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Feudal Japan Othello. An interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Othello through the lens of Feudal Japan.

Please refer to the catalogue  for props, materials and costumes.

Within this article, I will be explaining my directorial outlook on Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 3 of William Shakespeare’s 17^th Century play Othello. All the various directorial decisions I will be taking will be explored, including- costume, lighting, speech, blocking, materials of props and costumes and character design (make-up, hair etc). I will be referring to the Folger Shakespeare Library version of the play, edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine.

The context in which I have decided to place my interpretation and direction of Othello is the late feudal Japan period, this would be around 1400-1600 CE. I believe this fusion of the East and the West will serve as an excellent source of dramatic interest and can give birth to an array of engaging themes. I will be keeping all the names of the characters the same as the original, however most of the cast would be from a Japanese ethnicity apart from Othello who will have to be black, this is due to Othello being black in the original play and also as I am modelling Othello in my interpretation upon a real-life figure known as Yasuke. Yasuke was a warrior who reached the rank of samurai under the rule of Oda Nobunaga. He was a tall African man who arrived in Japan in 1579. He would go on to become the first foreign-born man to achieve the status of a samurai warrior (Mohamud, 2021). Othello, with inspiration from the real life Yasuke, would be casted in Othello as a highly decorated samurai with great honour, prestige and respect from his Lords, while still exhibiting a sense of alienation. To give a brief overview on the costume choices for the characters. Othello would be wearing the traditional samurai armour (see Figure 5 in catalogue) which is made up of leather and iron plates attached to the body. Desdemona would be wearing the traditional dress of a Geisha (see Figure 2 in catalogue), which is called a Kimono with a Nihogami wig. The hairstyle of the male characters would be the traditional Japanese samurai hairstyle consisting of a tight top knot, it is called a chonmage (see Figure 6 in catalogue). I will be employing the usage of various masks in order to depict character emotions at any given time, one such example would be my decision to make Othello wear the Hannya mask (see Figure 4 in catalogue) when he learns of Desdemona’s alleged infidelity, the Hannya mask portrays the souls of women who have become demons due to obsession or jealousy. I will be having Iago wear the Oni mask (see Figure 5 in catalogue) during parts of his utmost evil and trickery, this serves as a dual purpose, one to be further enforcing the theme of appearance vs reality and two is to depict his pure evil. The Oni mask is the mask of a demon used to frighten children, it is usually depicted as red-faced and angry with long sharp teeth. The word Oni literally translates to demon and is a wholly evil, malevolent creature within Japanese folklore. In terms of general character design, I will be having all female character wearing chalky, pale make-up as this was a common feature of Geisha’s in feudal Japan. I will be having all male combatant characters to be wearing traditional Japanese samurai armour during scenes related to battle, and during scenes not related to battle they will be in Kimono’s (see Figure 1 in catalogue) relating to the characters position or wealth.

The beginning of the play, Act 1 Scene1, will open with the two characters Iago and Roderigo both dressed in their blue kimono’s, slowly walking to the centre of the stage, accompanied by traditional Japanese music, called Hogaku. The opening conversation between the two will remain the same as well as the language and English terminology, there will be no variations. The reason for this is to create the overt fuse between the East and West and to really highlight and amplify the overtly observable contrast between both respective cultures. The primary focus is to draw attention to a Japanese cast speaking 17^th Century English. Following on from the conversation between Iago and Roderigo, Brabantio will appear from the top floor of a small-scale Himeji castle (see Figure 8 in catalogue), constructed out of wood. He will be on the top floor of the castle which will be a 2D wooden cut-out with a flat plank on the top section to support the actor of Brabantio. Both Iago and Roderigo will crank their necks up in order to magnify the height at which Brabantio is at, although the cut-out will not be that big, the neck-crank should serve as an illusion to make Brabantio’s position seem to appear much higher than reality. Brabantio, as someone of noble descent, would be referred to, in the context of this interpretation, as a Lord or in Japanese a Daimyo. He will be dressed in a silk robe (see Figure 10 in catalogue) befitting for someone of his position. During the brief exchange between Brabantio and Roderigo and Iago in the following line when Iago says-

Zounds, sir, you’re robbed. For shame, put on your gown! Your heart is burst. You have lost half your soul. Even now, now, very now, an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise! Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you. Arise, I say!

(Shakespeare, Mowat and Werstine, 2017)

The actors on stage will all freeze, then the lights will black out for 4 seconds. When lighting is resumed Iago will now have on the Oni mask (Figure 5). Whilst wearing the mask Iago will slowly turn his head to the crowd and then turn his head back to its original position. The same sequence for lighting will resume and the conversation will further proceed. The intention behind this is to encapsulate this moment of utmost and initial trickery of Iago. To show the audience this traditional and ominous Japanese Oni mask and then to go back to speaking Shakespearian English would be a marvellous fusion of cultures, serving as a great hyperbolic device.

After the exchange between Brabantio and Iago and Roderigo, Brabantio will come down, after the exit of Roderigo and Iago, he will come with six guards all dressed in samurai armour (Figure 5) and armed with Kitanas (Figure 7) and they will all have lit lanterns to act as torches (this will be in compliance with all fire safety standards). During Brabantio’s dialogues of great concern for Desdemona, he will be frantically pacing about the stage while his guards are in a straight line, this is to emphasise his authority and amplify his concern for Desdemona and his own pride. After the final line of Act 1 Scene 1 where Brabantio says-

Pray you lead on. At every house I’ll call.

I may command at most.—Get weapons, ho!

And raise some special officers of night .—

On, good Roderigo. I will deserve your pains

(Shakespeare, Mowat and Werstine, 2017)

I will have all the guards of Brabantio perform a brief bow and immediately start walking swiftly off stage in a line. Upon this Brabantio will be left alone in stage with his hand gripping his Kitana while still sheathed and with a harrowing expression on his face.

This concludes the directorial instructions, decisions and execution I have pertaining to Act 1 Scene 1 of my Feudal Japanese interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Othello. The primary focus of this Scene is to mould the idea of an Eastern interpretation of a great western play into the hearts and minds of the audience. A very intricate and meticulous amount of balance must be applied with careful focus on not having an overtly Japanese play and not relying too much ion the original interpretation. This scene also serves as a brief introduction to the mask/emotion concept found within this interpretation, starting off with the devious Iago and his Oni mask of evil.

Desdemona, Cassio and Emilia all enter to begin Act 3 Scene 3. Desdemona is wearing the traditional Geisha costume, Cassio in his formal samurai attire and Emilia also wearing traditional Geisha. Their brief conversation will be followed by the entrance of Othello and Iago, Iago will not currently be wearing the Oni mask. Othello will be wearing full samurai costume as well as Iago. After the exchange between the female characters and their departure, we have the most important part of the scene- the interaction between Othello and Iago. This is due to the moments of Iago’s highest forms of manipulation and trickery. This initially begins with the lines-

IAGO

Did Michael Cassio,

When you wooed my lady, know of your love?

OTHELLO

He did, from first to last. Why dost thou ask?

IAGIO

But for a satisfaction of my thought,

No further harm.

OTHELLO

Why of thy thought, Iago?

IAGO

I did not think he had been acquainted with her.

OTHELLO

O yes, and went between us very oft.

(Shakespeare, Mowat and Werstine, 2017)

With special focus on the line by Iago- ‘But for a satisfaction of my thought, No further harm’ (Shakespeare, Mowat and Werstine, 2017),we see Iago begin his malicious assault on the sensitive proclivities Othello possesses in regard to spousal envy and the notion of infidelity as an attack on his honour and as a result of prejudice due to his complexion and alienation in the land. It is with no doubt these racial proclivities were caused and enhanced by Iago in the first place. This line will also serve as another point for the mask/emotion concept as I will have the brief stage blackout, with the characters on stage, in this case only Othello, freezing and Iago putting on the Oni mask during the blackout. As the conversation progresses with Iago tactfully throwing in little jabs and hooks for Othello to latch onto whilst also maintaining his own reliability and honesty, Iago will continue to wear the Oni mask. Upon reaching the interaction between Emilia and Desdemona, I will introduce Desdemona with her Sensu fan. Due to the alteration and replacement of the original prop- being a handkerchief, minor adjustments will have to be made to the dialogue. Within this scene, the line in which Othello says-

OTHELLO

‘Your napkin is too little’

(Shakespeare, Mowat and Werstine, 2017)

will require the relative replacement of the word ‘handkerchief’. The word will have to be replaced instead with ‘sensu’.  This line further sets up the item of interest- the sensu fan for the following interaction between Iago and his wife Emilia in which he snatches it off her, using it as a tool to further strategise some nefarious schemes. For the most important part of the scene- Othello’s fury and extreme envy, I will have Iago slowly walking to the centre of the stage exhibiting a meek demeanour, he will be pacing around the stage looking downwards as if to express severe remorse, guilt and dismay. This behaviour serves as an important reminder to the audience of the duality of Iago’s appearance, and no matter how much of his malevolence and manipulation is disclosed to the eyes of the audience it is vital that they remember his art of deceit in regard to the characters in the play and how he is continuously able to shift suspicion away from himself. During Othello and Iago’s back and forth in which Iago alludes to Desdemona’s infidelity, almost teasing Othello with proof but not yet providing any, I will have Iago put on the Oni mask, in line with the same sequence of direction as before, when he says-

IAGO

‘Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief

Spotted with strawberries in your wife’s hand?’

(Shakespeare, Mowat and Werstine, 2017)

However I will have to alter this line to say the following-

‘Have you not sometimes seen a sensu fan

Decorated with cranes in your wife’s hands?’

Following on from this line and the subsequent line of Othello’s rage and envy thus activating Iago’s ploy to manipulate Othello using Cassio and the Sensu fan I will have Othello finally wear a mask of his own, an event which will have to be dramatized to the maximum capability with drums, and other forms of music. The line in which Othellon will wear the Hannya mask of jealousy will be the following-

OTHELLO

O, blood, blood, blood!

(Shakespeare, Mowat and Werstine, 2017)

Upon wearing the mask, the rumbling of thunder, the banging of drums and the entire stage will be filled with a flash of red light, to symbolise Othello’s rage, followed by a constant bright green light, to symbolise his envy. The green light will eventually fade away as the conversation between Iago and Othello progresses. The rest of the scene will continue with Iago and Othello concluding their conversation and departing from opposite sides of the stage. This concludes the directorial instructions, decisions and execution I have pertaining to Act 3 Scene 3 of my Feudal Japanese interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Othello. The primary focus of this scene is to depict the rage and envy of Othello while simultaneously and equally depicting the manipulatory and strategic prowess of Iago, both themes being co-existent and simultaneously employed within the scene.

Feudal Japan Othello Catalogue

Bibliography

Mohamud, N., 2021. Yasuke: The mysterious African samurai. [online] BBC News. Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48542673&gt; [Accessed 14 May 2021].

Shakespeare, W., Mowat, B. and Werstine, P., n.d. The tragedy of Othello, the moor of Venice.