DAIGO NO HANAMI

['Cherry Blossom Viewing at the Daigoji Temple']

CAST :

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Nakamura Ganjirō

Lady Yodo

Kataoka Takatarō

Sorori Shinzaemon

Kataoka Shinnosuke

Hideyoshi’s lawful wife

Nakamura Senjaku

STORY :

This is a dance portraying the famous blossom-viewing party held by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 3rd lunar month of 1598 in the garden of Daigoji Temple in Kyoto. It was a grand banquet to which Hideyoshi's family, many daimyō lords, their wives and retainers were invited.

ICHIJŌ ŌKURA MONOGATARI
Higaki, Okuden

[''Higaki Tea Stall' and 'Inner Drawing Room of Ōkura's Mansion' from 'The Tale of Ichijō Ōkura'']

CAST :

Ichijō Ōkura Naganari

Matsumoto Kōshirō

Lady Tokiwa

Nakamura Shichinosuke

Okyō

Nakamura Kazutarō

Naruse, Kageyu’s wife

Ichikawa Komazō

Yoshioka Kijirō

Kataoka Ainosuke

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. However, when Yatsurugi Kageyu, one of the retainers of her current husband, the aristocrat Ōkura, discovers this, 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 survive in this turbulent world.

TAMA USAGI / SAGI MUSUME

['The Rabbit in the Moon' / 'The Heron Maiden']

CAST :

Tama Usagi

Tama Usagi

Onoe Kikunosuke, changing his name from Onoe Ushinosuke

SAGI MUSUME

The spirit of a heron

Onoe Kikugorō VIII, changing his name from Onoe Kikunosuke

STORY :

This is a dance with musical accompaniment provided by the Kiyomoto Narrative Ensemble. It is the night of a full autumn moon. Looking up at the round moon, we see the shadow of a rabbit making rice dumplings. Before long, it springs out, landing in a field of pampas grass. It proceeds to demonstrate how it makes rice dumplings with a pestle and mortar. On this moonlit night, the rabbit seems in festive mood and continues to make merry through the night.
A woman dressed in a white kimono and hood appears at the edge of a lake. Her dance includes bird-like movements resembling those of a white heron. She expresses the misery of one whose love was betrayed. A sudden onstage costume change begins a section in which the character transforms into a young girl preoccupied by thoughts of romance. Other costume changes follow, as the maiden expresses the difficulty of capturing a loved one's heart. Finally, the stage darkens and after another spectacular costume change, the maiden transforms into the spirit of a heron as she recalls her suffering in hell.

HEIKE NYOGO NO SHIMA
Shunkan

[''The Priest Shunkan' from 'The Heike and the Island of Women'']

CAST :

Priest Shunkan

Kataoka Nizaemon (Program A)

　

Nakamura Kankurō (Program B)

Tanba no Shōshō Naritsune

Nakamura Hayato

Chidori, a woman diver

Nakamura Kangyoku

Seno’o no Tarō Kaneyasu

Kataoka Kamezō

Tanba Saemon no jō Motoyasu

Bandō Minosuke （Program B）

　

Nakamura Kankurō（Program A）

※A Program（12/1・2・5・6・10・11・14・15・19・20・24・25）
※B Program（12/3・4・7・8・12・13・16・18・21・22・23）

STORY :

The priest Shunkan has been exiled to "Devil's Island" for plotting against the dictator Kiyomori. After some years, a pardon is given to Shunkan and his fellow conspirators. However, as he hears that his wife has died in Kyoto, Shunkan gives up his place on the boat to freedom so that one of his companions’ new wife can accompany her husband back to the capital. The boat leaves and Shunkan is left watching it disappear in the distance, knowing he will be left on the island forever. Enjoy this masterpiece of the 'jidaimono' history play category.

KOTOBUKI SOGA NO TAIMEN

['The Auspicious Confrontation of the Soga Brothers']

CAST :

Kudō Saemon Suketsune

Nakamura Baigyoku

Soga no Jūrō Sukenari

Kataoka Takatarō

Soga no Gorō Tokimune

Kataoka Ainosuke

Kikuwakamaru, Oniō’s son

Onoe Kikunosuke, changing his name from Onoe Ushinosuke

Yawata no Saburō

Nakamura Toranosuke

Ōmi no Kotōda

Nakamura Takanosuke

Kewaizaka no Shōshō

Nakamura Kangyoku

Ōiso no Tora

Nakamura Senjaku

Kobayashi no Asahina

Nakamura Ganjirō

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.

Shūmei Hirō KŌJŌ

['Stage Announcement Commemorating the Name Succession']

STORY :

The actors will appear as themselves to make a stage announcement to commemorate the name succession.

BENTEN MUSUME MEO NO SHIRANAMI
Hamamatsuya Misesaki / Inasegawa Seizoroi

['The Hamamatsu-ya Textile Shop' and 'The Gathering along the Inase River Bank' from 'The Five Thieves']

CAST :

Benten Kozō Kikunosuke

Onoe Kikugorō VIII, changing his name from Onoe Kikunosuke

Nippon Daemon

Matsumoto Kōshirō

Tadanobu Rihei

Kataoka Ainosuke

Nangō Rikimaru

Nakamura Kankurō

Akaboshi Jūzaburō

Nakamura Shichinosuke

Seiji, the chief of a fire brigade

Bandō Minosuke

Sōnosuke, Kōbē’s son

Nakamura Takanosuke

Kōbē, owner of the Hamamatsuya

Nakamura Karoku

STORY :

Written by the famous playwright Kawatake Mokuami, this play is a wonderful display of kabuki's stylized beauty and includes a dynamic fight scene that is performed on a particularly gorgeous stage set. In the story, a beautiful woman is suspected of shoplifting and is beaten. When it is proved that she was not stealing, her servant demands compensation. However, a samurai who happens to be present uncovers their ruse and reveals that the woman is actually a man. The former 'woman' and her accomplice are, in fact, Benten Kozō and Nangō Rikimaru, two members of the same infamous gang of thieves. Even the samurai who supposedly exposed their plot turns out to be none other than Nippon Daemon, the head of this gang. Finally, the gang is hunted down by officers and when they are surrounded, the five gang members remain defiant, delivering elaborate rhythmic speeches dressed in their finest kimono and accompanied by beautiful music.

MITSU NINGYŌ

['The Three Dolls']

CAST :

A footman

Bandō Minosuke

A young samurai

Nakamura Hayato

A courtesan

Nakamura Kazutarō

STORY :

This is a dance with an antique atmosphere accompanied by the Tokiwazu Narrative Ensemble. Taken out from their boxes, the dolls of a courtesan, a suave samurai and his light-footed servant begin to move, each possessed by the characters' souls. They portray in dance a night in the pleasure quarters accompanied by the gay tones of the 3-stringed shamisen.