"Uirô Uri" was not at the beginning a drama but a short scene, which was staged for the first time in January 1718 at the Moritaza, within Chikamatsu Genzaburô's new year drama "Wakamidori Ikioi Soga". It starred Ichikawa Danjûrô II in the role of a moxa peddlar, in reality Soga Gorô Tokimune in disguise. The highlight of the scene was a 1600-ideogram long tsurane, which was recorded in the Kabuki Chronicles and "robust sales of the printed text throughout the Edo period led thousands of Japanese to learn to recite the peddlar’s tongue-twisting spiel themselves" (Laurence R. Kominz). The "Uirô Uri" scene was staged repeatedly by Ichikawa Danjûrô II and his descendants. One of the most famous performance occured in March 1832 at the Ichimuraza. It was included in the drama "Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura", which was staged for the shûmei of Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII, who played the role of the moxa peddlar Toraya Tôkichi, in reality Soga Gorô Tokimune in disguise.

It was staged for the first time as an independent drama, which was titled "Uirô", in September 1922 at the Imperial Theater, starring Ichikawa Sanshô V in the role of Soga Gorô Tokimune. The script had been written by Hirayama Shinkichi. A new version was written by Kawajiri Seitan and was staged for the shûmei of Ichikawa Ebizô IX in May 1940 at the Kabukiza. This version, which used Nagauta and Tokiwazu, did not really match the original "Uirô Uri" scene and fell into oblivion. "Uirô Uri" was finally revived by Ichikawa Danjûrô XII, who had a new script written for him by Noguchi Tatsuji. It was staged with an Ôzatsuma ensemble in May 1985, for the second month of this actor's shûmei at the Kabukiza. It was a great success and, thanks to this new version, it became a popular item in the current Kabuki repertoire.

There are many plays based on the revenge by the Soga brothers on Kudô Saemon Suketsune, the villain who was responsible for the murder of their father. In this particular play, this dramatic fight is transformed into light fantasy by showing Soga Gorô Tokimune disguised as Toraya Tôkichi, a peddlar from Odawara, who sells uirô, a moxa medicine that makes it possible to speak quickly and elegantly. He arrives at the pleasures quarter of Ôiso, at the foot of Mount Fuji, where he meets a party led by Kudô Saemon Suketsune. This is a great opportunity for Gorô to confront, with his brother Soga Jûrô Sukenari, the arch enemy of his clan. The highlight of the play is a three-minute-long virtuoso speech, full of puns and tongue twisters, many of them which derive from children’s songs and rhymes.

The university performance festival entitled "Japan in Motion 05" was held in Portland in June and July 2005, with the Kabuki scholar Laurence R. Kominz as Artistic Director. It included an intensive Kabuki workshop, which culminated in the English language premiere of "Uirô Uri" the 22nd of July 2005, which was staged at Portland’s Imago Theatre.

Ichikawa Sanshô V playing the role of Toraya Tôkichi, in reality Soga Gorô, in the drama "Uirô Uri" (print made by Natori Shunsen in 1925)

The actor Ichikawa Danjûrô IX playing the role of Toraya Tôkichi, in reality Soga Gorô, in the drama "Uirô Uri" (print made by Torii Kiyosada)