A beautiful young woman is transformed by a tattoo into an alluring, seductive woman.
This monologue play features a solo actor portraying the perverse world of TANIZAKI Junichiro.

Artist/Company
The Takii and Yamada Theater Collective [From Shizuoka, Japan]
Date
Saturday, 4 October, 16:30-
Sunday, 5 October, 16:30-
*There will be a talkback after the performance on Saturday, 4 October.
Running Time
40 minutes
Venue
The Assembly Hall Theatre
Price
Adults: 3,000 yen*
Student discount: 1,000 yen
under 18: 500 yen
Preschool-aged children: Free
*Including one drink voucher for use at the Café
Language
Performed in Japanese
Mobile subtitles
Japanese closed captions and Korean and Chinese subtitles available on tablet.
About the programme開く

“The Tattooer” is a short story published in 1910 and is said to be TANIZAKI Junichiro’s first publication. TAKII Miki plays both Seikichi and the young woman, portraying the shifting power dynamics, accompanied by live music.

Synopsis開く

When Seikichi catches sight of a beautiful white foot peeping out beneath the curtains of a palanquin, he cannot suppress his desire to create his ideal woman by tattooing her. He puts her to sleep with anesthetic and carves a huge black-widow spider onto her back.

Upon awakening, the timid girl transforms into an alluring, seductive woman. Whispering “giving me your soul must have made me very beautiful,” she vanishes with her tattooed back shining in a ray of sunlight.

Cast/Staff開く

Written by TANIZAKI Junichiro

Arranged and Directed by YAMADA Hiroyuki

Performed by TAKII Miki

Music composed and performed by SHIMAZAKI Atsushi

Lighting Design, Set Design and Stage Manager: NAGI Keisuke

Message from the director開く

With Ms. TAKII, we wanted to do what we love when we want, which led to our first performance of TAKIZAKI’s “The Tattooer.”

I believe that portraying the shifting power dynamics between the characters by a solo actor is almost an invention in itself.

I’m very much looking forward to meeting everyone in Tottori.

YAMADA Hiroyuki

Artist's Profile開く

TAKII Miki

Since high school, she has been drawn to Bunraku, the traditional performing art of Osaka, which led her to pursue a career in theater. In 2001, she joined director MIYAGI Satoshi’s Ku Nauka Theatre Company and performed widely in Japan and abroad. After MIYAGI became Artistic Director of the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC), she moved to Shizuoka and from 2006 appeared in many SPAC productions, collaborating with both Japanese and international directors and artists across genres.

Since 2016 she has been based in Kyoto, working independently as a freelance actor from 2017. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she launched Masterpieces over the Phone (SPAC) and Telephone Reading Theater, bringing live readings to audiences via telephone. Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the City of Kyoto, these projects reached around 300 people between 2020 and 2021.

From 2020 to 2022, she planned, produced, directed, and performed in several reading and theater works. She continues to appear in SPAC productions, in the unit Takii to Yamada no Kai (The Takii and Yamada Theater Collective) with director Yamada Hiroyuki, and in her own self-produced projects.

Beyond acting, she regularly contributes to the National Bunraku Theatre website and is engaged in the preservation of native Japanese horses and research on traditional horsemanship, exploring new possibilities of theater in collaboration with horses.

Director's Profile開く

YAMADA Hiroyuki

Director of Theatre Company uniquepoint. Playwright and director. Festival Director of the Theatre Fujieda and Artistic Director of Hitsuji no Theatre.

As Chair of the the Japan Playwrights Association's Talent Development Commie, he is also active in training the next generation. He also teaches at the SPAC Playwriting Course.