--especially Wakayagi Juen as the malignant Senoo, Fujima Ranko as the righteous Tansaemonnojo and Fujima Totaro as the loving Chidori.

Titled “Masters of Japanese Classical Dance,” the program began with “Ninin Sambaso,” another masterwork that exists in many editions. (The Grand Kabuki performed one at the Japan America Theatre four years ago.) Originally a danced prayer, the work has evolved into a showpiece duet in which ceremonial propriety is comically undercut by human frailty.

Danced to tape in gorgeous costumes, the fluent Hanayagi Jusuke II choreography seen Saturday used the noble Fujima Ranko to uphold ritual rectitude and the irrepressible Niskikawa Minosuke to topple it.