Kabukiza TheatreKabukiza Theatre
January at the Kabukiza Theatre
Daily: Jan 02 (Sat) - Jan 27 (Wed), 2021
Part 1: 11:00 AM
Part 2: 2:45 PM
Part 3: 6:20 PM
*No performances on the 12th (Tue) and the 19th (Tue).
*The theatre will open 40 minutes before the performance starts.
[Important Notice]
●Notification of performance schedules after January 8th (Fri) at the Kabukiza Theatre
●Notice about the Kabukiza Theatre's operations from 2021
●Precautionary Measures at the Kabukiza Theatre
On sale: from Dec 14 (Mon), 2020 10:00AM(JST)
Box Seat: 16,000 /First Class Seat: 15,000 /Second Class Seat: 11,000 /Upper Tier A : 5,000 /Upper Tier B : 3,000
Unit: Japanese Yen (tax included)
*Children over the age of 4 must purchase tickets to enter.
*Single Act Seats are not for sale.
*One section of the auditorium will be sold in two-seat blocks, with every third seat vacant.
*Tea will not be offered at the Box Seats. Please refrain from eating at seats as well.
Kabukiza Theatre (at TOKYO) Theatre Information
- *No English supporting guide available.
Since the reopening of the theatre in August, we have been presenting a 4-part show each month without intermissions, but starting from January, 2021, we will present shows divided into 3 parts, each consisting of 2 plays or dances with an intermission between each.
You can see colorful dances perfect for the New Year as well as two of the three great classics which continue to be very popular.
‘Yūgiri and Memories of Love' is performed in Part 2 to commemorate the late Sakata Tōjūrō. Please enjoy this dance drama performed by his sons Ganjirō and Senjaku that is filled with the atmosphere of the Kansai region.
KOTOHOGITE HANAGATA TSUDOU HASHIRADATE
['The Auspicious Ceremony of Building the First Pillar enacted by Young Stars']
CAST :
- Soga no Gorō Tokimune
- Onoe Matsuya
- Soga no Jūrō Sukenari
- Nakamura Hayato
- Kobayashi Asahina
- Bandō Minosuke
- Ōiso no Tora
- Nakamura Yonekichi
- Kewaizaka no Shōshō
- Nakamura Kangyoku
- Kisegawa no Kamezuru
- Nakamura Tsurumatsu
- Chinsai, a tea priest
- Nakamura Tanenosuke
- Maizuru, Asahina's sister
- Bandō Shingo
- Kudō Saemon Suketsune
- Nakamura Kashō
STORY :
Kudō Suketsune was appointed Marshal of the Hunt at the foot of Mt. Fuji by his master Minamoto no Yoritomo. For this occasion, he intends to build a temporary hunting lodge and holds a ceremony dedicated to the foundation of its first pillar. The Soga brothers Jūrō and Gorō who seek Suketsune's life as their father's slayer also attend this ceremony. While Maizuru, Chinsai and Kisegawa appease the furious Gorō, Suketsune tells how their father Kawazu Saburō was killed.
Intermission: 15 minutes
AKUTARŌ
['Akutarō, a drunkard']
CAST :
- Akutarō
- Ichikawa Ennosuke
- Chirenbō, a monk practicing asceticism
- Nakamura Fukunosuke
- Tarōkaja
- Nakamura Takanosuke
- Yasuki Matsunojō, Akutarō's uncle
- Ichikawa En'ya
STORY :
This dance is based on a comic kyōgen play and was written for Ichikawa En'ō I, for whom it became a specialty. This dance shows a wild drunkard named Akutarō. He appears with a bushy beard and a long halberd that he waves around wildly. But his uncle has a plan to cure him of drinking.
YŪGIRI NAGORI NO SHŌGATSU
Yukari no Tsuki
['Yūgiri and Memories of Love']
CAST :
- Fujiya Izaemon
- Nakamura Ganjirō
- Ōgiya Yūgiri, a courtesan of the Ōgiya House
- Nakamura Senjaku
- Tsurushichi, a jester
- Nakamura Kikaku
- Kamego, a jester
- Nakamura Toranosuke
- Takezō, a jester
- Nakamura Tamatarō
- Umehachi, a jester
- Nakamura Utanosuke
- Tōbē, the head clerk of the Ōgiya House
- Nakamura Jūjirō
- Ofusa, Saburobē's wife
- Kamimura Kichiya
- Ōgiya Saburobē
- Nakamura Matagorō
STORY :
The roots of this play go back to the earliest days of kabuki. The young lover Izaemon has been disowned by his family for loving a courtesan. This role is a classic example of 'wagoto', the gentle style of acting that was popular in the Kyoto and Osaka region. His lover Yūgiri, the fabulous courtesan, died pining away with love for him. As he prays to Amida Buddha to hold a memorial service for her, he faints and Yūgiri appears before him. They celebrate their reunion and reminisce about the past, but she disappears. He is pleased that he was reunited with her even though it was only in a dream.
Intermission: 15 minutes
KANADEHON CHŪSHINGURA
Gion Ichirikijaya
['The Ichiriki Teahouse' from 'The Treasury of Loyal Retainers']
CAST :
- Ōboshi Yuranosuke
- Nakamura Kichiemon
- Okaru, a courtesan
- Nakamura Jakuemon
- Sagisaka Bannai
- Nakamura Kichinojō
- Ono Kudayū
- Arashi Kitsusaburō
- Teraoka Heiemon
- Nakamura Baigyoku
STORY :
'Chūshingura' is one of the most popular plays in the repertoire. It depicts a true event when forty-seven masterless samurai avenged the death of their lord by killing his enemy. Act VII is one of the most famous of the play and focuses on the leader of the vendetta, Yuranosuke. Yuranosuke must hide his intention to avenge his lord's death by pretending to be interested only in pleasure as he encounters key figures on his own side and on the side of the enemy. Yuranosuke spends his days and nights in the pleasure quarters of Kyōto. However, his enemy Moronō is not so easily convinced and has sent spies to find out Yuranosuke's true intentions. Okaru, the wife of one of the retainers is now a courtesan at the Ichiriki Teahouse, unaware that her husband is dead. Without knowing that a spy lies hidden under the veranda, Yuranosuke reads a secret letter indicating his true intentions. It is read from below by the spy, but Yuranosuke realises this thanks to Okaru. Okaru's brother Heiemon, a servant in the Enya household, also comes to the teahouse and there he meets with his sister again. Finally, Heiemon is permitted to be an attendant during the revenge, and the act ends with Yuranosuke preparing to lead the vendetta.
SUGAWARA DENJU TENARAI KAGAMI
Kurumabiki
['Pulling the Carriage Apart’ from ‘Sugawara’s Secrets of Calligraphy']
CAST :
- Matsuōmaru
- Matsumoto Hakuō
- Umeōmaru
- Matsumoto Kōshirō
- Sakuramaru
- Ichikawa Somegorō
- Sugiōmaru
- Ōtani Hirotarō
- Tōnai, a night guard
- Matsumoto Kingo
- Fujiwara no Shihei
- Bandō Yajūrō
STORY :
Umeōmaru and his triplet brother, Sakuramaru, try to get revenge on Fujiwara no Shihei who falsely accused Umeōmaru's lord, Kan Shōjō of treason. However, they are confronted by their other brother, Matsuōmaru, who is one of Shihei's retainers. The energetic performance of Umeōmaru is a showcase for the bombastic 'aragoto' style of acting.
Intermission: 15 minutes
Nemuruga Rakuda Monogatari
RAKUDA
['Rakuda: Party with a Corpse']
CAST :
- Chōname no Hanji
- Nakamura Shikan
- Kyūroku, a wastepaper collector
- Kataoka Ainosuke
- Rakuda no Umatarō
- Nakamura Matsue
- Oyasu, Hanji’s younger sister
- Ichikawa Otora
- Ogin, an old woman who sells starch
- Nakamura Baika
- Oiku, Sahē’s wife
- Bandō Yajūrō
- Sahē, a landlord
- Ichikawa Sadanji
STORY :
This is a popular dramatization of a rakugo comic story. A petty gang member called Rakuda has died after eating blowfish. Hanji, one of his evil companions, finds him and hopes to hold a wake, but has no money. Every neighbor is overjoyed to hear that such a nuisance is dead, but when Hanji tries to get them to contribute, they refuse to contribute a single penny to his burial. Hanji threatens Kyūroku, the waste paper collector, and demands that he go to the landlord's house carrying Rakuda's corpse to obtain condolence money. The plan works and they succeed in having the saké delivered. They start drinking together, but as they drink, the hapless Kyūroku becomes surprisingly aggressive.