NARUKAMI FUDŌ KITAYAMA ZAKURA

['Saint Narukami and the Deity Fudō']

CAST :

Narukami, a high priest
Kumedera Danjō, Toyohide's retainer
Prince Hayakumo
Abe no Kiyoyuki
Fudō Myō'ō, a Buddhist deity

Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, changing his name from Ichikawa Ebizō XI

Bun'ya no Toyohide

Matsumoto Kōshirō

Yatsurugi Genba

Ichikawa Udanji

Hata no Minbu

Ichikawa Omezō

Hata Hidetarō

Nakamura Kotarō

Makiginu, a lady-in-waiting

Nakamura Senjaku

Ohara no Manbē, in reality, Ishihara Sehei

Nakamura Ganjirō

Princess Kumonotaema

Nakamura Jakuemon

Ono no Harumichi

Nakamura Baigyoku

STORY :

'Narukami Fudō Kitayama Zakura' is a play incorporating the three works 'Kenuki', 'Narukami' and 'Fudō' which were some of the greatest hits of Danjūrō I and Danjūrō II. 'Kenuki' is about a wise samurai who acts as a detective to find out why a princess's hair mysteriously stands on end. He discovers the crucial clue when his metal whisker tweezers suddenly starts floating in mid-air. 'Narukami' is about a great priest who, angered by the emperor, imprisons the dragon god of rain in the pool beneath a nearby waterfall. This produces a drought throughout the land which causes great suffering for the people. A beautiful woman from the imperial court is sent to seduce the priest, and when he finds out that he has been tricked, his anger transforms him into a thunder god who vows to get his revenge. Finally, 'Fudō' is about the Buddhist deity of that name who is traditionally worshipped by the Danjūrō family of actors and the one to whom Danjūrō II attributed his success. In an impressive and spectacular tableau, the deity himself will appear on stage.

YOSHITSUNE SENBON ZAKURA
Torii Mae

['In Front of the Fushimi Inari Shrine' from 'Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees']

CAST :

Satō Tadanobu, in reality, the fox Genkurō

Ichikawa Udanji

STORY :

Yoshitsune is forced to flee from the troops sent by his brother Yoritomo. As the journey will be hard, he decides he must leave behind his lover Shizuka Gozen. While Yoshitsune visits the nearby shrine, Shizuka is attacked by enemy men, but she is rescued by the timely arrival of Yoshitsune's retainer Tadanobu, who is actually a magical fox in disguise. The fox Tadanobu longs for the hand drum which is made from its parents' skins.

ICHIJŌ ŌKURA MONOGATARI
Okuden

['The Tale of Ichijō Ōkura']

CAST :

Ichijō Ōkura Naganari, a lord

Matsumoto Kōshirō

Yoshioka Kijirō

Nakamura Ganjirō

Okyō, Kijirō's wife

Kataoka Takatarō

Tokiwa Gozen, Naganari's wife

Nakamura Jakuemon

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. Yatsurugi Kageyu, one of the retainers of her current husband, the aristocrat Ōkura, discovers this. When 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 hide his loyalty to the Genji clan and to survive in this turbulent world.

Shūmei Hirō KŌJŌ

['Stage Announcement Commemorating the Name Succession']

CAST :

Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, changing his name from Ichikawa Ebizō XI
Ichikawa Shinnosuke VIII, making his stage debut

And other top-ranking actors are present

STORY :

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

RENJISHI

['Parent and Child Lion Dance']

CAST :

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

Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, changing his name from Ichikawa Ebizō XI

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

Ichikawa Shinnosuke VIII, making his srage debut

Rennen, a priest of the Nichiren Sect

Matsumoto Kōshirō

Hennen, a priest of the Pure Land Sect

Nakamura Ganjirō

STORY :

This is a dance adapted from a tale featuring the legendary 'shishi', a mythical lion-like beast. It is based on the belief that a 'shishi' will push its cubs over a steep cliff as a test of their strength, only nurturing those cubs strong enough to climb up by themselves. Two entertainers dance the tale of the legendary 'shishi' that live at the foot of a holy Buddhist mountain. The dance portrays a parent 'shishi' forcing its cub to undergo harsh training in order to grow up strong. In the finale, the 'shishi' themselves appear and perform their dance with the wild shaking of their long manes.