One of the most famous ghost stories: Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan ("The Ghost of Yotsuya"). The first time I laid my eyes on it, the live action 1959 piece of art, I was utterly blown away at the masterpiece it was. I never saw the kabuki play it was based off of, but I did see the anime Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror which includes a segment that retells the tale. Both that and the movie are faithful to the original...and it was unexpected that it would make me do something bigger than the NaruHina shot "Yotsuya Kaidan".
Which is why I bring a brand new ItaHana inspired by the classic tragedy of murder, betrayal and ghostly revenge. I won't say the summary any more than I did before you even clicked the link. :D
Chapter title translation: "at first glance".
Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto or Yotsuya Kaidan.
Chapter One
Ikken Shita Tokoro
Not even two centuries it had been since this play was first written and staged in Edo, now Tokyo. Even now was it an incredible success and continued to tap into human fears: Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan - the Ghost Story of Yotsuya, first staged in 1825 by the renowned playwright Tsuruya Nanboku IV.
The man was in his seventies by the time, with only so much time left to leave behind a story that truly terrified the audience. Something that left the temples and noble homes, transcended down to the normal people which just about changed their lives forever. It was an incredible success that it even made extra demand with out-of-season performances.
It was the story of a woman wronged by her husband and in death became a vengeful spirit.
Lady Oiwa, whose curse still persists today.
~o~
"Come in, folks; this is the one performance you don't want to miss!"
Indeed, it was a performance that you who never saw it before would never want to miss out on. Lit by candlelight held by two men in black was none other than the infamous kabuki which continued to be brought to life, the texture never once changed over time, even though the cast would.
The two torches were held up to the woman in the center of it all. She was clad in a plain white kimono tied with a black sash, and her black hair - some falling out because of the "injury" on the right side of her face. What the audience wouldn't know, lest the mood be spoiled, was a stage hand was underneath the platform and assisting with pushing up the tremendous clouts of hair that were falling off due to the poison the woman had taken - and caused the hideous disfigurement on that side of her beautiful face.
Her moans and whimpers resonated a horror in the audience that some instantly regretted they even came today. At first glance, this was the most powerful scene in the entire story, but what would follow would make this only the beginning. Following the curse that the woman uttered before dying.
"Watashi no ikari o kanjite, Iemon!"
Feel my wrath, Iemon!
This "Iemon" referred to himself who was past the beginning and waited for his part after this to come. He shivered with anticipation, awaiting the fate in store for him but making it unknown to the audience. When they began, Iemon Tamiya heatedly fought with his father-in-law who attempted to separate him from Oiwa, the woman he loved, and in a rage he killed the man. At the same time, so had Naosuke - a servant in the Yotsuya household - even though he mistook the man for the one whom he competed against for Osode, the sister of Oiwa. Thus began the unlikely duo of Iemon and Naosuke to mislead the daughters into believing they could get revenge on the murderer - only if Osode married Naosuke and Oiwa returned to Iemon.
But things turned sour instantly. Despite going through all the trouble to get the woman he cherished - and with a reputation as a samurai for hire as bad as it could possibly get - Iemon's interest in her waned even after she bore him a son. A once happy couple gone sour in poverty and Oiwa's desire to avenge her father. Being blessed with a child makes it worse for someone like Iemon...
A direct contrast to himself, the man portraying the ambitious ronin.
So came along Ume, the granddaughter of old man Ito, who fell in love with Iemon and conspired with her family to get rid of the bedridden Oiwa who had been stricken ill since giving birth. Ume thought herself unattractive in Iemon's eyes, so her family remedied that by sending a facial cream to the unsuspecting Oiwa - it was actually poison that left her disfigured horrendously. When Iemon saw her, he decided to get rid of her as well by having the masseur Takuetsu make advances on her, but the latter who ran the local brothel couldn't bring himself to do it and so told Oiwa her husband's involvement - even though Iemon merely acted as an accomplice - as well as showed her new reflection.
What transpired was the greatest horror there was, and that was Oiwa becoming the vengeful spirit.
My turn.
He entered the stage, joining Ume and her family, thus becoming engaged to her - but it all ended in the second act when the ghost herself appeared, therefore tricking him into killing his new bride and her family.
The ghost with her indigo-tinted white face, the white burial garment as well as the ragged hair accompanying her malformed face and drooping left eye - brilliant but nightmarish. Both he and Iemon were petrified and driven to points of insanity - and it was a miracle he retained his own when the story was all over.
The audience erupted with roaring applause. When the lights were on, there were many ashen as the ghost they'd seen.
~o~
It is said that the kabuki was based off a ghost story which had basis and fact in terms of who Oiwa really was in life, albeit different very much from the final result.
The real Oiwa was a strong-willed and hardworking girl, daughter of Samon Yotsuya, and survived smallpox in her youth; she had to marry in order to prevent her family lineage from dying - and she chose masterless samurai Iemon Tamiya. But Kihei Ito tricked her and she was abandoned by her husband; she became emotionally unstable and ran through the streets of Edo, screaming like a madwoman...and disappeared. After that, the Ito and Tamiya lines were killed off or died until they were extinct.
Even today from the very first time the play was introduced, the tradition of praying at her shrine in the Tokyo neighborhood of Sugamo would take place. Before each staging of Yotsuya Kaidan, the director and main cast would have to ask for her permission as well as her blessing - especially when it came to the casting of Lady Oiwa herself.
The pilgrimage from Konoha to Tokyo was nothing short of tiresome but necessary. Draining of the body but enlightening in asking the spirit for her absolution if they were to participate - for all they knew, she could come forth and bring misfortune. Some of the crew didn't believe in spirituality, but if they wanted things to run smoothly unlike the many times before, then they had to oblige.
The actress who portrayed her now was considerably lucky, though she was so afraid early on despite her father's reassurances. Stories told of strange accidents, deaths and occurrences to anyone in the crew and cast from the theatre to the movie era. They spoke that those who refused to go to her temple before production would be cursed. Despite "common" theatrical tricks, there were still the whispers.
One story, before the war broke out, spoke of a man who narrated the tale and suffered an accident involving a lantern with his name without a breeze. He was said to have whispered Lady Oiwa's name, labeling her as the cause, before his last breath.
Even if the story would be adapted into many movies and television shows, the curse was believed to live on. You would just ask yourself: even if Nanboku IV were dead now, the audience in the aftermath seems to WANT the tale to be retold in each new generation to come.
Now in this time, when her father first made the trip to Sugamo, he had first asked permission to have the play take place in his theatre in Konoha, then knelt at the shrine for the blessing. When that was done, he brought them all out to do the same...but one of the crew who refused to do it suffered a serious injury which was one of many, and that was a swelling to the face. It was none other than Tenten, who was going to play Ume, the second wife who would be the first of Oiwa's wrath. When the vengeful wife first appeared on Iemon's wedding night, she tricked him into killing the bride, and to follow the old Ito patriarch himself until he obliterated the entire household. Before going into hiding at a mountain retreat - but even he wouldn't be safe from his wife's ghost or even Yomoshichi.
She spoke of the character her younger brother was given the role of. Naruto didn't believe in spirits, but if he wanted to be a part of this and didn't want to suffer what Tenten did, he had no choice but to pray to Oiwa's spirit.
It seemed the spirit saw her as the perfect portrayer despite not having the ravenesque mane, which required a wig to be placed over, and when it was all over, she would remove it and release long waves of gold that reached the middle of her back. Which she would finish smoothing out using the comb that belonged to "Oiwa" - her mother's heirloom.
It was a thrill to feel the audience on her when she let herself become the virtuous woman who was deceived by her own husband and became an onryō to exact revenge on him and the others with. As long as she could remember, Oiwa was like her in personality: kind, loving and unassuming - but what if, beneath that, was a real core of steel that she couldn't show even when Iemon became so cool towards her? If she did, it only came out in death.
And to work alongside none other than the other star himself: the man behind Iemon whom she privately hated more than the others who played a part in poor Oiwa's demise. The older brother of the best friend of her own younger brother - how ironic was that? The families being in one business?
All Hanaru Uzumaki had known in her lifetime was having a crush on Itachi Uchiha as a teenager the few times she would be in his path, admiring him on stage since he reneged against being in the Uchiha family software business; he was so lucky his father hadn't disowned him. If she didn't know any better, she'd suspect Fugaku would patiently wait until his eldest son got duped or something, or he would just die and then Itachi would have no choice. She had no idea which would be worse.
There was also Sasuke, whom she had a serious problem regarding his attitude since teenage years. Before that, he used to be a loving child, so why and how had he turned into such a person? And here he is, too - with his perfect older brother in the same business.
Sasuke was the younger son, so yeah, he was hardly paid mind to, so he went off to just find something else that made him happy. He wasn't made for business, but pretending to be someone else on stage was a surprise to the Uchiha. And then it seemed to spark something in Itachi because he wanted to finally escape pressure on his own.
Hanaru remembered laughing with Naruto, both shedding tears of joy, when the Uchiha brothers ended up with them in this profession.
That was when she started to see Itachi more and more every day.
The Uzumaki theatre was family both in blood and non-relations, and it was a joy, with ups and downs - but when Yotsuya Kaidan came along, the security within each other was tight. Especially since the urban legends were lessons to be learned, especially to those who laughed it off.
The success was brought from Tokyo to here. The Uzumaki family was happy to have survived another hard season; even they were not invulnerable to any economic times. On this night was the reception - the first night of the staging - and after-party. The cast and the audience dressed all finely, and tonight she found herself looking around and smiling at the others whom she'd known all her life and couldn't have been more lucky.
Right now she entered with her father, Minato, and with Naruto as well as Hinata - who had been Osode, younger sister of Oiwa. If she'd actually died the way Osode did, we would all shed more tears for losing her just like the people watching had. But here she is, enjoying the night we deserve after weeks of hard work. The Hyuuga was in a light blue chiffon dress, pushed off the shoulders, with a ruffled lacy neck; dripping from her ears were globes of white quartz and a clear glass orb around her neck. She was so beautiful that if you added too much, you'd take the natural away. And that body a man would kill to claim for himself!
And just looking around at everyone made her oblivious to the one who had his eyes on her only while she walked arm-in-arm with Dad - who was proud of both his children and the others - and her brother with their shared best friend to greet the fans who were lucky to have VIP passes to mingle with them.
~o~
When he was younger, and even now, he didn't like being the center of attention, but when it came to the choice he made in working alongside his brother just to get away from pressures of the family, it was the best thing to happen. Success was what Fugaku always wanted, but this he chose on his own and didn't regret one minute of it.
Kabuki suffered after the Second World War, being rejected along with many ideas from the past as well as fashions. Although it returned to its feet for the modern era. Many of its actors would be in television as well as film roles. For him, Itachi never thought about getting that kind of part even though his credentials and his fanbase rendered him capable. His career hadn't died at all, nor was he in danger of financial ruin.
In fact, it was Sasuke to thank. Little brother who found something for himself after not having the support of his family - well, except Mother - and had to convince his big brother that this might be for him.
Sinking into another character, understanding them beforehand, was his specialty that he could have become a psychiatrist, but labeling someone based on textbooks and prescriptions wasn't his alley and absolutely narrow-minded and judgmental.
When he got chosen to play Iemon Tamiya, when he first read the script, he wondered off the bat what could be the drive to the man's desire for more, and it wasn't just his love for Oiwa, but something had to have happened that led to his position. Presumably his master was disgraced himself and left his samurai without a master. According to historical tradition, samurai were to commit ritualistic suicide to avoid dishonor. Many of them turned into ronin, and these samurai for hire often became bandits - and that was what Samon Yotsuya saw Iemon as. The murder of his father-in-law had been an act of anger and desperation, but every act to follow - including aiding with the death of his beloved Oiwa whom he went through all the trouble for - was unforgiveable that he had to suffer the consequences.
Despite this knowledge, Itachi enjoyed playing the character.
He found himself nearly running into Jiraiya, his would-have-been "grandfather-in-law" who ended up being the target of the wrath of Oiwa. The old man in reality was Hanaru and Naruto's grandfather; he was Minato's father. He was a legendary kabuki actor and playwright for certain love plays - and let's not forget his open flirtations of younger women since his wife passed on a few years back. But before that, he was known for his tactics and was extremely faithful to her; she had been known to smack him around for being so brazen, and you wonder how they lasted as long as they did. Itachi remembered how his father always said when it came to women, she would support you whether she liked it or not, but she would still go off like a firecracker if you went too far. Anything to keep you in place.
Now, if Jiraiya had it his way - since they were back to the present - he would have said this ancient play was his own masterpiece. That is, if the time had been different. "Man, and I thought her grandmother could knock the breath out of me if she had to!" Jiraiya said, slapping him on the back proudly. "That makeup and all, those screams...I saw you turn white as a ghost. Admit it, you were scared, too, Itachi."
"A man doesn't scare easily," he said. A man only admits his uneasiness, never true fears.
"Yeah, well, I told myself that for years. But you know what they say: you can always be surprised. I've had my share of surprises over the years. Just like I was surprised when you and my granddaughter brought to life the tragedy of Iemon and Oiwa. You should hear her dad when Minato says she 'steals the show like a dynamite that just goes up in the flares.'"
Itachi chuckled as he agreed with the older man. The one whom his character had conspired with to marry Ume so he could gain a better position was just pointing it out just as his attention laid on her when he saw her come in with her father, brother and Hinata who portrayed Oiwa's sister whose life ended in a way uninvolved with her sister's curse. When she thought her man had been killed - unknowing it was Naosuke - and agreed to marry Naosuke so they could get revenge on the man who was "responsible" for the murders of her father and Yomoshichi...only for the latter to return and see her with his enemy, and she's left accused of adultery. She chooses death between them, but not before revealing she and Naosuke are really brother and sister. They didn't consummate the marriage before because she concealed attempted incest. And it left Naosuke to take his own life.
To see his brother "stab" himself, throwing out his loathing and disgust at what a heartless and worthless bastard he was - because the shame of being in love with his own sister as well as killing his former master whom he thought was Osode's beloved. Which left Yomoshichi - Naruto - to go after Iemon...none other than Itachi himself. It was great fun to trade sword fighting with the brother of the woman who stole his breath away in several forms, to list them off:
Appearance. A rare angel, but with a temper like her mother and grandmother.
Performance. Understanding Oiwa so well that she BECOMES Oiwa.
Hinata was lovely as the snow, but it was Hanaru he let himself be lost in taking in all the details: the black dress gathering around her wonderful body, the sleeves fluttering at the tops of her arms. That long hair which he would often see fall down her back and shoulders when she removed that messy midnight wig was held back in a sleek ponytail to show the diamond and ruby flowers in her ears; her necklace was a regal ribbon set with a large ruby and dripping with mined diamonds.
But then he was approached himself by none other than his brother who was with his date, and Ino herself with her husband of a few months. Sakura Haruno was recently made into a doctor at the general hospital, having been under Tsunade's apprenticeship before the woman died, and after that, she was on her own. She was an impressive woman that he was glad Sasuke had her as his significant other. But up to now, they hadn't yet decided to tie the knot, but it didn't cross Itachi's mind to ask why. What was between them would stay between them.
Sakura was all spring as she was named: her hair was pink as the flower itself, cut about her ears like a pixie, and her eyes were green as the earth's environment as well as the natural stone around her right forefinger. Her dress had several tiers in the skirt; it was patterned with bursts of rosy blossoms, and the low neck drew attention to the deco-inspired diamond necklace and matching earrings. She was Sasuke's opposite that attracted.
She and Ino Yamanaka had been best friends since girlhood. His fellow actress who had the pleasure of flirting with him while bringing Ume to life - a means to get into character, nothing else, but then again, the Uchiha had a history of attracting innuendos from blushing young women most of the time - and reassuring her husband, Sai, that he was still the one for her, to which he blandly replied with a small smile that she was all over Itachi as much as her character was over his. The blonde with the high ponytail was lovely, but the other who was still within his vision was the occupant whom he wished he could pull aside and give his attention to. Ino's dress was vibrant teal, V-necked and slitted in the front, beaded elaborately all over, finished with crawling diamond vines in her ears.
Seeing the happy couple made Itachi look down at the ring around Ino's finger which captured the painting of a water lily: the opal was within layers of white and yellow gold in one. It made him return his attention back to Hanaru, who was embracing Kakashi and Choji - the former who played Samon and the latter Takuetsu.
Choji was a kind young man, so to play a character who was being paid by Oiwa's own husband to force her to be unfaithful as grounds for honorable divorce was difficult for him. He was a gentleman towards Hanaru during rehearsals, but she knew it was only pretense and swore to never hold it against him. As for Kakashi: he'd been a dear friend of Itachi's since they were young boys. He was also auditioning for his first television role in Tokyo which was set for the following summer, so the Uchiha wished him the best of luck.
Now, for the first time that evening, Hanaru looked HIS way and smiled, a slight blush coming to her face.
Itachi swallowed, yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman he'd known professionally for years but wanted more now. He had waited a long time for her - but would she return his affections?
Whoo I have no idea where to begin. XD
The idea that Itachi portrays Iemon in the play came from when I was watching Ayakashi. Somehow I ended up imagining CRISPIN FREEMAN (Itachi's English VA) as the vile man, because knowing the kind of characters he is known for. But really I would never ask for anyone other than Brian Dobson who did Iemon justice.
Itachi's desire to understand the characters before portrayal also comes from Crispin's experience with figuring out psychologically what motivates the characters he is going to play. He did that with Itachi. :D
The information on Yotsuya Kaidan in every form (kabuki, TV and film) is all true to fact, so where it comes from doesn't really matter, but Wiki is definitely a source. Even Nanboku himself who narrated the segment in Ayakashi. The beginning with the performance announced also is a moment that takes place at the start of episode 7. XD It's so funny because you have to watch the Yotsuya Kaidan arc from the bottom up; I have no idea why the creators chose to start the stories that way.
REVIEW. :D