HARU NO SHIRABE MUSUME NANAKUSA
SANJA MATSURI

['The Soga Brothers and the Seven Spring Herbs' and 'Sanja Festival']

CAST :

<HARU NO SHIRABE MUSUME NANAKUSA>
Soga no Gorō

Ichikawa Somegorō

Soga no Jūrō

Ichikawa Danko

Shizuka Gozen

Onoe Tatsunosuke

<SANJA MATSURI>
The spirit of 'evil'

Nakamura Kashō

The spirit of 'good'

Nakamura Tanenosuke

STORY :

Every New Year in the Edo period, plays were staged about the medieval vendetta carried out by the Soga brothers Jūrō and Gorō. This colorful, old-fashioned dance mixes this tradition with the custom of eating porridge containing seven auspicious herbs on the seventh day of the New Year. As the brothers Jūrō and Gorō prepare to face their father's murderer and take revenge, they cut the herbs together with beautiful Shizuka Gozen, as a symbolic act of vengeance.
The stage shifts to the Sumida River. Two fishermen are casting nets in the Sumida River. This illustrates the legend of the origins of the Asakusa Shrine, where two brothers fished a statue of the Buddhist deity Kannon out of the water. As the two perform a light-hearted dance, a cloud suddenly appears and they lose consciousness. When they wake up again, they are each possessed by the spirit of 'good' and the spirit of 'evil'. They start to dance again... 

HIRAGANA SEISUIKI
Ōtsu Yadoya
Sasabiki
Sakaro

['The Inn at Ōtsu', 'Bamboo Cutting' and 'Reverse Rowing' from 'The Simplified Record of the Rise and Fall of the Genji and Heike Clan']

CAST :

Matsuemon, a boatman, in reality, Higuchi Jirō Kanemitsu

Matsumoto Kōshirō

Hatakeyama Shigetada

Onoe Shōroku

Ofude

Onoe Kikugorō VIII

Myōjinmaru Tomizō, a boatman

Ichikawa Somegorō

Nadakichi Kurosaku, a boatman

Onoe Tatsunosuke

Hiyoshimaru Mataroku, a boatman

Ichikawa Danko

Matsuemon in distant view

Nakamura Tanetarō

Komawakamaru

Nakamura Hidenosuke

A retainer of Hatakeyama

Sawamura Sōnosuke

A retainer of Hatakeyama

Otani Hirotarō

A retainer of Hatakeyama

Ichikawa Otora

A retainer of Hatakeyama

Nakamura Kichinojō

Unnen, a priest

Matsumoto Kingo

Gonshirō, a boatman

Nakamura Matagorō

Oyoshi

Nakamura Jakuemon

STORY :

After the death of Kiso Yoshinaka, his widow Lady Yamabuki and their young son Komawakamaru wander from province to province, fleeing the Kamakura forces with the help of their loyal retainer Kamata Hayato and Lady Yamabuki's maid-in-waiting Ofude. At last they arrive at an inn in Ōtsu, where the boatman Gonshirō and his daughter Oyoshi are also staying. Before long, however, the Kamakura warrior Banba no Chūta tracks them down…
Meanwhile, another tragic drama unfolds for the survivors of the Yoshinaka faction. Matsuemon, who has married into the family of the country boatman Gonshirō, is actually the warrior Higuchi Kanemitsu in disguise—a leading retainer of Yoshinaka. Having learned special rowing skills, he is invited to transport the Genji general Yoshitsune, whose forces were responsible for Yoshinaka's death. Matsuemon sees this as the ultimate opportunity to take his revenge. However, before he can put his plan into action, his identity is discovered, leading to a spectacular battle on sea and land that seals his fate.

HINAZURU SANBASŌ

['Young Crane Sanbasō']

CAST :

Okina

Nakamura Kaishun

Senzai

Nakamura Jakuemon

Sanbasō

Nakamura Manju

STORY :

Okina appears accompanied by Senzai and performs a stately, dignified dance praying for peace and prosperity throughout the land. He is joined by Sanbasō, who offers prayers for a bountiful harvest in a vigorous and energetic dance. This work adapts the ceremonial dance Sanbasō, traditionally performed as a prayer for peace, for onnagata (male specialists in female roles). Performed by Kaishun, Manju and Jakuemon, it is an elegant and refined dance that showcases the grace and artistry of these distinguished performers.

Igagoe Dōchū Sugoroku
NUMAZU

['Numazu Post Station' from 'The Vendetta at Iga Province']

CAST :

Jūbē, a draper

Kataoka Nizaemon (Program A)

Matsumoto Kōshirō (Program B)

Oyone, Heisaku’s daughter

Kataoka Takatarō

Yasubē, a porter

Kataoka Matsunosuke (Program A)

Nakamura Kichinojō (Program B)

Ikezoe Magohachi

Nakamura Hayato

Heisaku, a porter

Nakamura Karoku

STORY :

This play is a dramatization of one of the most famous historical vendettas of the Edo period. This act shows the tragedy of the common people who unintentionally got involved in the vendetta. The kimono merchant Jūbē meets the porter Heisaku as he travels west on business. Heisaku tries to carry Jūbē's luggage, but he is unsteady on his feet and finally gets hurt. As Heisaku's daughter Oyone passes by, Jūbē falls in love with her at first sight and stops at Heisaku's house. During his stay there, Oyone attempts to steal Jūbē's inrō　(medicine case) for her husband. They finally find out that, not only are they long-separated family relations, but that their loyalties also lie on opposite sides of the vendetta. Their loyalties prevent them from openly acknowledging their relationship, so Heisaku sacrifices his life to get information from his son, and…

KYŌ NINGYŌ

['Hidari Jingorō and His Courtesan Doll']

CAST :

Hidari Jingorō

Onoe Shōroku

Spirit of the Doll

Nakamura Tokizō

Omitsu, in reality Lady Izutsu

Onoe Tatsunosuke

Kuriyama Daizō

Nakamura Kichinojō

Otoku, Jingorō’s wife

Bandō Shingo

Teruhei, a footman

Bandō Kamezō

STORY :

This dance tells the story of Hidari Jingorō, a wood sculptor famous for carving the sleeping cat on the great gate of Nikkō Shrine. Falling in love with a beautiful courtesan, he carves a doll that looks exactly like her. The doll suddenly starts moving, as though it were alive, and Jingorō enjoys his time with the sculpture. At the end of the dance, there is a spectacular fight scene in which Jingorō is set upon by carpenters brandishing their tools.

ICHIJŌ ŌKURA MONOGATARI
Okuden

['The Tale of Ichijō Ōkura']

CAST :

Ichijō Ōkura Naganari, a lord

Ichikawa Somegorō

Yoshioka Kijirō

Nakamura Kashō

Okyō, Kijirō’s wife

Nakamura Tanenosuke

Naruse, Kageyu’s wife

Ichikawa Komazō

Yatsurugi Kageyu

Matsumoto Kōshirō

Lady Tokiwa, Naganari’s wife

Nakamura Jakuemon

STORY :

This is a 'jidaimono' history play set in the 12th century. The Genji retainer Kijirō and his wife Okyō believed that Lady Tokiwa, the widow of the Genji leader Yoshitomo, had given up on her clan's struggle against the enemy Heike, but they rejoice to find that she secretly prays for the Heike's downfall. Yatsurugi Kageyu, one of the retainers of her current husband, the aristocrat Ōkura, discovers this. When he declares that he will tell Kiyomori about Lady Tokiwa's secret, he is killed by Ōkura. Though Ōkura seems to be nothing more than a fool, this is actually an elaborate disguise to hide his loyalty to the Genji clan and to survive in this turbulent world.