I must fess up and admit that I was the one who did the translation and narration. Now, I get that not everyone likes my work, but the company who hires me insisted (and continue to insist) on NOT having subtitles. So I did the best that I could do. I am a professional who has worked solely on Kabuki for 30 years. Please know at least that the information you're getting is not available from books or any other media so far as I know. And by the way, you would be really, really shocked at how little they pay for this work. The ones who do it, like me, do it out of pure love. And please don't think it's easy to translate directly stuff like the 'Yamabushi mondo'! I had to do 2 week of research into Esoteric Buddhism AND the Yamabushi sect. Give me a break please!!!
Mr. Griffith, Your narration greatly enhanced my understanding and appreciation of the play. I look forward to getting the DVD. What other Kabuki plays have you narrated?
I really love the narration as well, thank you so much for your hard work you opened a whole new world for me!! I'd love to see more of your work! If anyone is looking for the DVDs look up "Paul Griffith Kabuki" on google
@Paul Griffith, the English narrator, is a world treasure and should be recognized as such by UNESCO. He has made Kabuki accessible to millions and has enhanced their understanding immeasurably with his gentle erudition. I have learned so much from him. Through his recordings, he will help millions more grow to love Kabuki in the decades to come.
I've always liked the narrator; I like to think of him as Japanese-British Bob Ross, the "Best of the Joy of Painting" guy. He has such a soothing ethereal voice.
The narration is supposed to give you the feeling that you are watching the play in a Japanese theater. In these theaters you can buy special head phones that will give you the narration similar to the one on this video. They are available to Japanese and other languages like English. Even native Japanese speakers buy them to get background info and to get paraphrased lines because the actors can sometimes be hard to understand. If you have the dvd that this is from you can turn off the narration but no English subtitles are available. Hope that was helpful. :)
I am enjoying the commentary here because it is in stark contrast to when I saw a Kabuki performance in Kyoto and had no commentary or even basic understanding of the plot. Although I absolutely loved the live Kabuki, I was lost much of the time as I do not understand Japanese. I went with my father, who does speak Japanese, and I am surprised now that he did not tell me the headphones with narration were available. Oddly enough, though, I did understand a lot about the relationships between the characters just from their body language and speaking tone, and there was also a lot of fighting and then grieving by the dead warrior's family that was quite clear without knowing the words.
+Kasumi97 Then switch it off! Buy the DVD and you will have a choice. It is available on any book or multi-media site such as Amazon. So DON'T COMPLAIN.
I came to the comments to find out who the narrator is, since he's done a lot of Tamasaburo's translations; glad I did. I'll keep an eye out for Paul Griffith's work.
As someone who doesn't speak much Japanese, the narration is greatly appreciated. @Paul Griffith has a very quiet, patient tone, so I feel like I'm hearing a professional lecture. Though I WOULD like a version without it and with English subtitles, if there is one.
Commentary ruined it. Like said before some just like to listen to the actors. Edit: As my second play I did not appreciate the commentary. I will now for my third, come to understand the importance of this commentary. Thank you.
+Joan Peiró Aznar That's because, no doubt, your English ability is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Sorry. But this play is readily available to see without the comments... IF YOU UNDERSTAND JAPANESE. I guess you do, so why do you complain???
