01 Kabuki mono(かぶき者)

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``かぶき者(Kabuki mono)*'' is also written as ``傾き者(Kabuki mono)'' or ``傾奇者(Kabuki mono)''. I think the last way is the most substantial expression. Moreover, there is a verb ``傾く (kabuku)'' and a adjective ``傾いた(kabuita)''.

After all, someone loves to astonish others with preferring unusual form and clothes with behaving strangely. This is called Kabuku.

From long time ago, this word has been occupied a large part of my heart.

I was an inelegance man. I never cared about my clothes and also others one. It could be I was around middle of 40. I worked with a TV director in Kansai area. He was young, but he was completely bald like a lohan. Instead of his hair, he has a long beard. It was fit to his baby face. He was always smiling and good mood. His working suits was both denim's shirt and trousers. Sometimes it was an overalls. His appearance is like a hand worker that fits his professional, a producer. He has a good skill and nice personality, however, I feel sometimes I can not get along with him. I feel something wrong with him like small bones stayed in my throat. I found such things in how he speaks and in his behaviors. Honestly, I didn't like him.

I am egoistic and I can't work with someone I don't like. I need to do something with him. One day, I asked to go out personally. We had an appointment at a hotel's lounge. I came earlier and sit down where I could see the entrance. Then I waited. I could find a person's character in some extent how he came through the entrance.

In short, he shown up.

I must say, I was stupefied.

He entered the door, came to the lounge, and stop his step, that was the gorgeous.

Now I am writing this book and I can clearly recall him at the lounge. It was a shock.

He wore wine red VELVET (= 天鵞絨) three-piece suit. It is not like velvet (= ビロード). It must be VELVET (= 天鵞絨). His Y-shirt was pale gray. He wore thin, the same color tie. He suddenly looks like taller. He wore a incredible high heels boot. Its color was also wine red.

My writing seems not enough to describe his looks precisely. The readers imagine some affected, flashy clown like clothes. Not like that. When his completely no hair baby face with long beard was on the wine red velvet, all the flashy atmosphere was gone. It becomes simple style although it is not normal. It was beautiful. He was clearly leaned (= Kabuku). I understood him at this moment. And my body was shook since I envied him.

``How nice.''

I said from bottom of my heart. He smiled.

Maybe it is not easy to expect, but his articles were not gorgeous, rather he put them too plain and quiet. Sometimes it is too dark. However, you can find small unusual gloss in the bottom of his screen. Now I could understand that is the ultimate beauty of the leaners (=Kabukimono). But this kind of beauty is not easy to understand. I assume that makes him nervous. That came up in the communication as small bones. Also it exploded as the VELVET suits. I think he is not a happy man instead of his smiles.


There are ``Kabukimono'' in any eras.

Sasaki Douyo in Muromachi era, called ``Basara.'' Oda Nobunaga in Sengoku era, Oodori Itubee in Keicyou era, Mizuno Jyuurouzaemon in Meireki era, ... there are no end to enumerate.

They were all live gorgeous, and dead very young, with a small sadly coolness. Most of the men did not die of old age.

pp.12: 2006-11-5(Sun)


Copyright (C) 2006 YAMAUCHI Hitoshi
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