KAJIWARA HEIZŌ HOMARE NO ISHIKIRI

[The Stone-cutting Feat of Kajiwara]

CAST :

Kajiwara Heizō

Bando Kamesaburo taking the new name Bando Hikosaburo

Matano Gorō

Bando Kametoshi taking the new name Bando Kamezo

Kenbishi Nomisuke

Onoe Shoroku

Kikuhē, a footman

Onoe Kikunosuke

Kozue, Rokurodayū's daughter

Onoe Ukon

Rokurodayū

Ichikawa Danzo

Ōba Saburō

Bando Hikosaburo taking the new name Bando Rakuzen

STORY :

This play is one act from a jidaimono history play set in the 12th century. The Taira general Kajiwara is asked to test the sharpness of a sword by slicing two live human beings in half. The sword is a priceless heirloom belonging to the enemy Genji clan, and he deliberately fails the test in order to keep it from falling into the hands of his Taira clan. A miracle has convinced Kajiwara to change sides. Kajiwara finally demonstrates the true power of the sword by cutting a large stone basin in two.

From YOSHITSUNE SENBON ZAKURA - YOSHINOYAMA

[Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees - Mt. Yoshino]

CAST :

Satō Tadanobu, in reality the fox, Genkurō

Ichikawa Ebizo

Shizuka Gozen

Onoe Kikunosuke

STORY :

This is a dance depicting a journey through the countryside from the epic play "YOSHITSUNE SENBON ZAKURA" ('Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees'). Now exiled and disgraced, Yoshitsune has left his lover Shizuka in the safekeeping of his trusted retainer Tadanobu. But she is unaware that this Tadanobu is actually a magical fox in disguise. He has transformed into human form to be near the treasured drum that Shizuka carries, a drum made from the skins of his fox parents. The dance is set amidst the cherry blossoms of Yoshino, as Shizuka and Tadanobu long to meet Yoshitsune again and express their feelings of love and loyalty to their lord

SAKANAYA SŌGORŌ

[Sōgorō, the Fishmonger]

CAST :

Sōgorō, a fishmonger

Onoe Kikugoro

Ohama, Sōgorō's wife

Nakamura Tokizo

Isobe Kazuenosuke

Onoe Shoroku

Onagi, a servant of the house of Isobe

Nakamura Baishi

Yōkichi, an apprentice of a saké shop

Terajima Maholo, first appearance on stage

Sankichi, Sōgorō's servant

Kawarasaki Gonjuro

Omitsu, the daughter of the teahouse maid Kiku

Ichimura Manjiro

Tahē, Sōgorō's father

Ichikawa Danzo

Urato Jūzaemon, the chief retainer of the house of Isobe

Ichikawa Sadanji

STORY :

This is a sewamono play, a work portraying in a realistic way the lives of ordinary people in the Edo period.
Sōgorō, a fishmonger, has made a vow to not drink. But when he learns about his sister's unjust murder at the hands of a daimyō lord, a death that they were told was execution for her wrongdoing, he starts to drink again. Becoming drunk, he storms into the lord's mansion to seek an apology. This play by the Meiji playwright Kawatake Mokuami is known for its realistic portrayal of members of the common class during the Edo period, and highlights their fierce pride as well as their frustration at the privileges of the dominant samurai class.

KOTOBUKI SOGA NO TAIMEN

[The Revenge of the Soga Brothers]

CAST :

Kudō Suketsune

Onoe Kikugoro

Soga no Gorō

Bando Kamesaburo taking the new name Bando Hikosaburo

Ōmi no Kotōta

Bando Kametoshi taking the new name Bando Kamezo

Yawata no Saburō

Onoe Matsuya

Kewaizaka no Shōshō

Nakamura Baishi

Hatano Shirō

Ichimura Takematsu

Kamemaru, Oniōs retainer

Bando Kamesaburo making his debut

Oniō Shinzaemon

Kawarasaki Gonjuro

Ōiso no Tora

Ichimura Manjiro

Soga no Jūrō

Nakamura Tokizo

Kobayashi no Asahina

Bando Hikosaburo taking the new name Bando Rakuzen

STORY :

This piece 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 every spring. '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.

MEIBOKU SENDAI HAGI

[The Troubles in the Daté Clan]

CAST :

<Goten> [ Masaoka's Chambers]

Masaoka, the wet nurse of Tsuruchiyo

Onoe Kikunosuke

Yashio

Nakamura Karoku

Sakae Gozen

Nakamura Kaishun

<Yukashita>[Below the Floor]

Nikki Danjō

Ichikawa Ebizo

Arajishi Otokonosuke

Onoe Shoroku

<Taiketsu・Ninjō>[The Trial and the Stabbing]

Hosokawa Katsumoto

Nakamura Baigyoku

Nikki Danjō

Ichikawa Ebizo

STORY :

This is a jidaimono, a history play set in the Muromachi Period (15th century), but it is based on the attempt to take over one of the most famous samurai households in the Edo Period, a scandal that caused a sensation in its day.
After the former lord of the Date House is forced into retirement for his profligate ways, his young son Tsuruchiyo is made heir. He is looked after by Masaoka, the young boy's wet-nurse. Afraid that he will be assassinated, Masaoka refuses to let any man see him and insists on making all his meals herself. In an attempt to kill Tsuruchiyo, the villains send women with poisoned cakes, and Masaoka only manages to protect the boy by sacrificing her own son. Ironically, her fierce devotion to duty convinces the plotters that she is on their side, and they give their secret list of conspirators to her. Her son's sacrifice has helped to save the young lord, and only when she is alone can she grieve for him. Meanwhile, beneath the floor of the palace room, another faithful retainer called Otokonosuke stands guard. But the arch villain Nikki Danjō appears in the form of a giant rat. Stealing back the list of conspirators, his mastery of the black arts gets the better of Otokonosuke and he slips calmly away.

YAYOI NO HANA ASAKUSA MATSURI

[The Flowers of March and the Festival at Asakusa]

CAST :

Takenouchi no Sukune/
A fisherman transformed into the spirit of "evil" /
A country samurai/The spirit of a lion

Onoe Shoroku

Empress Jingū/
A fisherman transformed into the spirit of "good" /
A man-about-town/The spirit of a lion

Bando Kametoshi taking a new name Bando Kamezo

STORY :

One of the most vigorous dances in the kabuki repertory is "Sanja Matsuri" ('The Sanja Festival') that is performed to Kiyomoto music. It features two fishermen who are transformed into the spirits of "good" and "evil." The work actually comes from a series of four separate dances and this month we are treated to a rare presentation of the full set. All four dances are performed by the same two actors who change rapidly from one role to the next. The first and second dances are based on the dolls on elaborately decorated festival floats. It begins with two figures from ancient Japanese history: Empress Jingū and her elderly retainer Takenouchi no Sukune. She is pregnant, but after delaying the delivery while she leads a military campaign, finally gives birth to the emperor Ōjin. The next dance retells the story of the founding of the temple at Asakusa, in which two fishermen discovered a golden image of the Buddhist deity Kannon in their nets. In this case, the holy spirits that they encounter are two spheres with the characters for "good" and "evil" on them. The spirits possess the two and they perform a lively dance. Then, after a brief comic work featuring a pair of visitors with contrasting personalities who go to the brothel district, the set concludes with a dance portraying mythical "shishi" lions, with the two performers evoking these powerful supernatural spirits.