I saw the element of change to be very important in connecting the Kabuki music with Japanese history; so, I wanted to make a video that captured the idea of harsh changes. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki came to mind when I thought of difficult times in Japan, and, by then, I had already started writing my poem. I had a character and a setting, so the bombings gave a specific story and context for the poem. I thought of Sadako Sasaki, the young Japanese girl who started making cranes to wish for recovery from her leukemia that resulted from radiation from the atomic bomb. She didn’t live to finish, but her friends and family completed the cranes and buried them with her. This girl’s story reminded me of the type of tragedy that would be played during a Kabuki theater production. In my video, I folded some cranes to cover up part of the text of my poem. Then, they were lit on fire to reveal the full poem behind them. Our fragility against such destructive forces — and our strength to heal and help each other through changes — essentially inspired me to make this video.
Short Movie for Porcelain Home, by EP
October 11, 2011, by EP