September Program at the Kabukiza Theatre||KABUKI WEB

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September Program at the kabukiza

September Program at the Kabukiza Theatre

Daily: Sep 02 (Tue) - Sep 24 (Wed), 2025

Matinee:11:00 AM

Evening Show: 4:30 PM

*No performances on the 9th (Tue) and 17th (Wed).
*Reserved seats for the Matinee are sold out on the 4th (Thu), 5th (Fri), 8th (Mon), 10th (Wed), 11th (Thu) and 19th (Fri). (Single Act Seats <4th level> will still be available.)

◇Schedule

Time Schedule

On sale: from Aug 14 (Thu), 2025 10:00 AM(JST)

Ticket Price
Special Seat: 20,000
First Class Seat: 18,000
Second Class A: 15,000
Second Class B: 14,000
Second Class C: 9,000
Upper Tier A: 6,500
Upper Tier B: 5,000
Box Seat: 20,000

Unit: Japanese Yen (tax included)

Ticket with "English Captioning Service"
Tickets that include an English captioning device are available on the website. Please select "Ticket with English Captioning Service" (1,500 yen will be added to the ticket price) on the ticket purchase page.

*Special Seat and Box Seat: Not available online. Click here for details.

Kabukiza Theatre (at TOKYO) Theatre Information

'Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy' is known as one of the three great classics of the kabuki repertoire with 'The Treasury of Loyal Retainers' and 'Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees.' It concerns the exile of Sugawara no Michizane (Kan Shōjō in the play) to distant Dazaifu and is a play with Gidayū narration which is still very popular. Centered on Kan Shōjō and the triplet brothers who are attendants (toneri), the story intricately portrays the surrounding human relationships and emotional dynamics in each act. Please enjoy the long-awaited full-length performance through the Matinee and the Evening Show.
This year, all the three great classics are being performed at the Kabukiza for the first time in 30 years, 'The Treasury of Loyal Retainers' in March, 'Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy' this month and 'Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees' in October. Please look forward to that.

Performance Time: Performance Time: Matinee: 11:00 AM - 3:35 PM
*Performance time is subject to change
Historical play

Full-length production of SUGAWARA DENJU TENARAI KAGAMI

['Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy']

CAST :
Act 1: Kamo Zutsumi ['The Kamo Riverbank']
Program A
Sakuramaru
Nakamura Kashō
Yae
Bandō Shingo
Princess Kariya, Kan Shōjō’s adopted daughter
Onoe Sakon
Prince Tokiyo
Nakamura Yonekichi
Miyoshi no Kiyotsura
Bandō Kamezō

Program B
Sakuramaru
Nakamura Mantarō
Yae
Nakamura Tanenosuke
Princess Kariya, Kan Shōjō’s adopted daughter
Nakamura Yonekichi
Prince Tokiyo
Bandō Shingo
Miyoshi no Kiyotsura
Bandō Kamezō

Act 2: Hippō Denju ['Passing on the Secrets of Calligraphy']
Program A
Kan Shōjō
Kataoka Nizaemon
Takebe Genzō
Matsumoto Kōshirō
Tonami
Nakamura Tokizō
Umeōmaru
Nakamura Hashinosuke
Arashima Chikara
Nakamura Kichinojō
Miyoshi no Kiyotsura
Bandō Kamezō
Minase, head of ladies-in-waiting
Kamimura Kichiya
Sono'o no mae
Nakamura Jakuemon

Program B
Kan Shōjō
Matsumoto Kōshirō
Takebe Genzō
Ichikawa Somegorō
Tonami
Nakamura Kazutarō
Umeōmaru
Nakamura Hashinosuke
Arashima Chikara
Nakamura Matsue
Miyoshi no Kiyotsura
Bandō Kamezō
Minase, head of ladies-in-waiting
Ichimura Manjirō
Sono'o no mae
Nakamura Manju

Act 3: Dōmyōji ['Dōmyōji Temple']
Program A
Kan Shōjō
Kataoka Nizaemon
Tatsuta no mae, Tarō’s wife
Kataoka Takatarō
Sukune Tarō
Onoe Shōroku
Terukuni, an administrative official
Onoe Kikugorō VIII
Princess Kariya, Kan Shōjō’s adopted daughter
Onoe Sakon
Takunai, a footman
Nakamura Shikan
Haji no Hyōe, Tarō’s father
Nakamura Karoku
Kakuju
Nakamura Kaishun
　　　　　　
Program B
Kan Shōjō
Matsumoto Kōshirō
Tatsuta no mae, Tarō’s wife
Kataoka Takatarō
Sukune Tarō
Nakamura Kashō
Terukuni, an administrative official
Nakamura Kinnosuke
Princess Kariya, Kan Shōjō’s adopted daughter
Nakamura Yonekichi
Takunai, a footman
Bandō Hikosaburō
Haji no Hyōe, Tarō’s father
Nakamura Matagorō
Kakuju
Nakamura Kaishun
STORY :

Act 1: Kamo Zutsumi ['The Kamo Riverbank']
Sugawara no Michizane (known in this play as Kan Shōjō) was a high-ranking imperial court minister who was a brilliant calligrapher and scholar. But political rivalries forced him into exile in distant Kyushu, where he died. After Michizane's death, a series of disasters in the imperial capital were attributed to his angry spirit and he was appeased by being made a god known as Tenjin. He is now revered as the god of learning.
Young Sakuramaru serves Imperial Prince Tokiyo who has fallen in love with Princess Kariya, Michizane's beautiful daughter. Sakuramaru and his wife Yae are charmed by the affair, since it reminds them of their own love. But the affair is discovered and Michizane's rivals use it as proof that Michizane is attempting to take over the imperial court. This innocent love affair triggers the tragedies of the play.

Act 2: Hippō Denju ['Passing on the Secrets of Calligraphy']
Michizane, in this play called Kan Shōjō, knows that he will soon be exiled. Before he goes, he hands over the scroll of his secrets to his most talented student Genzō. However, Genzō has been disowned for having an affair with Tonami, a servant in the household. Only the intervention of Kan Shōjō's wife Sono’o no mae has saved their lives. Even though Genzō is the one to receive his master's teachings, he is still not forgiven. Kan Shōjō is arrested, but Genzō and his wife rescue Kan Shōjō's young son and take him to safety.

Act 3: Dōmyōji ['Dōmyōji Temple']
On his way to exile, Kan Shōjō is allowed to stop at the home of his aunt, Kakuju. There he carves a statue of himself for his aunt. Princess Kariya is actually Kakuju's daughter and was adopted by Kan Shōjō. She has come desperately hoping to say farewell to him, but she is punished severely by Kakuju for having been responsible for Kan Shōjō's downfall. Kakuju has another daughter, Tatsuta. At the same time, Tatsuta's husband Sukune Tarō and his father are plotting to assassinate Kan Shōjō by pretending to be the emissaries who will deliver him into exile, though their real plan is to kill him. Miraculously, the statue that Kan Shōjō carved comes to life and saves his life. Finally, when the real emissary Terukuni appears, Kan Shōjō must part from his family as he goes into exile.

Performance Time: Performance Time: Evening Show: 4:30 PM - 8:50 PM
*Performance time is subject to change
Historical play

Full-length production of SUGAWARA DENJU TENARAI KAGAMI

['Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy']

CAST :
Acts 4: Kurumabiki ['Pulling the Carriage Apart']
Program A
Matsuōmaru
Matsumoto Kōshirō
Umeōmaru
Ichikawa Somegorō
Sakuramaru
Onoe Sakon
Sugiōmaru
Ōtani Hirotarō
Fujiwara no Shihei
Matsumoto Hakuō
Program B
Matsuōmaru
Nakamura Shikan
Umeōmaru
Onoe Shōroku
Sakuramaru
Nakamura Kinnosuke
Sugiōmaru
Ōtani Hirotarō
Fujiwara no Shihei
Kawarasaki Gonjūrō

Act 5: Ga no Iwai ['The Birthday Celebration']
Program A
Sakuramaru
Nakamura Tokizō
Yae
Nakamura Kazutarō
Umeōmaru
Nakamura Hashinosuke
Haru
Nakamura Tanenosuke
Chiyo
Bandō Shingo
Matsuōmaru
Nakamura Kashō
Shiratayū
Nakamura Matagorō

Program B
Sakuramaru
Onoe Kikugorō VIII
Yae
Nakamura Yonekichi
Umeōmaru
Nakamura Mantarō
Haru
Nakamura Tanenosuke
Chiyo
Bandō Shingo
Matsuōmaru
Bandō Hikosaburō
Shiratayū
Nakamura Karoku

Act 6: Terakoya ['The Village School']
Program A
Matsuōmaru
Onoe Shōroku
Takebe Genzō
Matsumoto Kōshirō
Tonami
Kataoka Takatarō
Shundō Genba
Bandō Kamezō
Sansuke, a servant
Nakamura Kichinojō
Yotarō, a drooling kid
Ichikawa Omezō
Sono’o no mae
Nakamura Tōzō
Chiyo
Nakamura Manju
　　　　　　
Program B
Matsuōmaru
Matsumoto Kōshirō
Takebe Genzō
Ichikawa Somegorō
Tonami
Nakamura Tokizō
Shundō Genba
Matsumoto Kingo
Sansuke, a servant
Nakamura Kichinojō
Yotarō, a drooling kid
Ichikawa Omezō
Sono’o no mae
Ichikawa Komazō
Chiyo
Nakamura Jakuemon
STORY :

Act 4: Kurumabiki ['Pulling the Carriage Apart']
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.


Act 5: Ga no Iwai ['The Birthday Celebration']
The scene takes place at Shiratayū's home in Sata Village during the 70th birthday celebration of the father of triplets. While their wives prepare for the festivities, Umeōmaru and Matsuōmaru return home but immediately begin fighting, breaking a branch from their father's beloved cherry tree—an ominous sign connected to their brother Sakuramaru's name.
When Shiratayū returns, he notices the broken branch. Umeōmaru requests permission to join Lord Shōjō in exile, but Shiratayū refuses, telling him to think of the lord's abandoned wife and child instead. Matsuōmaru asks to be disowned so he can better serve Lord Shihei, which Shiratayū angrily grants, ordering the couple to leave immediately. He also sends Umeōmaru and his wife away to search for Lord Shōjō's family. The only triplet yet to appear, Sakuramaru, emerges from inside the house and tells his wife Yae of his decision to commit suicide by seppuku, feeling responsible for the scandal involving Prince Tokiyo's love affair with Lord Shōjō’s daughter and ...

Act 6: Terakoya ['The Village School']
Takebe Genzō was Kan Shōjō's most gifted disciple. Kan Shōjō has been exiled and his family are in grave danger. Genzō runs a small school in the country and shelters Kan Shōjō's son and heir, Kan Shūsai, whom they are trying to pass off as their own son. However, word has gotten out that Kan Shūsai is at their school and Genzō has been ordered to behead him. Moreover, the retainer Matsuōmaru who knows Kan Shūsai's face is to come to inspect the head. Genzō's only hope is to kill one of the other students as a substitute. On that day, a new student named Kotarō who has a refined bearing arrives. Genzō takes the terrible decision to kill him in place of his lord's son.

KABUKI by Shochiku