Kenta Yamazaki | 'Koko ga Umi' (This is the Sea)
This article critiques the play 'Koko ga Umi' for its casting choices regarding a transgender male role and its narrative exclusion of societal realities faced by transgender individuals.Summary
This article reviews the play 'Koko ga Umi,' written and directed by Takuya Kato, which depicts an approximately eight-month journey of 'trust and dialogue' involving Yuri (a transgender man), his spouse Gakuto, and their daughter Makoto, following Yuri's decision to transition. The critic notes that while the play sensitively portrays the couple's wavering emotions, it faces criticism regarding the casting of a cisgender woman, Kuroki Haru, in the transgender male role, with concerns raised about representation and the production's insufficient engagement with existing discourse on casting transgender roles to transgender actors. Furthermore, the reviewer finds the narrative unsatisfying because it meticulously focuses only on the family's internal dialogue, effectively excluding the societal obstacles and the 'complicated reality' that transgender men typically face during transition. The critic suggests this narrative technique, which isolates the characters in a privileged setting, results in a story that remains one-sided from a cisgender male perspective. The review concludes by recommending the film 'Blue Boy Incident,' which depicts the experiences of transgender women.
(Source：artscape)