The world’s first audio recording of a Japanese woman was made in Berlin in 1901. It was the voice of the former geisha and actress Kawakami Sadayakko, who travelled to Europe and the United States three times, starting in 1899, as a member of Theater Kawakami Otojiro. Sadayakko, who was abruptly placed in the role of actress at a time when women were prohibited from taking the stage in Japan, attracted a large member of spectators – including artists and composers such as Picasso, Rodin and Debussy – who were entranced with her beauty, and shaped the image of Japanese femininity in the West.
While investigating at the Berlin Phonograms-Archive I discovered both the original voice of Sadayakko and two recordings of voices erroneously listed as those of men. Based on these materials, I sought to convey the contrast between the constant remarks made on her physical and visual beauty with her voice, which people recognized at the time as ‘merely a sound’, and silence.
1901年のベルリンにおいて、世界で初めて日本人女性の声が録音された。元芸者で女優の川上貞奴である。貞奴は川上音二郎座の一員として1899年より3度にわたり欧米に渡航した。日本では女性が舞台に上がることが禁止されていた時代、急遽「女優」になることを余儀なくされた貞奴は、その美貌によって多くの観客—ピカソやロダン、ドビュッシーといった芸術家も含む—を魅了し、欧米における日本人女性のイメージを作り上げた。
ベルリン・フォノグラフ・アーカイブでの調査において発見した、本来の貞奴の声と、誤って「男性の声」として記録された2つの声。これらの資料をもとに、幾度となく言及される身体的・視覚的な美と、「単なる音」として受容された彼女の声や沈黙の間を描き出す。
写真: 高橋健治 | 画像提供: Tokyo Arts and Space
Photo: Takahashi Kenji | Photo courtesy: Tokyo Arts and Space
