"Nomitori Otoko" was premiered in February 1929 at the Meijiza, with Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ichikawa Kodayû II in the roles of the man and the cat.

This dance with its sprightly humor is typically edokko-spirited. A young Edo shitamachi dandy with a body full of tattoos (irezumi) has been troubled by a hot sleepless night, the discomfort compounded by the pesky flea (nomi) that has taken an attachment to him. So he slips out from under the mosquito netting (kaya) chasing after the flea, determined that it is not to be let off free. The flea, however, proves too quick for him and escapes. It is too hot to crawl back under the mosquito netting, so the man decides to stay outside a while and enjoy what little night breeze there is. As he does so, a cat (neko) comes out and starts to play with him. He teases it, and they get along fine until in a moment of over-enthusiasm the cat bares its claws and scratches the man. This bit of teasing between a man and a cat is performed as a clever parody in the manner of a kudoki.

Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ichikawa Danshirô III playing the role of the man and the cat in the dance-drama "Nomitori Otoko", which was staged in June 1941 at the Kabukiza