Kaiki Shoku (Eclipse)

June 2 – 12, 2005
Theatre Off Jackson
Seattle, Washington

Suga Kanno (1881-1911) was a journalist and radical activist who became the first female political prisoner to be executed in Japan's modern history – for plotting to assassinate the Emperor.  By all accounts she had a difficult life as poverty, illness, violence, isolation, and the general lack of opportunities for women shadowed her.  However, rather than give up, she resisted and struggled to survive.  Her story reveals a searching mind and restless spirit.  She became infamous in her time for being the only woman, and chief instigator, among the defendants in what became known as the Great Treason Incident trial.  Until recent years her story and image have been defined by her relationships with better known men.  Although she has been dismissed as an aberration, she was very much a woman of her time – the Meiji era – a time of great social, political, and cultural change as Japan began to take its place in the wider world.

In Japanese mythology, the most important deity is the sun goddess Ameterasu, the most beautiful and radiant being who fills the darkest air with light and brilliance.  Some of the best known tales involve Ameterasu and her rivalry with her brothers Tsukiyomi, the coolly radiant moon god, and Susano-o, the impetuous storm god.  In one story, Tsukiyomi killed a goddess sent by Ameterasu to feed the people.  From then on, Ameterasu refused to look at her brother, and so the sun and moon became separated by night and day.  In the most famous tale, Ameterasu was involved in an altercation with Susano-o, who in a jealous fury destroyed much of Ameterasu's domain.  In anger Ameterasu shut herself away in a cave, cutting off sunlight to the world.  In an effort to lure her out, the other gods sent Uzume, the goddess of mirth, who tried coaxing her out with jokes and wild dancing.  Curious, Ameterasu emerged, and the world became bright and warm again, and life returned to it