GION SAIREI SHINKŌKI
Kinkakuji

['The Golden Pavilion' from 'The Gion Festival Chronicle of Faith']

CAST :

Yukihime, Shōgen’s daughter

Nakamura Tokizō

Konoshita Tōkichi, later, Mashiba Hisayoshi

Nakamura Hayato

Matsunaga Daizen

Nakamura Shidō

Kanō no suke Naonobu

Nakamura Yonekichi

Matsunaga Kitōta

Nakamura Tanenosuke

Sogō Gunpei, in reality, Satō Masakiyo

Nakamura Kashō

Keijuin, the shogun’s mother

Nakamura Kinnosuke

STORY :

This is a 'jidaimono', a history play portraying the life of warriors in the 16th century. Matsunaga Daizen has defeated the shogun and has set up base at the Golden Pavilion. The beautiful Yukihime is being held prisoner there by Daizen. The brilliant strategist Hisayoshi, disguised as a disgruntled retainer named Tōkichi, pretends to enter Daizen's employ to try to sabotage his plans from within. In a famous highlight of the play, Yukihime is bound to a cherry tree, but when she draws a mouse in the tree's petals, the mouse miraculously comes to life and chews the ropes that bind her. The role of Yukihime is considered to be one of the most difficult 'princess' roles in kabuki.

MODORIKAGO IRO NI AIKATA

['The Returning Palanquin']

CAST :

Azuma no Yoshirō, in reality, Mashiba Hisayoshi

Nakamura Manju

Tayori, a child apprentice to a courtesan

Nakamura Baishi

Naniwa no Jirōsaku, in reality, Ishikawa Goemon

Nakamura Mantarō

STORY :

This classic is a popular dance filled with many highlights and a charming old-world atmosphere. Two palanquin bearers, Jirosaku and Yoshirō, return from the pleasure quarters carrying a 'kamuro', a child apprentice to a courtesan. They stop to rest and begin to boast to each other of their respective hometowns and pleasure quarters in Osaka and Edo. Finally, however, the men retrieve objects concealed in each other's breast pocket, revealing their true identities. Only now do they realize that they are sworn enemies: a samurai and a notorious thief!

KOZURE ŌKAMI

['Lone Wolf and Cub']

CAST :

Ogami Ittō

Nakamura Shidō

Ogami Daigorō

Nakamura Natsuki

STORY :

Set in the Edo period, 'Lone Wolf and Cub' (Kozure Ōkami) follows Ogami Ittō, the shogunate’s official executioner, who is ensnared in a plot by his sworn enemy, Yagyū Retsudō. Branded with false charges, stripped of his position, and devastated by the murder of his wife, Ittō sets out on a relentless journey of vengeance together with his young son, Daigorō. Meanwhile, Retsudō dispatches assassin after assassin in pursuit of the pair, who come to be feared throughout the land as the 'Lone Wolf and Cub'. Epic in scale, the story of Ogami Ittō’s revenge journey with Daigorō has inspired numerous film and television adaptations. In particular, the television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, broadcast from 1973 to 1976, became a nationwide phenomenon. During the height of the series’ popularity, the work was adapted for the stage in 1974 as part of the celebrated 'Yorozuya Kinnosuke Special Performances' at the Kabukiza Theatre. Now returning to the Kabukiza in the month closely associated with Yorozuya acting house, this new production marks the first time that Nakamura Shidō II directs at the theatre, collaborating with film director Masanori Inoue. Audiences can look forward to a fresh revival of this enduringly popular period drama.

HANA GA MAU OGAWA NO NIGIWAI
Niwaka Jishi

['Impromptu Comic Lion Dance']

CAST :

The head of a firefighting brigade

Nakamura Karoku

A geisha

Nakamura Manju

The head of a firefighting brigade

Nakamura Matagorō

The head of a firefighting brigade

Nakamura Kinnosuke

The head of a firefighting brigade

Nakamura Shidō

A geisha

Nakamura Tokizō

A fireman

Nakamura Kashō

A fireman

Nakamura Mantarō

A fireman

Nakamura Tanenosuke

A geisha

Nakamura Yonekichi

A fireman

Nakamura Hayato

A tekomai dancer

Nakamura Baishi

A tekomai dancer

Nakamura Tanetarō

A tekomai dancer

Nakamura Hidenosuke

A tekomai dancer

Nakamura Haruki

A tekomai dancer

Nakamura Natsuki

A fireman

Onoe Shōroku

A fireman

Nakamura Baigyoku

A fireman

Onoe Kikugorō VII

STORY :

From the late Edo to the Meiji periods, an event called 'Niwaka' took place in September in the pleasure quarters where geishas and jesters performed improvised dances. This is a lively dance which might be performed at such a time, evoking the atmosphere of an Edo period festival. The highlight of the piece is the lion dance performed by two handsome young men of the neighborhood.

KAMIKAKETE SANGO TAISETSU

['The Lover’s Pledge']

CAST :

Satsuma Gengobē

Nakamura Kankurō (Program A)
Onoe Matsuya (Program B)

Sasanoya Sangorō

Onoe Matsuya (Program A)
Nakamura Kankurō (Program B)

Koman, a geisha

Nakamura Kankurō (Program B)

Rokushichihachiemon, Gengobē’s footman

Nakamura Shichinosuke

Osaki no Inosuke

Bandō Minosuke

Uchibin Torazō

Nakamura Tanenosuke

Tominomori Suke’emon

Nakamura Matagorō

STORY :

This is a 'sewamono', a category of plays portraying the lives of ordinary people in the Edo period (1603-1868). Sasanoya Sangorō is married to Koman, but she has become a geisha to enable him to raise the money he needs to help his lord, a man that he has never seen. In the pleasure quarters, the samurai Satsuma Gengobē falls in love with Koman and spends huge sums of money on her, despite the fact that he needs money for the sake of the 'Chūshingura' vendetta (better known as the 'Revenge of the 47 Rōnin'). Finally, Gengobē brings a large sum of money to the pleasure quarters and Sangorō and Koman decide to defraud him of it, which results in a massacre. Ironically, however, Gengobē is none other than the unknown master for whom Sangorō was trying to raise funds. This story of passion and greed takes place against the background of inexplicable fate and the strict requirements of samurai society, to which it adds ample doses of sardonic humor. A perfect play for our times!