4 shows in Tôkyô (Kabukiza, National Theatre, Theater Cocoon), 2 in Fukuoka (Hakataza), 1 in Nagoya (Chûnichi Gekijô) and 1 tour (Kansai)!

Nakamura Kichiemon, Kataoka Nizaemon, Nakamura Shikan, Matsumoto Kôshirô, Nakamura Tomijûrô and Nakamura Shibajaku perform at the Kabukiza!

Sakata Tôjûrô, Onoe Kikugorô, Onoe Kikunosuke, Nakamura Tokizô, Nakamura Baigyoku and Nakamura Kanjaku perform at the Hakataza!

Nakamura Kanzaburô, Nakamura Hashinosuke and Nakamura Senjaku perform at the Theater Cocoon!

The Omodakaya guild performs at the Chûnichi Gekijô!

Kataoka Takatarô performs at the National Theatre!

Nakamura Kichiemon, Kataoka Nizaemon, Nakamura Shikan, Matsumoto Kôshirô, Nakamura Tomijûrô, Nakamura Shibajaku, Nakamura Kaishun, Ichikawa Danshirô, Nakamura Fukusuke, Nakamura Kinnosuke, Bandô Hikosaburô, Ichikawa Somegorô, Nakamura Karoku, Nakamura Kashô, Bandô Minosuke, Nakamura Hayato

Shin Usuyuki Monogatari:
(The Tale of Princess Usuyuki)
Most of the matinee program consists of a full-length production of a Kabuki epic. This play, adapted from the Bunraku puppet theater, combines the best of kabuki -- romance, colorful spectacle and tragedy. With its numerous good roles, a large gathering of popular and accomplished actors are necessary to stage it. Rarely performed, when this play appears, it is always an event.

Hanami: Saemon (Nakamura Kinnosuke), the eldest son of the Sonobe family and Princesss Usuyuki (Nakamura Shibajaku), the daughter of the Saizaki family, fall in love after glimpsing one another under the cherry blossoms of Kiyomizu temple and are brought together by their servants. The villain Daizen (Nakamura Tomijûrô) places a curse on a sword presented to the temple by Saemon. By framing the couple, he hopes to bring destroy their families so they cannot hinder his effort to take over the country. Saemon's servant Tsumahei (Ichikawa Somegorô) almost defeats this plan and is attacked by Daizen's henchmen in a spectacular fight scene with water buckets.

Sengi: Saemon and Princess Usuyuki are charged with treason. Mimbu (Nakamura Tomijûrô) comes to investigate the two, and although they maintain their innocence, Daizen is able to turn the evidence against them. The compassionate Mimbu gives them a temporary reprieve, but still, must place them under house arrest, each at the house of the other's family, with Saemon at the Saizaki residence and Princess Usuyuki at the Sonobe residence.

Sannin Warai: unable to prove the innocence of the young couple, their fathers are charged with cutting off their heads. Sonobe Hyôe (Matsumoto Kôshirô) and his wife Ume-no-Kata (Nakamura Shikan) allow Princess Usuyuki to escape. Saizaki (Nakamura Kichiemon) appears with a head box which he says contains the head of Saemon and demands that Sonobe cut off Princess Usuyuki's head. Sonobe returns, having secretly stabbed himself to atone for letting Princess Usuyuki escape. Saizaki reveals that, in fact, he has done the same and the two, seemingly stern and villainous men reveal that they have sacrificed themselves for love of their children.

Niwaka Jishi: this lively dance evokes the atmosphere of an Edo period festival. The highlight of the piece is the lion dance performed by two of the handsome young men of the neighborhood. Featuring Nakamura Fukusuke (the geisha) and Ichikawa Somegorô (the firefighter).

Sushiya: this is one act of an epic originally written for the Bunraku puppet theatre. The full-length play shows the fate of various Taira generals in hiding after the victory of their enemy, the Genji. In this act, Koremori (Ichikawa Somegorô), the heir to the Taira clan is hiding in a sushi shop disguised as a humble apprentice, and Osato (Nakamura Shibajaku), the daughter of the house, falls in love with him. However, Gonta (Nakamura Kichiemon), the evil son of the house plots to gain a reward by turning in Koremori to the top Genji general Kajiwara (Ichikawa Danshirô), but in the end, he has a surprising change of heart in one of the most heart-rending scenes in Kabuki. Also featuring Nakamura Karoku as Yazaemon, the proprietor of the sushi shop.

Migawari Zazen: a dance play adopted from a classical kyôgen farce. A man (Kataoka Nizaemon) wants nothing more than to visit his lover Hanako, but he has one important problem, his homely and overbearing wife (Ichikawa Danshirô). He creates a scheme saying that he will be practicing Zen meditation all night and has his servant (Nakamura Kinnosuke) take his place while he visits Hanako. He returns, giddy from a night of pleasure and tells his story to his servant in dance, unaware that his wife has discovered his deception and has taken his servant's place.

Ikite-iru Koheiji:
(Koheiji Just Can't Be Killed)
This is a rare performance of a modern drama. The Kabuki actor Koheiji (Ichikawa Somegorô) is having an affair with Ochika (Nakamura Fukusuke), the wife of his friend Takurô (Matsumoto Kôshirô). Takurô conspires with his wife to kill Koheiji, but no matter what they do, he still clings to life.

Mitsu Ningyô:
(The Three Dolls)
The characters in this graceful dance are not actually dolls, but are three characters that are often depicted with dolls, a courtesan (Nakamura Shibajaku), a handsome youth (Nakamura Kinnosuke) and a samurai footman (Nakamura Kashô).

Source: Earphone Guide website

Sakata Tôjûrô, Onoe Kikugorô, Onoe Kikunosuke, Nakamura Tokizô, Nakamura Baigyoku, Nakamura Kanjaku, Ichikawa Danzô, Ichikawa Sadanji, Onoe Shôroku, Nakamura Tôzô

Soga no Taimen: this is one of the oldest and most classical of all Kabuki plays. In the Edo period, every January, plays appeared about the vendetta carried out by the Soga brothers Jûrô and Gorô after eighteen years of hardship. In "Soga no Taimen" the brothers confront Kudô Suketsune, the man responsible for their father's death. More ceremony than play, it features each of the important Kabuki character types, including the bombastic aragoto style of Gorô and the soft wagoto style of Jûrô. This month features a cast headed by Nakamura Baigyoku as Kudô and some of the most popular young stars in Kabuki with Onoe Shôroku as Gorô and Onoe Kikunosuke as Jûrô.

Musume Dôjôji: a beautiful young woman dances under cherry blossoms at a dedication ceremony for a temple bell. She dances the many aspects of a woman in love, but is actually the spirit of a serpent, driven to destroy the bell out of jealousy. In addition to being the most famous of all Kabuki dances, "Musume Dôjôji" is considered to be the pinnacle of the art of the onnagata. The role of the shirabyôshi is played by Living National Treasure Sakata Tôjûrô, who performs at the Hakataza his kiju kinen dance.

Kamiyui Shinza: Shinza is a barber that goes from door to door, but at the same time, he is a villain that kidnaps Okuma, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy household, and even resists the efforts of Yatagorô Genshichi, the most prestigious strongman in town, to get her release. Starring Onoe Kikugorô as Shinza, Onoe Kikunosuke as Okuma, Nakamura Tokizô as Chûshichi and Ichikawa Danzô as Yatagorô Genshichi.

Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami: Sugawara no Michizane was a high-ranking imperial court minister who was a brilliant calligrapher and scholar. But political rivalries forced him to be exiled to distant Kyûshû, where he died. After Michizane's death, a series of disasters in the imperial capital were attributed to his angry spirit and he was appeased by being made a god, Tenjin, and he is now revered as the god of learning. His story was dramatized as an epic puppet drama in 1746 and the play remains a favorite in both Kabuki and the Bunraku puppet theatre. The two acts of this month production don't focus on the drama of Sugawara himself but on the triplets, Matsuômaru, Umeômaru and Sakuramaru, three brothers named after the pine, plum and cherry trees, who each serve the heads of different political factions. The key character is Sakuramaru, who has to commit suicide in the second act to atone for what he did in the first one.

Kamo Zutsumi:
(The Kamo Riverbank)
Young Sakuramaru (Nakamura Baigyoku) serves imperial prince Tokiyo (Nakamura Matsue) who has fallen in love with Princess Kariya (Nakamura Baishi), Michizane's beautiful daughter. Sakuramaru and his wife Yae (Nakamura Tokizô) are charmed by the affair, since it reminds them of their own love. But the affair is discovered and Michizane's rivals use it as proof that he is attempting to take over the imperial court. This innocent love affair triggers the tragedies of the play.

Ga no Iwai:
(The Birthday Celebration)
The three brothers are supposed to gather with their wives for their father Shiratayû's (Ichikawa Sadanji) birthday, but Sakuramaru does not appear. While waiting, Matsuômaru (Nakamura Kanjaku) and Umeômaru (Onoe Shôroku) get into a fight and break the branches of the cherry tree. Shiratayû sees this and disowns both Umeômaru and Matsuômaru for their failures in duty. In fact, Shiratayû knows that these are omens that his youngest son must die. When everybody leaves, Sakuramaru appears and sadly commits ritual suicide for being responsible for the incident used as an excuse to send Michizane into exile.

Dattan: this is an evocative dance, that takes its name from a Buddhist rite held every March at Tôdaiji Temple in Nara. The story is about a monk yearning for a woman he left behind. Featuring Onoe Kikugorô, Sakata Tôjûrô and Nakamura Kanjaku.

Benten Musume Meo no Shiranami: this play is a sewamono (realistic play about commoners) written by the late 19th century playwright Mokuami who is famous for his plays about thieves. The thief Benten Kozô dresses up as a woman to commit extortion, but his plans are ruined when his disguise is seen through. In the highlight of the play, he undresses, showing his colorful tattoos and introduces himself in a famous poetic speech. Afterwards, he is joined by the members of his gang on a riverbank, and, using the playwright's famous poetic rhythms, in turn, they each boast of their careers as thieves. Onoe Kikunosuke stars as Benten Kozô, with Ichikawa Danzô as Nippon Daemon and Onoe Shôroku as Nangô Rikimaru.

Source: Earphone Guide website

Nakamura Kanzaburô, Nakamura Hashinosuke, Nakamura Senjaku, Bandô Yajûrô, Kataoka Kamezô, Sasano Takashi, Nakamura Kantarô, Nakamura Shichinosuke

9th edition of the original Cocoon Kabuki performance, which recreates the atmosphere of the Edo koshibai and brings the actors closer to the audience.

Ichikawa Ukon, Ichikawa Danjirô, Ichikawa Emiya, Ichikawa Monnosuke, Ichikawa Emisaburô, Ichikawa Shun'en, Ichikawa En'ya, Ichikawa Juen, Kaneda Ryûnosuke

Ichikawa Ennosuke's troupe of young and talented actors perform a modern style of theater, which they created a few years ago and called "Super Kabuki" (sûpâ kabuki in Chikamatsu Monzaemon I's lingo): it's spectacular (lots of chûnori), the costums are gorgeous and ultra-sophisticated, the music is modern, the texts are easy to understand and the plots are as twisted as a good Kabuki classic. Usually a big commercial success! "Yamato Takeru" was the first Sûpâ Kabuki drama of the Omodakaya guild and the most successful one. For this revival, the leading role of Yamato Takeru is played by both Ichikawa Danjirô and Ichikawa Ukon.

Ichikawa Ennosuke is on sick leave and does not perform in this production.

Kataoka Takatarô, Kataoka Ichizô

Educational program at the National Theatre called Kabuki Kanshô Kyôshitu ("Kabuki appreciation class"). This is a very interesting formula for the beginners because there is lively presentation on stage of Kabuki or some aspects of the art like music, stage tricks or fighting scenes, followed by the drama "Yaguchi no Watashi":

Kataoka Gatô, Kamimura Kichiya, Kataoka Shinnosuke, Bandô Shinsha

33rd edition of an educational Kabuki tour in Kansai: