KENUKI

[ 'The Whisker Tweezers' ]

CAST :

Kumedera Danjō

Ichikawa Sadanji

Makiginu, a lady-in-waiting for Harumichi

Kataoka Takatarō

Yatsurugi Genba

Nakamura Kikaku

Hata Hidetarō, younger brother of Minbu

Nakamura Kazutarō

Yatsurugi Kazuma

Ōtani Hirotarō

Nishikinomae

Ichikawa Otora

Ono no Harukaze

Sawamura Sōnosuke

Wakana, a lady-in-waiting for Harumichi

Kamimura Kichiya

Ohara no Manbē

Kataoka Ichizō

Hata Minbu, chief retainer of Ono clan

Ichikawa Komazō

Ono no Harumichi

Ōtani Tomoemon

STORY :

A princess has a mysterious ailment that makes her hair stand on end, an ailment that prevents her from going ahead with her long-awaited marriage. Kumedera Danjō comes from the groom's household to investigate and, when his tweezers mysteriously float up in mid-air, he discovers a secret plot. This is one of 'The Eighteen Favorite Kabuki Plays.' This collection mostly features plays with the bombastic 'aragoto' style of acting, but 'Kenuki' is an urbane, witty detective story that unfolds in a world of fantasy. It displays the spirit of early kabuki.

RENJISHI

[ 'The Father and Son Shishi Lions' ]

CAST :

The actor Ukon, later, The spirit of the parent lion

Ichikawa Somegorō, taking the new name Matsumoto Kōshirō X

The actor Sakon, later, The spirit of the lion cub

Matsumoto Kintarō, taking the new name Ichikawa Somegorō VIII

Rennen, a priest of the Nichiren Sect of Buddhism

Kataoka Ainosuke

Hennen, a priest of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism

Nakamura Ganjirō

STORY :

This dance, based on an old legend, describes a parent 'shishi', a lion-like spirit, which kicks its cub down to the bottom of a ravine. It does this because it will only nurture strong cubs that are able to climb up on their own. Later, the 'shishi' father and son appear in their true forms and perform the wild shaking of their long manes.

Koi Bikyaku Yamato Ōrai
FŪINKIRI

[ 'Breaking the Seal' from 'The Love Messenger to Yamato' ]

CAST :

Kameya Chūbē

Kataoka Nizaemon

Umegawa, a courtesan

Kataoka Takatarō

Tanbaya Hachiemon

Nakamura Ganjirō

Oen, the proprietress of the Izutsuya

Kataoka Hidetarō

Tsuchiya Jiemon

Ichikawa Sadanji

STORY :

The courtesan Umegawa and the money courier Chūbē are characters in one of the most famous plays by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, 'Fūinkiri'. The distinctive acting style is also representative of the Kamigata region (Kyoto/Osaka). In the pleasure quarters, the most important possessions were money and reputation. In danger of losing his lover, the courtesan Umegawa, the money courier Chūbē breaks the seals on a package of money entrusted to him after being taunted by a rival, even though the use of such money is punishable by death.

GOZONJI SUZUGAMORI

[ 'Gonpachi and Banzui'in Chōbē' ]

CAST :

Banzui'in Chōbē

Matsumoto Kōshirō, taking the new name Matsumoto Hakuō II

Shirai Gonpachi

Kataoka Ainosuke

Hokkai no Kumaroku, a shifty carrier

Matsumoto Kingo

Tōkai no Kanzō, a shifty carrier

Kataoka Ichizō

Hayasuke, a courier

Ōtani Tomoemon

STORY :

This is a short scene from Tsuruya Nanboku's play 'Ukiyozuka Hiyoku no Inazuma'.
The young samurai Gonpachi is ambushed near the execution grounds of Edo on a dark night, but he manages to escape after a gruesome but humorous fight scene. Watching from a nearby palanquin, Chōbē, a chivalrous townsman, is impressed with Gonpachi's fighting skills and agrees to give him shelter in the city. This meeting between the handsome young Gonpachi and the heroic Chōbē is one of the most famous meetings in kabuki.

KOTOBUKI SOGA NO TAIMEN

[ 'The Revenge of the Soga Brothers' ]

CAST :

Kudō Saemon Suketsune

Kataoka Nizaemon

Soga no Jūrō Sukenari

Kataoka Takatarō

Soga no Gorō Tokimune

Kataoka Ainosuke

Ōiso no Tora

Kamimura Kichiya

Kewaizaka no Shōshō

Nakamura Kazutarō

Kajiwara Heizō Kagetoki

Kataoka Matsunosuke

Yawata no Saburō

Sawamura Sōnosuke

Ōmi no Kotōda

Nakamura Kikaku

Oniō Shinzaemon

Kataoka Shinnosuke

Maizuru, the sister of Kobayashi no Asahina

Kataoka Hidetarō

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.

KŌJŌ

['Stage Announcement Commemorating the Name Succession']

CAST :

Matsumoto Kōshirō, taking the new name Matsumoto Hakuō II
Ichikawa Somegorō, taking the new name Matsumoto Kōshirō X
Matsumoto Kintarō, taking the new name Ichikawa Somegorō VIII

Sakata Tōjūrō
Kataoka Nizaemon

STORY :

This month Matsumoto Kōshirō succeeds to the name Matsumoto Hakuō II, his son Ichikawa Somegorō succeeds to the name of Matsumoto Kōshirō X and his grandson Matsumoto Kintarō succeeds to the name of Ichikawa Somegorō VIII. This is the stage announcement of their name successions.

KANJINCHŌ

[ 'The Subscription Scroll' ]

CAST :

Musashibō Benkei

Ichikawa Somegorō, taking the new name Matsumoto Kōshirō X

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Matsumoto Kintarō, taking the new name Ichikawa Somegorō VIII

Kamei no Rokurō

Ōtani Tomoemon

Kataoka Hachirō

Ichikawa Komazō

Suruga no Jirō

Sawamura Sōnosuke

Hitachibō Kaison

Matsumoto Kingo

Togashi no Saemon

Matsumoto Kōshirō, taking the new name Matsumoto Hakuō II

STORY :

Disguised as traveling priests, the fugitive general Yoshitsune and his band of retainers are stopped at a road barrier. The head retainer Benkei claims they are soliciting contributions for the rebuilding of a temple, but the barrier guard Togashi insists that, if so, they must have the temple's book of solicitation. Benkei elaborately improvises the text with an empty scroll. When one soldier points out that one of the group resembles Yoshitsune, Benkei is forced to strike Yoshitsune with his staff. Togashi is convinced that they are the fugitives but, sympathizing with Benkei's loyalty, he tells them to proceed on their way.

KARI NO TAYORI

[ 'Tricky Love Letters' ]

CAST :

Sanni Goroshichi, a barber

Nakamura Ganjirō

Yorozuya Kinnosuke, a young master

Ichikawa Somegorō, taking the new name Matsumoto Kōshirō X

Maeno Sajima, a young lord

Nakamura Kikaku

Tsukasa, Sajima's mistress

Nakamura Kazutarō

Genpaku, a doctor

Nakamura Jūjirō

Takagi Jirodayū, Sajima's senior retainer

Kataoka Ichizō

Omitsu, a nurse

Bandō Takesaburō

Otama, the madam of a brothel

Kataoka Hidetarō

STORY :

The young lord Maeno Sajima comes to Arima hot springs with his lover Tsukasa. Sajima witnesses Tsukasa falling in love with a barber called Goroshichi and becomes mad with jealousy. Sajima sends a forged love letter to Goroshichi that appears to be in Tsukasa's handwriting, and which invites him to visit her in secret. Goroshichi is overjoyed and, that night, sneaks into the inn and gets arrested. Just as he is accused of being a thief, Sajima's chief retainer Jirōdayū appears to expose Sajima's plot and save Goroshichi. He discovers that, in fact, he is not a mere barber. Goroshichi is, in reality....