Summer 1928: Ichikawa Sadanji II organizes the first tour of a Kabuki troupe outside Japan. The destination is the USSR and the troupe performs in Moscow and Leningrad. The programs includes "Kanadehon Chûshingura", "Narukami", "Toribeyama Shinjû", "Shuzenji Monogatari", "Banchô Sarayashiki", "Musume Dôjôji" and some shosagoto like "Ayatsuri Sambasô", "Hanami Odori" or "Sagi Musume". Beside Ichikawa Sadanji II, the troupe includes the actors Ichikawa Shôchô II, Kawarazaki Chôjûrô IV, Ichikawa Danko II, Ichikawa Enshô III, Ichikawa Arajirô II and Ichikawa Sakon. The troupe has the opportunity to meet Sergei Eisenstein (it is said that the influence of Kabuki can be felt in the movie "Ivan the Terrible"), Vsevolod Meyerhold and Konstantin Stanislavsky. This first Kabuki tour abroad is a huge success but, once back in Japan, Ichikawa Sadanji II has to endure the attacks of the nationalist circles, which accuse him of being in the pay of the Bolshevists.

October 1965: first Kabuki tour in Western Europe, in West Berlin at the Der Freien Volksbühne (2~8 october), in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Odéon (15~24 october) and in Lisbonne at the Teatro São Luis (29~31 october). Here are the plays and the casting:

October 2004: special Kabuki program in Paris at the Théâtre de Chaillot (9~22 october), which celebrates the shûmei of Ichikawa Ebizô XI and the recovery of his father Ichikawa Danjûrô, who is back on stage after several months on sick leave. This is the second time in Kabuki history that a shûmei is staged abroad (the first time was in Summer 1985 for Ichikawa Danjûrô). Here are the program, which includes a kôjô (half in French, half in Japanese ... the prize for the best French accent would be easily given to Onoe Kikunosuke), and the casting:

May ~ June 2006: Kabuki tour in Western Europe, in London at the Sadler's Wells (31 May~11 June) and in Amsterdam at the Stadsschouwburg (15~18 June). Here are the plays and the casting:

March 2007: special Kabuki program in Paris at the Palais Garnier (23~30 March). It is dedicated to the traditions and art of the Ichikawa clan and includes a kôjô, with most of the talking done ... in French (Ichikawa Kamejirô being the most fluent and talkative actor). The dance-dramas "Kanjinchô" (from the kabuki Jûhachiban) and "Momijigari" (from the Shin Kabuki Jûhachiban) are staged with the following casting:

"Famous Kabuki actors Ichikawa Danjûrô, Ichikawa Ebizô and other performers were given a warm reception at the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris on Friday as they launched a five-day show of Kabuki in the French capital. The troupe performed the play "Kanjinchô", and the audience applauded as they watched the bold gestures and stage exit of the character Benkei, while shouts of "Naritaya!" the name of the guild of actors to which Ichikawa Danjûrô and Ichikawa Ebizô belong, rang out in the hall decorated with paintings by French artist Marc Chagall. It was the first time that a Kabuki performance had been given at the opera house. Officials at the opera house reportedly brought up the idea of a performance when a separate performance was given at the Chaillot palace theater in the autumn of 2004 to mark the naming of Ichikawa Ebizô. During the performance, subtitles were displayed in French on an electronic screen above the stage, and a special platform was placed on the stage for the actors. In the stage greeting, Ichikawa Danjûrô and eight other actors introduced themselves in French, earning them applause from the audience. Ichikawa Danjûrô also glared at the audience in a performance accompanied with the explanation in French that people who were glared at wouldn't catch a cold for a year. "Their clothes and gestures were beautiful, evoking the world of Ukiyoe," said one 60-year-old university professor who attended the performance. He added that the scene in "Kanjinchô" of a servant beating his master would never occur in the West and said this made the performance interesting." (Mainichi Shimbun, the 24th of March 2007)

Kabuki Tour in France (1986)

Kabuki Tour in USSR (1961)