NANSŌ SATOMI HAKKENDEN
Hōryūkaku,Tonegawa

['Hōryū Tower’ and ‘Tone River’ from 'The Tale of Eight Warriors'']

CAST :

Inukai Genpachi

Bandō Minosuke

Inuzuka Shino

Onoe Ukon

STORY :

The original novel is an immense epic by 19th century novelist Kyokutei Bakin published over many years, eventually reaching 106 volumes. The Satomi clan is being attacked and its lord offers his daughter Fusehime as a reward of bringing the head of the enemy to him. However, the one to kill and behead the enemy happens to be his loyal dog. Saying that her father must not go back on his word, Fusehime goes with the dog. Nevertheless, the Satomi clan is defeated and one of its loyal retainers goes to rescue Fusehime and shoots the dog, but unfortunately shoots Fusehime as well. The eight crystal beads of her rosary, each engraved with a Chinese character of one of the Confucian virtues, scatter through the air and go flying in all directions. Miraculously, each will be found with a newborn baby. These eight children all have the Chinese character “inu(dog)” in their names, and eventually meet and join together to restore the Satomi clan. In a famous scene, Inukai Genpachi and Inuzuka Shino fight on the roof top of Hōryū Tower not knowing each other’s identity and fall into Tone River.

ROKKASEN SUGATA NO IRODORI
Henjō, Bunya, Narihira, Komachi, Kisen and Kuronushi

['The Six Poetic Geniuses']

CAST :

Henjō, a high Buddhist priestｓ
Bunya no Yasuhide
Ariwara no Narihira
Kisen, a priest
Ōtomo no Kuronushi

Onoe Kikugorō VIII

Ono no Komachi

Nakamura Tokizō

Okaji, a tea-house girl in Gion, Kyoto

Nakamura Jakuemon

STORY :

A rare full-length performance of a humorous series of dances, which show the ancient poetic geniuses famous from classical Japanese literature, reinterpreted to the tastes of Edo period audiences. Ono no Komachi, the only woman of the six, was famous as a great beauty and in this dance, all the other poets are in love with her. You can enjoy the change of the atmosphere from that of the Heian Period imperial court to that of common people in the Edo Period.

KOTOBUKI SOGA NO TAIMEN

['The Auspicious Confrontation of the Soga Brothers']

CAST :

Soga no Gorō

Onoe Tatsunosuke III, changing his name from Onoe Sakon III

Soga no Jūrō

Onoe Kikugorō VIII

Oniō Shinzaemon

Ichikawa Danjūrō

Ōisono Tora

Nakamura Jakuemon

Maizuru, Asahina’s sister

Nakamura Manju

Kudō Suketsune

Onoe Kikugorō VII

A stage assistant

Onoe Shōroku

STORY :

This scene is one act of a history play based on the legend of the Soga brothers vendetta. In the Edo period, plays about the vendetta carried out by the Soga brothers, Gorō and Jūrō, were performed at times of celebration. 'Soga no Taimen', in which the brothers meet their nemesis, has its roots in the earliest of these plays. This play has ceremonial aspects and features each of the important kabuki character types, including the bombastic 'aragoto' style of Gorō and the soft 'wagoto' style of Jūrō.

KIICHIHŌGEN SANRYAKUNOMAKI
Kikubatake

[''The Chrysanthemum Garden' from 'Kiichi Hōgen's Book of Tactics’']

CAST :

Torazō, a footman, in reality, Minamoto no Ushiwakamaru

Onoe Tatsunosuke III, changing his name from Onoe Sakon III

Princess Minazuru

Nakamura Tokizō

Yoshioka Kiichi Hōgen

Bandō Hikosaburō

Chienai, a footman, in reality, Yoshioka Kisanda

Onoe Shōroku

STORY :

This work is a great classic of the history play genre. There is a stylized beauty in both the way of acting and in the costumes. It is full of larger-than-life characters and is performed on a stage full of dazzling color. In a garden of brilliant yellow and white chrysanthemums, we find Kiichi, an elderly strategist working for the dictator Kiyomori, and two footmen, the elegant young Torazō and the powerful Chienai. Kiichi's beautiful daughter Minazuru is deeply in love with Torazō. However, Torazō is, in fact, a young general sent there by the enemy to steal Kiichi's secret book of strategy. Chienai is his retainer. But Kiichi has realized their true identities and the reason why they are there.

SUKEROKU YUKARI NO EDO ZAKURA

['Sukeroku, the Flower of Edo']

CAST :

Hanakawado no Sukeroku

Ichikawa Danjūrō

Agemaki, a great courtesan of the Miuraya

Onoe Kikugorō VIII

Hige no Ikyū

Ichikawa Omezō

Fukuyama Katsugi

Onoe Tatsunosuke III, changing his name from Onoe Sakon III

Kanpera Monbē

Onoe Shōroku

Soga no Mankō, Sukeroku’s mother

Nakamura Jakuemon

Shinbē, Sukeroku’s elder brother

Nakamura Baigyoku

Prologist

Ichikawa Shinnosuke

STORY :

This is a play filled with the leisurely atmosphere of old-style kabuki in its mixture of comedy and romance. 'Sukeroku' is a great showpiece for the top stars in kabuki. The dandy Sukeroku is the most famous patron of the Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarters, but his reputation as the lover of the highest-ranking courtesan Agemaki is matched by his argumentative nature and his tendency to pick fights. In fact, Sukeroku is the samurai Soga no Gorō in disguise and he uses the fights as an excuse to search for a lost heirloom sword. His quest takes place amidst of the colorful spectacle that is the Yoshiwara, where the processions of beautiful courtesans compete with the splendor of cherry blossoms in full bloom.