'Touken Ranbu' is a popular online browser game. Players bring famous historical swords to life as 'touken danshi', 'sword warriors', to defeat evil forces that are trying to change the course of history. The game gave rise to a sword boom by featuring characters modeled after historical Japanese swords, and it has been adapted for different genres such as the theatre, anime and movies and has now become one of Japan's most celebrated pop culture phenomena.

This month, the second kabuki adaptation of 'Touken Ranbu' will be performed at the Minamiza Theatre, following performances at the Kabukiza Theatre in Tokyo and at the Hakataza Theatre in Fukuoka. The upcoming production features Mikazuki Munechika, the central figure of the Kabuki Honmaru (main castle), along with five swordsmen from the previous work—Higekiri, Hizamaru, Dōdanuki Masakuni, and Kogarasumaru. They will be joined by three new Touken Danshi: Onimaru Kunitsuna, Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, and Kashū Kiyomitsu.
The story, titled 'Azuma Kagami Yuki no Midare', draws inspiration from the Azuma Kagami, an historical chronicle of the Kamakura period. The Touken Danshi are dispatched to the era of the third shōgun, Minamoto no Sanetomo, who was assassinated at the snow-covered Tsurugaoka Hachimangū Shrine. Alongside key historical figures like the nun regent Hōjō Masako, Sanetomo's wife Hime no Yae, and the monk Kugyō, the Kamakura shogunate falls into confusion due to the conflicting ambitions of its powerful retainers. Meanwhile, the grudges of those who died in the wars take on ghostly forms and begin to manifest themselves. In the celebratory dance performance 'Mai Kisou Hana no Tsuwamono', the sword warriors will also appear in a dazzling display of dance. Don't miss the fusion of kabuki and the world of Touken Ranbu in this much-anticipated second installment of kabuki Touken Ranbu!