Date Kurabe Okuni Kabuki
MIMASU SENDAI HAGI

['The Bush-Clover of Sendai, featuring Danjūrō']

CAST :

Nikki Danjō
Fuwa Banzaemon
Ashikaga Yorikane
Kinugawa Tanizō
Masaoka, the wet-nurse
Arajishi Otokonosuke
Hosokawa Katsumoto
MC for stage announcement

Ichikawa Danjurō

Takao / Okinoi, the chief lady-in-waiting / Sasano Saizō

Ōtani Hiromatsu

Nagoya Sanza

Nakamura Toranosuke

Watanabe Minbu / Ōe no Onitsura

Ichikawa Kudanji

Sakae Gozen / Watanabe Gekizaemon

Kataoka Ichizō

Yashio / Itakura Uneme

Ichikawa Udanji

STORY :

The Date Feud is an historical family squabble that took place in the Sendai domain during the Edo period. The play this month, “Mimasu Sendai Hagi”, is based on that incident. It was newly written in 2021, adapted from the previous work by Ichikawa Danjūrō V in which he incorporated the world of Fuwa and Nagoya into the plot of “Precious Incense and the Bush-clover of Sendai”, which is the most famous kabuki work based on the Date Feud. The regent Nikki Danjō plots to take over the Ashikaga clan, encouraging the lord Ashikaga Yorikane to indulge himself in pleasure and to get involved with the courtesan Takao. Nagoya Sanza, who hopes to maintain the Ashikaga clan despite being banished from it, is in love with Takao. He gets into a fight with Fuwa Banzaemon who also loves her but whose love is unrequited. The sumō wrestler Kinugawa Tanizō saves Yorikane who is about to be foully murdered by Danjō’s trick. The shogunate orders Yorikane to retire as he leads a dissipated life, and Yorikane’s son Tsuruchiyo succeeds him as the lord. Tsuruchiyo’s wet-nurse Masaoka tries to protect him from any assassination plots at the risk of her own life, but …
Seven of the main roles are performed by Danjūrō, and the play blends several of kabuki’s main attractions, such as its stylistic beauty, the exaggerated ‘aragoto‘ acting style, quick costume changes, and the portrayal of both good and evil—into a single piece.

Invitation to KABUKI

CAST :

Act 1 : NININ FUJI MUSUME

The Spirit of Wisteria Blossoms

Ōtani Hiromatsu

The Spirit of Wisteria Blossoms

Nakamura Toranosuke

Stage Announcement

Ichikawa Danjurō

Act : 2 SUGAWARA DENJU TENARAI KAGAMI
Kurumabiki

Umeōmaru

Nakamura Toranosuke

Sakuramaru

Ōtani Hiromatsu

Sugiōmaru

Ichikawa Shinjūrō

Tōnai, a night watchman

Ichikawa Masusaburō

Matsuōmaru

Ichikawa Kudanji

Fujiwara no Shihei

Kataoka Ichizō

Act : 3 HANA NO ESUGATA KEWAI KAGAMI

Ichikawa Danjurō

STORY :

Act :1 NININ FUJI MUSUME ['Two Wisteria Maidens']
Two spirits of wisteria blossoms appear in the form of beautiful young maidens who dance beneath a great pine tree around which wisteria blossoms are entwined. Comparing their beloveds to a pine tree, they drink sake, showing a pleasantly tipsy demeanor before beginning a lively hand dance. Eventually, as the sun sets, they quietly disappear. Please enjoy this gorgeous and dreamlike stage performance by the two wisteria spirits.

Stage Announcement
Ichikawa Danjurō will make a stage announcement to the audience at the Minamiza Theatre.

Act : 2 SUGAWARA DENJU TENARAI KAGAMI - Kurumabiki
['Pulling the Carriage Apart' from 'Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy']
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 3 : HANA NO ESUGATA KEWAI KAGAMI
['Danjūrō demonstrates how he makes up and dresses himself as the hero of "Shibaraku" on stage']
Danjūrō demonstrates on stage how he makes up and dresses himself for the role of the hero of “Shibaraku”. This is one of the most famous works of kabuki which was also performed at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo. Danjūrō makes up in the presence of the audience and shows how he puts on the wig and costume, which amount to 60kg, to act as Kamakura Gongorō, in the hope that both kabuki fans and beginners will enjoy different aspects of kabuki. Please enjoy these moments which one usually cannot experience, as well as the charm of the kabuki world to your heart’s content.