O-EDO MIYAGE

['A Souvenir from Edo']

CAST :

Otsuji

Nakamura Ganjirō

Bandō Eishi

Bandō Minosuke

Okon

Nakamura Tanenosuke

Kakubē, the elder lion dancer

Nakamura Utanosuke

Rokusaburō, the head of a firefighting brigade

Bandō Kamezō

Tokiwazu Mojitatsu

Kataoka Takatarō

Oyū

Nakamura Shikan

STORY :

This 'New Kabuki' play is a light-hearted comedy portraying a fanciful episode from the life of commoners in the Edo period. Two women who travel annually to Edo to sell the cloth that they weave encounter a young couple. Moved by the spirit of romance, Otsuji spends all the money that she has made for a once-in-a-lifetime meeting with a fabulously handsome kabuki actor...

TONBI YAKKO

['A Footman and a Kite']

CAST :

A footman

Onoe Shōroku

STORY :

A kite flies off with the first bonito of the season which a footman has bought for his master. The footman chases the kite with a pole from a well in his hand, intending to knock down the kite with it. Please enjoy this cheerful dance which portrays the lives of chic ordinary people in the Edo period.

IYA SAKAE SHIBAI NO NIGIWAI
Saruwakaza Shibai Mae

['In front of the Saruwakaza Theatre']

CAST :

Theatre Manager of the Saruwakaza Theatre

Nakamura Kankurō

Wife of the Theatre Manager of the Saruwakaza Theatre

Nakamura Shichinosuke

A young actor of the Saruwakaza Theatre

Nakamura Maizuru, changing his name from Tsurumatsu

A chivalrous townsman

Nakamura Kashō

A chivalrous townsman

Nakamura Mantarō

A chivalrous townsman

Nakamura Hashinosuke

A chivalrous townsman

Nakamura Toranosuke

A chivalrous townsman

Nakamura Utanosuke

A chivalrous townswoman

Bandō Shingo

A chivalrous townswoman

Nakamura Tanenosuke

A chivalrous townswoman

Ichikawa Otora

A chivalrous townswoman

Nakamura Kangyoku

A chivalrous townswoman

Nakamura Tamatarō

Azuma, Shinzaemon’s wife

Kataoka Takatarō

Kōkichi, Saruwaka town administrator

Nakamura Shikan

Ohiro, the proprietress of the theatre teahouse Ōgiya

Nakamura Senjaku

Oei, Kōkichi’s wife

Nakamura Fukusuke

Shinzaemon, master of the draper’s shop Matsushima

Kataoka Nizaemon

STORY :

This play is what is called 'Shibai Mae'. The stage is made to resemble the area in front of the Nakamuraza Theatre in the Edo Period and the principal actors of the troupe gather here to celebrate Nakamura Tsurumatsu who changes his name to Nakamura Maizuru I.

TSUMORU KOI YUKI NO SEKI NO TO

['The Snowbound Barrier']

CAST :

Sekibē, the barrier guard, in reality Ōtomo no Kuronushi

Nakamura Kankurō

Princess Ono no Komachi/
Sumizome, a courtesan, in reality the spirit of the cherry tree

Nakamura Shichinosuke

Yoshimine no Shōshō Munesada

Onoe Kikugorō VIII

STORY :

One of the greatest dance dramas in the kabuki repertory, this work combines romance, drama and comedy set against a fantastic, legendary background. A snow-covered barrier with a mysterious cherry tree in full bloom provides the background of the legend about a traitorous aristocrat disguised as a barrier guard, and the beautiful woman who defeats him, actually the spirit of the cherry tree in human form.

ICHINOTANI FUTABA GUNKI
Jinmon
Kumiuchi

['The Camp Gate' and 'The Duell' from 'A Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani']

CAST :

Kumagai no Jirō Naozane

Nakamura Kankurō

Kumagai no Kojirō Naoie / Taira no Atsumori

Nakamura Kantarō

Princess Tamaori

Bandō Shingo

STORY :

The young Genji warrior Kumagai no Kojirō Naoie attacks the enemy Heike Camp on Suma Beach. His father Naozane worries about him being in his first battle and takes him back to the Kumagai battle camp. Although they are enemies, Naozane must later spare the young Heike general Atsumori because he is the son of the Emperor. Naozane does so by making his own son a substitute.
In addition to seeing the gallant figures of Naoie and Atsumori, a unique staging technique is used to represent people in the distance by using children.

AMAGOI GITSUNE

['The Fox Praying for Rain']

CAST :

A fox
A shrine maiden praying for rain
A blind masseur
Ono no Tōfū
Fox’s wife
A lantern

Nakamura Maizuru, changing his name from Tsurumatsu

STORY :

The original novel on which this is based is an immense epic by 19th century novelist Kyokutei Bakin that was published over many years, and which eventually reached 106 volumes. They say that when it rains while the sun is shining, it means that the bridal procession of a fox is passing. That is what is shown in this relatively modern dance starring a talented dancer as a magical fox that does a series of dances in five highly contrasting roles: a fox, a shrine maiden praying for rain, a blind masseur and the fox bride in a bridal procession.

UME GOYOMI

['Tanjirō's Love Triangle']

CAST :

Adakichi, a geisha

Nakamura Shichinosuke

Yonehachi, a geisha

Nakamura Tokizō

Tanjirō

Nakamura Hayato

Chiba Hanjirō

Nakamura Hashinosuke

Ochō, Tanjirō’s fiancée

Nakamura Kangyoku

Furutori Sabunta

Nakamura Kikaku

Honda Jirō Chikatsune

Nakamura Matsue

Chiba Tōbē

Nakamura Matagorō

STORY :

This work is a kabuki adaptation of a famous love story from the Edo Period called 'Shunshoku Ume Goyomi'.
Tanjirō, the foster child of a rich merchant in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters lives with Yonehachi, a geisha of the Fukagawa district, even though he has a fiancée named Ochō. Adakichi, another geisha in Fukagawa, falls in love with him at first sight as they pass each other on boats, and she and Yonehachi become rivals for Tanjirō's love.
Tanjirō's master Chiba Hanjirō was disowned for losing a precious tea caddy named 'Zangetsu', the heirloom of the Hatakeyama clan, and he now lives at Tanjirō's house. Adakichi persuades Furutori Sabunta to sell the tea caddy in his possession as she wants to get it for Tanjirō who is searching for the lost one with Hanjirō. But this tea caddy turns out to be a complete fake. Tanjirō recovers the genuine one after great difficulty and hands it to Hanjirō. As a result, Hanjirō is permitted to return to his house and the ill feeling between Adakichi and Yonehachi dispels and they make up.