JUNE 2011

4 shows in Tôkyô (Shinbashi Enbujô, National Theatre, Theatre Cocoon), 1 in Nagoya (Chûnichi Theatre), 2 in Fukuoka (Hakataza), 1 in Yamaga (Yachiyoza) and 1 tour (Kansai)!

  • Kataoka Nizaemon, Nakamura Kichiemon, Nakamura Tokizô, Nakamura Shibajaku, Kataoka Ainosuke and Nakamura Fukusuke perform at the Shinbashi Enbujô!
  • Sakata Tôjûrô, Onoe Kikugorô, Matsumoto Kôshirô, Nakamura Baigyoku, Ichikawa Sadanji, Nakamura Kaishun, Kataoka Hidetarô and Ichikawa Danzô perform at the Hakataza!
  • Nakamura Hashinosuke, Onoe Kikunosuke and Nakamura Kantarô perform at the Theatre Cocoon!
  • The Omodakaya guild performs at the Chûnichi Theatre!
  • Nakamura Kanjaku performs at the National Theatre!
  • Shinbashi Enbujô (Tôkyô)
    Dates 2 ~ 26 June 2011
    Matinée

    Yoritomo no Shi

    Kajiwara Heizô Homare no Ishikiri
    (Ishikiri Kajiwara)

    Renjishi

    Evening

    Fubuki Tôge

    Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami

  • Sumiyoshi Torii Mae
  • Tsuribune Sabu Uchi
  • Nagamachi Ura
  • Iro Moyô Chotto Karimame (Kasane)

    Casting

    Kataoka Nizaemon, Nakamura Kichiemon, Nakamura Tokizô, Nakamura Shibajaku, Kataoka Ainosuke, Nakamura Fukusuke, Nakamura Kinnosuke, Ichikawa Danshirô, Kataoka Takatarô, Ichikawa Somegorô, Nakamura Karoku, Nakamura Kashô, Kataoka Sennosuke, Matsumoto Kintarô

    Comments

  • Yoritomo no Shi: a play by Mayama Seika first presented in 1932. Minamoto no Yoritomo created a strong warrior government, but died very soon, leaving things to his son Yoriie (Ichikawa Somegorô). But Yoriie feels that there is something suspicious about his father’s death and is in torment because even though he is supposed to be the most powerful man in the land, no one will tell him anything. It ends with a confrontation with his mother Hôjô Masako (Nakamura Tokizô), who is ready to kill her own son rather than let the truth out that could destroy their rule. She declares that a man has only one short life, but the clan must survive to the end of time. Featuring also Kataoka Takatarô, Kataoka Ainosuke and Nakamura Kashô.
  • Ishikiri Kajiwara: the Heike general Kajiwara (Nakamura Kichiemon) is asked to test the sharpness of a sword by slicing two live human beings in half. He deliberately makes the sword fail the test to keep the sword, a priceless heirloom belonging to the enemy Genji clan, from falling into the hands of his Taira clan. A miracle has convinced Kajiwara to change sides. Kajiwara finally demonstrates the true power of the sword by cutting a large stone basin in two. Featuring also Nakamura Shibajaku, Ichikawa Danshirô, Nakamura Kinnosuke, Nakamura Karoku and Nakamura Kashô.
  • Renjishi: 2 entertainers dance a tale of the legendary shishi or lion-like spirits that live at the foot of a holy Buddhist mountain. There is a comic interlude with 2 Buddhist pilgrims. Then, the shishi themselves appear and perform their dance with wild shaking of their long manes. The dance shows a parent shishi forcing his cub to undergo harsh training in order to grow up strong. This theme is often associated with the training a parent actor gives his son. This performance features Kataoka Nizaemon in the role of the parent shishi and his grandson Kataoka Sennosuke in the role of the cub.
  • Fubuki Tôge: Oen and Sukezô, an adulterous couple, have to take refuge in a mountain hut built for pilgrims because of a violent snow storm. Oen was the wife of the gambler Naokichi, who was Sukezô's boss. They fell in love and, in order to escape death (a normal punishment for their immoral conduct), they had to elope. They now live as fugitives, in great fear of revenge by Naokichi. Fate has something in store for them as, this very night, Naokichi, who goes on pilgrimage, has to shelter himself in the same hut... Featuring Ichikawa Somegorô, Kataoka Takatarô and Kataoka Ainosuke in the roles of Naokichi, Oen and Sukezô.
  • Natsu Matsuri: this grisly murder story became a smashing hit when it was first performed in 1745 because of the chivalrous spirit of the many Ôsaka characters appearing in this story, the contrast between a brutal murder and the jovial mood of a summer festival, and the splashing of real water used on the stage. Danshichi, a gallant fishmonger, does everything he can to protect the weak young son of his patron with the help of his companion Tokubê and the older Sabu. Although even Tokubê's wife Otatsu heroically helps out, in the end, Danshichi is betrayed by his evil father-in-law Giheiji and, in the most famous scene of the play, must kill him in a mud-covered fight in a lonely alley with the shouts of the local festival nearby. This program stars Nakamura Kichiemon as Danshichi, with Kataoka Nizaemon, Nakamura Karoku and Nakamura Fukusuke as Issun Tokubê, Tsuribune Sabu and Otatsu. Featuring also Nakamura Shibajaku, Ichikawa Danshirô and Matsumoto Kintarô.
  • Kasane: one can never escape past evils. Yoemon is fleeing to the countryside, but Kasane, the woman he abandoned, refuses to let him go. She catches up with him at a lonely river bank. A skull stabbed with a scythe appears and Kasane is possessed by its spirit, actually the spirit of her dead father, and her face suddenly becomes disfigured. She pours out her feelings of jealousy and resentment and Yoemon kills Kasane, but even after her death, he cannot escape her vengeful spirit. Starring Nakamura Tokizô as Kasane and Ichikawa Somegorô as Yoemon.
  • Source: Earphone Guide website, except "Fubuki Tôge"

    Hakataza (Fukuoka)
    Dates 2 ~ 26 June 2011 (Rokugatsu Ôkabuki)
    Matinée

    Ya-no-Ne

    Mekura Nagaya Ume-ga-Kagatobi

    Migawari Zazen

    Evening

    Kanadehon Chûshingura
    (Gion Ichiriki Jaya)

    Hanabusa Shûjaku no Shishi

    Shin Sarayashiki Tsuki no Amagasa
    (Sakanaya Sôgorô)

    Casting

    Sakata Tôjûrô, Onoe Kikugorô, Matsumoto Kôshirô, Nakamura Baigyoku, Ichikawa Sadanji, Nakamura Kaishun, Kataoka Hidetarô, Ichikawa Danzô, Ichikawa Komazô, Ichikawa Omezô, Onoe Shôroku, Ichimura Manjirô, Kawarasaki Gonjûrô, Bandô Kamesaburô, Bandô Kametoshi, Nakamura Matsue, Onoe Matsuya, Onoe Ukon, Sawamura Sônosuke, Matsumoto Kingo

    Comments

  • Ya-no-Ne: like a picture come to life, this play combines the most exaggerated costumes and movements with leisurely humor. The aragoto hero Soga no Gorô is sharpening a giant arrow and sleeping in wishes of good fortune for the New Year when he sees his brother Jûrô in a dream asking him to come and rescue him. The two Soga brothers are part of one of the most popular vendetta stories in Kabuki, suffering for eighteen years before being able to avenge the death of their father. In this play, when Gorô finds out that his brother is in trouble, he jumps on the horse of a passing daikon vendor and, brandishing a giant daikon as a whip prepares to rush to his brother's side. Starring Onoe Shôroku and Bandô Kametoshi as Gorô and Jûrô.
  • Kagatobi: the firemen serving the fabulously wealthy Kaga clan were famous for their colorful spirit. This play features a short pageant of these firefighters combined with a dark story of the sinister masseur Dôgen who uses murder, theft and extortion to satisfy his lust and greed. The actor playing Dôgen doubles as one of the gallant bosses of the firefighting gang alongside the firefighter that unmasks Dôgen’s villainy. Starring Matsumoto Kôshirô as Dôgen and Nakamura Baigyoku as Matsuzô, the firefighter that defeats him. Featuring also Ichikawa Sadanji, Kataoka Hidetarô, Ichikawa Danzô and Onoe Shôroku.
  • Migawari Zazen: a dance play adopted from a classical kyôgen farce. A man (Onoe Kikugorô) wants nothing more than to visit his lover Hanako, but he has one important problem, his homely and overbearing wife (Ichikawa Sadanji). He creates a scheme saying that he will be practicing Zen meditation all night and has his servant (Onoe Shôroku) 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.
  • Gion Ichiriki Jaya: "Chûshingura" is one of the most popular plays in the theatre and shows a true event when forty-seven masterless samurai avenged the death of their lord by killing his enemy. The seventh act is one of the most popular and shows the leader of the vendetta Yuranosuke as he is hiding his intention to avenge his lord’s death by pretending to be only interested in pleasure, but also encountering key figures on his side and the side of the enemy. Yuranosuke (Matsumoto Kôshirô) spends his days and nights in the pleasure quarters of Kyôto in an effort to make their lord’s enemy, Moronô, believe he is not planning a vendetta. His acting is so good that even men in his own group believe he has given his life up to pleasure. Moronô is not so easily convinced, though, and has sent spies, including a former retainer of their late lord, En'ya Hangan, to find Yuranosuke's true intentions. Okaru (Nakamura Kaishun), the wife of one of the retainers is now a courtesan at the Ichiriki Teahouse, unaware that her husband is dead. Okaru's brother Heiemon (Nakamura Baigyoku), a servant in the Hangan household, has also come to the teahouse and the interaction of these characters becomes a matter of life and death and ends with Yuranosuke preparing to lead the vendetta.
  • Shûjaku Jishi: lion dances (shishi) show a vigorous masculine spirit that is the guardian of a sacred mountain in China. But the Kabuki tradition transforms this fierce dance into a showpiece for an elegant female role specialist. Sakata Tôjûrô stars as an elegant princess in her palace who is then transformed into a feminine version of the spirit of the lion.
  • Sakanaya Sôgorô: Sôgorô (Onoe Kikugorô), a fish seller, has taken a vow to not drink, but when he learns about his sister's unjust murder at the hands of a daimyô lord, a death that they were told was execution for her wrongdoing, he starts to drink again. Drunk, he storms into the lord's mansion to seek an apology. This play by Meiji playwright Kawatake Mokuami is known for its realistic portrayal of members of the common class during the Edo period and highlights their fierce pride and frustration at the privileges of the dominant samurai class. Featuring also Nakamura Kaishun, Ichikawa Danzô, Onoe Shôroku and Ichikawa Sadanji.
  • Source: Earphone Guide website

    Shibuya Bunkamura Theatre Cocoon (Tôkyô)
    Dates 6 ~ 27 June 2011
    Program

    Kamikakete Sango Taisetsu

    Casting

    Nakamura Hashinosuke, Onoe Kikunosuke, Nakamura Kantarô, Bandô Yajûrô, Kataoka Kamezô, Bandô Shingo, Sasano Takashi, Nakamura Kunio

    Comments

    12th edition of the original Cocoon Kabuki performance, which recreates the atmosphere of the Edo koshibai and brings the actors closer to the audience.

  • Kamikakete Sango Taisetsu: this play is a blend of "Chûshingura" with its tangled stories of loyalties and masterless samurai that ultimately avenge their master's death and the story of "Godairiki", about the love between a geisha named Koman and the samurai Satsuma Gengobê which is spoiled by the jealousy of a man named Sangorô. Sasano Sangorô (Nakamura Kantarô) is married to Koman (Onoe Kikunosuke), but she becomes a geisha to help him to raise the money to help his lord, a man that he has never seen. In the pleasure quarters the samurai Satsuma Gengobê (Nakamura Hashinosuke) falls in love with her and spends huge sums of money on her, despite the fact that he needs money for the sake of the "Chûshingura" vendetta. Finally Gengobê gets money and Sangorô and Koman decide to defraud him of the money, which results in a massacre in the pleasure quarters. Ironically, Gengobê is none other than the unknown master for whom Sangorô was trying to raise money. This story of passion and greed takes place against the background of inexplicable fate and the strict requirements of samurai society and adds ample doses of sardonic humor, the perfect play for our times.
  • Source: Earphone Guide website

    Chûnichi Theatre (Nagoya)
    Dates 4 ~ 24 June 2011
    Program

    Shin Suikoden

    Casting

    Ichikawa Ukon, Ichikawa Emisaburô, Ichikawa Emiya, Ichikawa En'ya, Ichikawa Shun'en, Ichikawa Juen, Ichikawa Kôtarô, Kasahara Akira

    Comments

    ???

    National Theatre (Tôkyô)
    Dates 4 ~ 26 June 2011 (Rokugatsu Kabuki Kanshô Kyôshitsu)
    Program

    Kabuki no Mikata

    Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura
    (Kawatsura Hôgen Yakata)

    Casting

    Nakamura Kanjaku, Nakamura Kikaku, Nakamura Kazutarô, Bandô Minosuke, Nakamura Hayato

    Comments

    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 "Kawatsura Hôgen Yakata".

  • Kawatsura Hôgen Yakata: the epic "Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees" ("Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura") features many characters around the famous general Yoshitsune, but none more memorable than a magic fox that takes the guise of Tadanobu, one of Yoshitsune's most trusted retainers. The fox wants to get close to a precious drum that Yoshitsune has made from the skins of his fox parents. In this excerpt from the longer play, the fox reveals his true identity with a series of spectacular stage tricks and Yoshitsune is moved to grant him the drum. Starring Nakamura Kanjaku as the fox Tadanobu. Also featuring Nakamura Kanjaku's son Nakamura Kazutarô and Nakamura Kikaku as Shizuka Gozen and Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
  • Source: Earphone Guide website

    Educational Kabuki tour in Kansai
    Date 3 ~ 23 June 2011
    Program

    Kabuki-he no Goannai

    Kanadehon Chûshingura
    (Amakawaya Gihei Uchi)

    Casting

    Kataoka Gatô, Kamimura Kichiya, Kataoka Shinnosuke, Nakamura Matanosuke

    Comments

    36th edition of an educational Kabuki tour in Kansai. The first item is a speech about Kabuki and the second is the rarely-staged drama "Amakawaya Gihei Uchi".

  • Amakawaya Gihei Uchi: Yuranosuke (Kataoka Shinnosuke) has involved Amakawaya Gihei (Kataoka Gatô), a merchant, in the vendetta so as to assemble weapons for the raid. Gihei has sent his wife (Kamimura Kichiya) to her father-in-law’s home so as to prevent her from knowing of his involvement. His father-in-law pesters him to divorce her so that he can marry her off to a wealthy man. At this moment some of Yuranosuke’s men arrive to test Gihei’s loyalty. Even when they threaten to kill his infant son unless he confesses the location of the weapons, Gihei remains steadfast. Yuranosuke then reveals himself and the fact that Gihei has passed the test. Yuranosuke abruptly cuts off the hair of Gihei’s wife and declares to the father-in-law that she cannot be married off because she has become a nun.
  • Source: Paul Kennelly

    Yachiyoza (Yamaga)
    Dates 24 ~ 25 June 2011 (Bandô Tamasaburô Charitî Buyô Kôen)
    Bandô Tamasaburô Charity Dance Performances
    Program

    Yuki

    Kane-ga-Misaki

    Casting

    Bandô Tamasaburô

    Comments

    A special dance program for the victims of the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake Disaster.

  • Yuki:
    (Snow)
    Bandô Tamasaburô appears as an Ôsaka courtesan named Soseki, expressing her feelings of loneliness after having been jilted by her lover and who has decided to become a nun. This jiuta dance is performed in a restrained chamber style.
  • Kane-ga-Misaki: Bandô Tamasaburô appears as a beautiful young girl, expressing her love and feelings of jealousy. This is the same story as the colorful "Musume Dôjôji" dance, but is performed in a restrained chamber style.
  • Source: Earphone Guide website

     
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