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January Program at the Asakusa Public Hall
Daily: Jan 02 (Tue) - Jan 26 (Fri), 2024
Part 1:11:00 AM
Part 2: 3:00 PM
*No performances on the 8th (Mon) and 19th (Fri).
*Part 2 on the 21st will be 'Kabuki in Kimono', a performance where customers are recommended to wear kimono.
English captioning service and foreigner discount available for the New Year Asakusa Kabuki(Dec 26)
On sale: from Nov 19 (Sun), 2023 10:00 AM(JST)
First Class: 9,500 / Second Class: 6,000 /
Third Class: 3,000
Unit: Japanese Yen (tax included)
*Children over the age of 4 must purchase tickets to enter.
[Foreigner Discount tickets]
First Class: 7,000 / Second Class: 4,500
Unit: Japanese Yen (tax included)
*Sold only at the Box Office of the Asakusa Public Hall.
*Tickets are for the same day only.
*Only for foreign travelers to Japan. Customers will need to show their passports.
*No reservations can be made for this discount.
*Credit cards can be used at the Box Office.
- *Tickets for dates shown as "Sold Out" or for other preferred seating areas, may still be available from the promoter, Shochiku Co., Ltd. Please confirm the availability by phone.
English captioning service available
[Rental fee 1,000 yen (CASH ONLY) per performance] *rental fees are charged for each part
Essential translations of dialogue and lyrics, as well as explanations relating to kabuki will be provided by English captions (subtitles).
*Free English flyer/ Free English program available.
Celebrate the New Year in the midst of the festive bustle of Asakusa with a gala selection of plays and dances featuring the most talented young stars in kabuki today. Compared to other kabuki performances, the length of each show is shorter, the tickets are sold at very reasonable prices and there is also a cheerful event where you can watch kabuki in kimono. The program is perfect for tourists and customers who have never seen kabuki before.
OTOSHIDAMA
['The Announcement at the New Year']
STORY :
The Asakusa Kabuki's annual New Year's greeting is back for the first time in four years. Please look forward to the New Year's greetings given by the actors before the performance begins.
HONCHŌ NIJŪSHIKŌ
Jishukō
['The Ten Types of Incense' from 'Japan's Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety']
CAST :
- Princess Yaegaki
- Nakamura Yonekichi
- Takeda Katsuyori
- Nakamura Hashinosuke
- Nureginu, a lady-in-waiting
- Bandō Shingo
- Shirasuka Rokurō
- Nakamura Tanenosuke
- Hara Kobunji
- Bandō Minosuke
- Nagao Kenshin
- Nakamura Kashō
STORY :
Nagao Kenshin, one of Japan's most powerful feudal warlords, has borrowed a family treasure from his rival, Takeda Shingen. However, he has failed to return this treasure, which has caused a rift between the families. Kenshin's daughter, Princess Yaegaki, is mourning the death of her fiancé Katsuyori, Shingen's son, who supposedly killed himself after taking responsibility for the Shogun's assassination. However, she notices a close resemblance between her fiancé's portrait and the new gardener. The gardener is in fact Katsuyori, who has entered the household in disguise to regain possession of the stolen family treasure. Unfortunately, Kenshin has also seen through the disguise and plans to kill Katsuyori, and Princess Yaegaki decides she must take the treasure to save him. The role of Princess Yaegaki is one of the three "red princess" roles which epitomize the art of the 'onnagata' female role specialist. Such characters must combine delicate refinement with passion and an unshakable strength of will for the sake of the man she loves.
Intermission: 25 minutes
YOWA NASAKE UKINA NO YOKOGUSHI
Genjidana
['Scarfaced Yosaburō']
CAST :
- Scarfaced Yosaburō
- Nakamura Hayato
- Otomi, Tazaemon's mistress
- Nakamura Yonekichi
- Yasu, the Bat
- Onoe Matsuya
STORY :
The play is set at a private house in Kamakura. Otomi, the mistress of the wealthy merchant Tazaemon, is applying makeup after having taken a bath. The clerk Tōhachi is infatuated with Otomi and as he persistently follows her around, Yasu, “the Bat” and his accomplice come to blackmail her. The accomplice, who is known by the name "Scarfaced Yosa" has wounds all over his body. It turns out that he is, in fact, Yosaburō, with whom Otomi was previously in love. Three years before, Yosaburō, the spoilt son of a wealthy family, saw Otomi on the beach and the young pair fell in love at first sight. Otomi had been a geisha who became the mistress of a gang boss. After their first chance meeting the couple met secretly, but soon their affair was discovered and Yosaburō was beaten and given sword cuts all over his body. Thinking Yosaburō had died, Otomi threw herself into the sea, but she was rescued by Tazaemon. In one of the most famous scenes in kabuki, Yosaburō, who does not know the circumstances, pours out his resentment against Otomi and at the fate that has destroyed his life. Then Otomi learns the secret about her situation and ...
Intermission: 20 minutes
KAGURAUTA KUMOI NO KYOKUMARI
Dontsuku
['A Street Performance by Dontsuku']
CAST :
- Dontsuku, a baggage carrier
- Bandō Minosuke
- Tsurutayū, a master
- Nakamura Kashō
- A drummer
- Nakamura Tanenosuke
- A carpenter
- Nakamura Hayato
- A baby's nursemaid
- Nakamura Kangyoku
- A young master
- Nakamura Hashinosuke
- A geisha
- Nakamura Yonekichi
- A sweet white saké seller
- Bandō Shingo
- A country samurai
- Onoe Matsuya
STORY :
This is a dance portraying street performances by itinerant entertainers. The Kameido Tenjin Shrine is crowded with many pilgrims. The people are enjoying watching Tsurutayū, a master of “daikagura”, and the country dweller Dontsuku dancing together. After a sweet white saké seller delivers a speech advertising his saké, Tsurutayū demonstrates his skill at juggling. He imitates Dontsuku's rustic dance and everyone joins in. The contrast between the Tokyo-style master and the rustic country dweller is highly enjoyable to watch, and the scene where Dontsuku dances wearing a mask is the highlight of the performance.
OTOSHIDAMA
['The Announcement at the New Year']
STORY :
The Asakusa Kabuki's annual New Year's greeting is back for the first time in four years. Please look forward to the New Year's greetings given by the actors before the performance begins.
Ichinotani Futaba Gunki
KUMAGAI JIN'YA
['Kumagai's Battle Camp' from 'The Chronicles of the Battle of Ichinotani']
CAST :
- Kumagai Naozane
- Nakamura Kashō
- Sagami, Naozane's wife
- Bandō Shingo
- Lady Fuji
- Nakamura Kangyoku
- Tsutsumi no Gunji
- Nakamura Hashinosuke
- Minamoto no Yoshitsune
- Bandō Minosuke
STORY :
This is a play based on episodes from the battle of Ichinotani, one of the climactic struggles between the Heike and Genji clans in the 12th century. At this battle, the Genji warrior Naozane attacks Taira no Atsumori. When Naozane returns to his battle camp, he finds his wife, Sagami, and Atsumori's mother, Lady Fuji. He tells them how he killed Atsumori and he shows the severed head of Atsumori to his lord Minamoto no Yoshitsune. However, in reality, the head is that of Naozane's own son. Yoshitsune suggested to Naozane indirectly that he sacrifice his son as a substitute for Atsumori, the son of the former Emperor. After doing so, and feeling the transience of our existence, Naozane rejects the life of a warrior to become a Buddhist priest.
Intermission: 15 minutes
RYŪSEI
['The Shooting Star']
CAST :
- Ryūsei
- Nakamura Tanenosuke
STORY :
In mythology, the heavenly shepherd boy and the celestial weaver maid can only meet once a year. Just as they come together again, the "shooting star", or "ryūsei" appears with an urgent report. This actually turns out to be a story of marital discord in the family of the thunder god who lives in a poor tenement in heaven. This is the highlight of the dance in which the dancer changes instantly from role to role, playing the thunder god, his angry wife, his little son and the elderly thunder goddess from next door who tries to break up the fight.
Intermission: 25 minutes
Shin Sarayashiki Tsuki no Amagasa
SAKANAYA SŌGORŌ
['Sōgorō the Fishmonger']
CAST :
- Sōgorō, a fishmonger
- Onoe Matsuya
- Ohama, Sōgorō's wife
- Bandō Shingo
- Sankichi, Sōgorō's servant
- Nakamura Tanenosuke
- Isobe Kazuenosuke
- Nakamura Hayato
- Oshige, the daughter of proprietress of the Kiku teahouse
- Nakamura Kangyoku
- Yoshigorō, a fireman
- Nakamura Hashinosuke
- Onagi, Kazuenosuke's maidservant
- Nakamura Yonekichi
- Iwagami Tenzō
- Bandō Minosuke
- Urato Jūzaemon
- Nakamura Kashō
STORY :
This is a 'sewamono' play, a work portraying in a realistic way the lives of ordinary people in the Edo period. Sōgorō, a fishmonger, has made a vow not to drink. But when he learns about his sister's unjust murder at the hands of a daimyō lord, a death that they were told was execution for her wrongdoing, he starts to drink again. Becoming drunk, he storms into the lord's mansion to seek an apology. This play by the playwright Kawatake Mokuami (1816-1893) is known for its realistic portrayal of members of the common class during the Edo period, and highlights their fierce pride as well as their frustration at the privileges of the dominant samurai class.