Minamiza TheatreMinamiza Theatre
December at the Minamiza Theatre
Daily: Dec 02 (Thu) - Dec 23 (Thu), 2021
Part 1: 10:30 AM
Part 2: 2:30 PM
Part 3 : 6:00 PM
*No performances on the 7th (Tue) and 15th (Wed).
*Reserved seats for Part 1 and Part 2 are sold out on the 18th (Sat).
Precautionary Measures at the Minamiza Theatre
●Notification of the absence and cast replacement of Bandō Takesaburō for the Part 3 December performances (Dec 20)
On sale: from Nov 10 (Wed), 2021 10:00AM(JST)
Special Seat: 19,000/First Class Seat: 17,000 /Second Class Seat: 9,000 /Third Class Seat: 5,000
Unit: Japanese Yen (tax included)
*Children over the age of 4 must purchase tickets to enter.
Minamiza Theatre (at KYOTO) Theatre Information
- *No English supporting guide available.
[An Annual Event in Kyoto - The Festive Kaomise Production, Grand Kabuki Starring Actors from the East and West of Japan]
The 'Kaomise' ('face-showing') production, which has been staged annually since the Edo period (1603-1868), is an all-star line-up and a big event for December in Kyoto.
In Part 1, commemorating the 3rd anniversary of the death of Sakata Tōjūrō IV, two works associated with him will be performed. Part 2 will include a masterpiece of the 'sewamono' category of plays written by Kawatake Mokuami, and a dance drama portraying the humorous exchanges between a husband and wife. In Part 3, a comic play performed in the acting style that came from the Kamigata area (Kyoto/Osaka) is performed, followed by a dance drama with onstage quick-changes of role and costume.
SARASHI SANBASŌ
['Sanbasō Dance - Bleaching Cloth']
CAST :
- Princess Kisaragi
- Nakamura Kazutarō
- Sasaki Kotarō Yukiuji
- Nakamura Toranosuke
- Yūki Saburō Sadamitsu
- Nakamura Takanosuke
STORY :
At the Hakone Gongen Shrine at the foot of Mt. Hakone, a commotion is caused by the loss of the treasured white banner belonging to the Genji clan that had been dedicated to the shrine. Two women appear and, claiming it is also in dedication to the shrine, they start dancing a Sanbasō dance. When a piece of cloth drops out of one of the women's pocket, they are accused of stealing the white Genji banner. In fact, they are princesses related to the Heike clan, and they stole the banner to curse their arch-rival, the Genji clan. In dance form, they swing the white banner above their heads as though it was a long strip of cloth being bleached in the sun.
Intermission: 20 minutes
SONEZAKI SHINJŪ
['The Lovers' Suicide at Sonezaki']
CAST :
- Hiranoya Tokubē, a shop clerk
- Nakamura Ganjirō
- Ohatsu, a courtesan from the Tenmaya
- Nakamura Senjaku
- Mohē, a shop clerk
- Nakamura Toranosuke
- Otama, a maidservant of Tenmaya
- Nakamura Jūjirō
- Sōbē, the proprietor of Tenmaya
- Kataoka Matsunosuke
- Aburaya Kuheiji
- Nakamura Kikaku
- Hiranoya Kyūemon, Tokubē's uncle and master
- Nakamura Baigyoku
STORY :
A play commemorating the 3rd anniversary of the death of Sakata Tōjūrō IV who played the role of Ohatsu more than 1400 times in his lifetime.
Tokubē, a shop clerk, and Ohatsu, a courtesan, are betrothed to each other. One day, Kuheiji swindles the money Tokubē must return to his uncle out of him and humiliates him in public. On that night, Ohatsu hears Kuheiji harshly denounce Tokubē. Tokubē gives Ohatsu a signal of his determination to prove his innocence by death and the pair determines to be united in the next world.
SANNIN KICHISA TOMOE NO SHIRANAMI
['Three Thieves Named Kichisa']
CAST :
- Ojō Kichisa
- Kataoka Takatarō
- Obō Kichisa
- Nakamura Hayato
- Otose, a streetwalker
- Kataoka Rikiya (promoted to the grade of 'ranking actor')
- Oshō Kichisa
- Nakamura Shikan
STORY :
A woman appears on stage and robs a streetwalker of her money. The woman is actually a man in disguise. A masterless samurai also appears and the pair begins to fight over the money. Soon, a priest comes between them and calms them down. This priest is actually the disreputable head of a rundown temple. The three eventually realize that they are all thieves who happen to share the same name 'Kichisa', and so they become sworn brothers. Today we can still savor the somewhat decadent atmosphere in the piece that is typical of the late 19th century, and with its famous poetic speeches that sound so melodic, the play is all the more beautiful.
Intermission: 25 minutes
MIGAWARI ZAZEN
['The Zen Substitute']
CAST :
- Yamakage Ukyō
- Kataoka Nizaemon
- Tarōkaja, Ukyō's servant
- Nakamura Hayato
- Chieda, a maid
- Kataoka Sennosuke
- Saeda, a maid
- Nakamura Kangyoku
- Tamanoi, Ukyō's wife
- Nakamura Shikan
STORY :
This is a dance drama adapted from a classical kyōgen comedy. Lord Yamakage Ukyō wants nothing more than to visit his lover Hanago, but he has one important problem: his homely and overbearing wife will not leave his side. He thinks of several excuses to leave the house, but when these are rejected he finally insists that he will practice Zen meditation all night. However, he cheats by making his servant Tarōkaja take his place so that he can go off secretly to see Hanago. When he returns, giddy from a night of pleasure, and tells his story to Tarōkaja in dance form, he is unaware that his wife has discovered his deception.
Ichōzuru Fumi no Fūjime
KARI NO TAYORI
['Tricky Love Letters']
CAST :
- Sanni Goroshichi, a barber
- Matsumoto Kōshirō
- Kinnosuke, a young master
- Kataoka Ainosuke
- Otama, the madam of a brothel
- Kamimura Kichiya
- Tsukasa, Sajima's mistress
- Kataoka Senju
- Okimi, a waitress
- Bandō Takesaburō
- Maeno Sajima, a young lord
- Kataoka Shinnosuke
- Takagi Kuranoshin, Sajima's senior retainer
- Nakamura Kinnosuke
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 Kuranoshin appears to expose Sajima's plot and save Goroshichi. He discovers that, in fact, he is not a mere barber. Goroshichi is, in reality....
Intermission: 15 minutes
KUMO NO ITO AZUSA NO YUMIHARI
['The Spider's Web and the Catalpa Bow']
CAST :
- Hiromaru, a page
Aihei, a jester
Matsuichi, a blind masseur
Usugumo Dayū, a courtesan
The spirit of the spider
Kataoka Ainosuke- Usui Sadamitsu
- Ōtani Hirotarō
- Sakata no Kintoki
- Nakamura Tanenosuke
- Minamoto no Yorimitsu
- Matsumoto Kōshirō
STORY :
This is one of the oldest dances in the kabuki repertoire related to the legend of a spider that attacked the medieval warrior, Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Yorimitsu is visited by an evil spider with magical powers. The creature appears in various forms, disguised first as a child, second as a jester, third as a blind masseur and finally as a courtesan. After revealing its true nature, the spider throws out its web, trying to trap the warrior.