Jun Hashimoto , who is currently in the spotlight for his role as the popular painter Kitao Shigemasa in the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) no Yumebanashi," will take on the stage production "Koko ga Umi," written and directed by Takuya Kato, which will begin performances at Theater Tram (Setagaya Ward, Tokyo) from September 20th. The play tells the story of a family who is told that their partner wants to change their gender, and Hashimoto, who describes the play as "a story that proves it is possible to accept a family member who is changing their gender," shared his thoughts as a stage actor.
◇ Ongoing stories of families in various places
Hashimoto has teamed up with Kato again for the first time in three years since the 2022 play "Yomasa Shizuka," which won the Excellence Award in the Director's Category at the 30th Yomiuri Theater Awards and was nominated for the 26th Tsuruya Nanboku Drama Award.
Hashimoto himself has been involved since the scriptwriting stage, and after two and a half years of preparation, the play is about to be performed.
"At first, I was conscious of the large themes, but as I watched the changes that occurred as the manuscript underwent multiple revisions and reread the book, I began to see that although the major theme of 'gender' is there, it is also a story about families that exist in the present day, in all sorts of places, in reality, and now I see it as a 'drama of relationships.' Everyone has their own worries, and it's only natural that they are hurt and troubled. But this work is also a story that proves it is possible to accept a family whose gender is changing."
Even if you haven't experienced it yet, it's something that everyone can relate to. Hashimoto plays the main character, Taketo, whose spouse tells him that they want to change their gender.
"Because of his job as a writer, Taketo reads and writes a variety of things, so I get the impression he has a certain amount of knowledge, he listens carefully to what others say, and is very cooperative. He's also very kind, and always thinking about the other person. In an age where people expect things to be easy to read and understand, and to save time, he wonders if his writing is really good enough, but at the same time, he has to do it because his livelihood depends on it, so I think he's someone who struggles to find the right balance."
◇You must continue to question your own values
Haru Kuroki will play Yuri, who tells Taketo that she wants to change her gender. This will be her first collaboration with Hashimoto since "Yomasa Shizuka." Taketo and Yuri's child, Makoto, will be played by Aoi Nakata, who has been active mainly in film productions and is taking a new step with this stage appearance.
Hashimoto also says that in addition to the film's theme of "gender," she tries to keep in mind "not to judge people by their appearance, not to force them into individual values, and to respect others."
"This is a very important thing even if you put gender aside, so I think it's important to continue to question your own values. As you get older, you become more and more trapped by your own values, and because you don't want your life to be denied, you start to increasingly have a self-affirming mindset. So I think you need to continue to have the will to question your own values."
◇The power of communication and the many things you can take home are the great things about theater
Hashimoto has extensive experience in stage performances, but she reveals, "I hope that watching this work will make people think, worry, be helpful, or have even a little positive effect. This is true for all my works, but I feel that this feeling is especially strong with this one."
"It would be presumptuous of me to say how it will impact each person's life, but I hope I can be a part of that work."
When we asked Hashimoto again about what he feels is the unique "reward" of being on stage...
"The biggest thing is being able to create a shared space with the audience. For the audience, it's an incident, and I believe that only on stage can you create that relationship of complicity. The capacity of this venue is just under 200 people, so there aren't many people to see at once, but the strength of what you can communicate, and the amount of things you can take home with you, is what makes theater so great. People go home having experienced it as if it were their own, so it has a big impact, but the flip side of that influence is that when you're on the acting side, you have to be properly prepared and have pride. Without that, I don't think you're qualified to be 'on stage', so I want to make sure I remember that."
