7 shows in Tôkyô (Kabukiza, National Theatre) and 3 in Ôsaka (National Bunraku Theatre, Wahha Kamigata Engei Hall)!

Bandô Tamasaburô performs at the Kabukiza!

Nakamura Kanzaburô, Bandô Mitsugorô, Nakamura Hashinosuke, Nakamura Fukusuke and Nakamura Senjaku perform at the Kabukiza !

All the others great Kabuki actors are on vacation ...

According to ancient Japanese chronicles, the sun goddess Amaterasu, angered by the unruly behavior of her younger brother, the storm god Susanoo, retreated into a cave and left the world in darkness. Finally the goddess Ama-no-Uzume and others were able to lure Amaterasu from her cave with a dance. The sun goddess resumed her position in the heavens, and light and order were restored. Bandô Tamasaburô, renowned for playing onnagata female roles in Kabuki, will play Amaterasu, and the Kodô drummers act as the other gods.

Source: Dan Grunebaum

Nakamura Kanzaburô, Bandô Mitsugorô, Nakamura Hashinosuke, Nakamura Fukusuke, Nakamura Senjaku, Kataoka Hidetarô, Kataoka Takatarô, Bandô Yajûrô, Ichikawa En'ya, Nakamura Kantarô, Nakamura Shichinosuke

18th edition of Nakamura Kanzaburô's summer program at the Kabukiza, the Hachigatsu Nôryô Kabuki (literally "the August cool-breeze Kabuki"). The program is very adventurous; featuring new plays, revivals of rarely performed modern plays and closing with a full-length program of a very unusual classical play that juxtaposes intrigue on the highest level of warrior society with the tribulations of commoner life.

Iso Ijinkan:
(The Foreign Settlement in Satsuma)
This is a new play written and published in 1969 as part of a competition for plays commemorating the Meiji Restoration. The play shows events during the turbulent final years of the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the establishment of the new Meiji state and shows the tragedy of glass craftsman Okano Seinosuke (Nakamura Kantarô) and his family as they are caught in the changes of attitude of their Satsuma clan toward the West. At first the clan is violently anti-foreign and starts a war with England that leaves Seinosuke horribly disfigured when he tries to defend the glass factory from the foreigners. But then the clan decides that it needs the technology of the West and invites the foreigners in. Finally Seinosuke loses everything, including the beautiful Ruri (Nakamura Shichinosuke), the daughter of the king of the Ryûkyû Islands, who has been brought up in Kagoshima as a hostage. Also featuring Ichikawa En'ya and Nakamura Hashinosuke.

Echizen Ichijô-ga-Tani:
(Asakura Yoshikage and the Ichijo-ga-Tani Fortress)
The modern novelist Mizukami Tsutomu (1919~2004) is famous for his dark tales of unrequited passion, often with a Buddhist touch and many times treating his native Fukui Prefecture, the ancient province of Echizen. His original novel is a portrait of the historical figure Asakura Yoshikage (1533~1573), the lord of Echizen who was caught between the violent Honganji Buddhist sect in the next province and the warlord Oda Nobunaga who launched an all-out campaign to destroy the Asakura clan as he brought Japan under his control. This is a new dance play that shows Yoshikage's (Nakamura Hashinosuke) life through his relationship with his mistress Koshôshô (Nakamura Fukusuke). Yoshikage was unlucky in marriage and only had a son once, but the child died young tragically. History shows Yoshikage spending his days in luxury and pleasure with his mistress to forget the warfare surrounding him. Also featuring Bandô Mitsugorô and Nakamura Kanzaburô.

Yûrei Kasha:
(Rent a Ghost)
Yamamoto Shûgorô (1903~1967) is known for his touching stories of nameless commoners in the Edo period striving to live meaningful lives against impossible odds. But this particular story is an outrageous comedy about Yaroku (Bandô Mitsugorô), a barrel maker who is so lazy that his loving wife Okane (Kataoka Takatarô) leaves him until he decides to work. But one day, a sexy, vengeful ghost named Someji (Nakamura Fukusuke) falls in love with him. They spend night after night drinking together, but finally, to make ends meet, they decide to start a business renting out vengeful ghosts, which is when Yaroku's troubles really begin. Also featuring Nakamura Kanzaburô and Nakamura Shichinosuke in the roles of Matazô and Ochiyo.

Shitakiri Suzume:
(New Version: The Tongue-Cut Sparrow)
An old man and woman had no children, so he cherished a pet sparrow. One day, when the old man was out, the sparrow ate all the starch the old woman had prepared for starching clothes, so she cut his tongue out and chased him away. The old man was very upset and set out the next day to find the sparrow, undergoing all kinds of unpleasant trials. He found the sparrow who treated him extremely kindly and gave him a choice of a small or large box. The old man modestly picked a small box and when he returned, he found it full of gold coins. The greedy old woman decided to go to see the sparrow as well, but picked the large box, only to find it full of snakes, spiders and other horrible creatures. This classic story finds a new setting in a musical presentation by innovative theater director Watanabe Eriko featuring all the members of this month’s company.

Ura Omote Sendai Hagi:
(Sendai Hagi Front and Back)
"Meiboku Sendai Hagi" (The Troubles in the Date Clan) is one of the most famous plays in Kabuki. It shows the attempt to take over one of the most famous samurai households in the Edo period, the Date clan ruling Sendai, a scandal that caused a sensation in its day. This particular version of the play takes the most famous scenes of the original play and combines them with a story of greed and lust among commoners involved in the plots against the Date clan with the murderous servant Kosuke a parallel to the larger-than-life villain Nikki Danjô. It is also a virtuoso turn for Nakamura Kanzaburô and part of his family tradition as he plays the heroic nursemaid Masaoka, and the two villains, Nikki Danjô and Kosuke.

Source: Earphone Guide website

9th edition of the summer program of the association Ne no Kai (literally 'the Sound Association'). The two first items feature only the geza musicians and the Nagauta music ensemble. The last item is the Kabuki drama "Yamashina Kankyo", which stars disciples of major actors.

13th edition of the common program for 2 associations, the Chigyokai (the Young Fishes Association) and the Kabukikai (the Kabuki Association), which stars stars' disciples in the leading roles of all the items in the program.

17th edition of the Kamigata Kabukikai (the Kamigata Kabuki Association), a summer program in Ôsaka which stars Kamigata Kabuki stars' disciples in the leading roles of all the items.

Kataoka Hidetarô, Bandô Takesaburô, Kataoka Ainosuke, Bandô Shinsha

Second edition of the program of the association Wakagi no Kai, which stars the disciples of Kataoka Hidetarô, Bandô Takesaburô and Kamimura Kichiya.

Bandô Takesaburô, Bandô Shinsha, Bandô Takeyuki, Bandô Takeaki

4th edition of a special program produced by the Taketokai, an association which patronizes Bandô Takesaburô and his three disciples.