“Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” to Get Kabuki Remake

December 12, 2018

Tokyo--Shochiku Co. <9601> said Wednesday that it will remake "Kaze no Tani no Naushika" (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind), a manga series by Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, into a kabuki traditional theater performance.

Kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke V will play the leading role of Nausicaa, while Nakamura Shichinosuke II will play Princess Kushana.

The performance will be held at the Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre in December next year.

It will be the first time for any work of Miyazaki to be adapted for kabuki.

The performance will be based on the manga, which first appeared serially in a magazine in 1982. The manga continued after the film adaptation Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind in 1984.

The kabuki script will be based on all seven books in the series.

Toshio Suzuki, producer at anime powerhouse Studio Ghibli Inc., announced in a statement, "Classic kabuki will do Nausicaa."

"I am looking forward to seeing the final work," he continued. "I want to enjoy (the performance) in the audience." Jiji Press