3 shows in Tôkyô (Shinbashi Enbujô, Makuhari Messe), 1 show in Nagoya (Misonoza), 2 on Shikoku island (Kanamaruza), 1 tour (Western Provinces) and 1 in Midori (Nagame Yokyôjô)!

Living National Treasure Onoe Kikugorô, Living National Treasure Nakamura Kichiemon, Living National Treasure Nakamura Tôzô, Onoe Kikunosuke, Nakamura Kinnosuke, Onoe Shôroku, Ichikawa Sadanji, Ichikawa Danzô, Nakamura Karoku, Nakamura Matagorô, Nakamura Baishi, Bandô Hikosaburô and Bandô Kamezô perform at the Shinbashi Enbujô!

Matsumoto Hakuô, Matsumoto Kôshirô, Nakamura Jakuemon, Nakamura Ganjirô, Ôtani Tomoemon, Ichikawa Komazô and Kataoka Kamezô perform at the Kanamaruza!

Bandô Minosuke, Nakamura Hayato and Nakamura Baigyoku perform at the Misonoza!

Living National Treasure Kataoka Nizaemon, Bandô Yajûrô, Kataoka Takatarô, Nakamura Kazutarô and Kamimura Kichiya are on tour in the Western Provinces!

Living National Treasure Onoe Kikugorô, Living National Treasure Nakamura Kichiemon, Living National Treasure Nakamura Tôzô, Onoe Kikunosuke, Nakamura Kinnosuke, Onoe Shôroku, Ichikawa Sadanji, Ichikawa Danzô, Nakamura Karoku, Nakamura Matagorô, Nakamura Baishi, Bandô Hikosaburô, Bandô Kamezô, Kawarasaki Gonjûrô, Onoe Ukon, Nakamura Kashô, Nakamura Yonekichi, Nakamura Mantarô, Nakamura Tanenosuke

As the Kabukiza is closed for maintenance and building repairs this month, the April Grand Kabuki performances are staged at the nearby Shinbashi Enbujô.

Aoto Zôshi Hana no Nishikie:
(A Brocade Print of the Age of Magistrate Aoto)
Written by Kawatake Mokuami in 1862, this play focuses on the thief Benten Kozô and was inspired by a woodblock print of a sexy young man with tattoos covering his body with a woman's hairstyle and kimono. Benten Kozô is a swindler and thief who makes use of his beauty, both as a handsome young man and disguised as a beautiful woman. The sections about Benten Kozô are played frequently, but this marks a rare full-length performance that shows the stories of all five thieves in the gang who are tied together by bonds of fate and obligation. In the opening at a magnificent temple surrounded by cherry blossoms, Benten Kozô poses as a samurai youth and seduces a princess setting off events that will eventually destroy Benten and all around him. A beautiful young woman comes to a clothing store with her servant, but is discovered shoplifting and beaten. When she proves that she was not stealing, her servant demands compensation. However, a samurai who happens to be in the store reveals that the young woman is actually a man, and he proudly announces his name as Benten, the thief. The servant is his fellow gang member Nangô Rikimaru and the samurai is actually the head of the gang Nippon Daemon. However, they learn that the man they have defrauded is actually Benten Kozô’s father and the five thieves realize they cannot escape and decide to wear magnificent matching kimonos as they meet their fate. The act ends with a kind of spectacle showing the five members of the gang in their finest kimonos under the cherry blossoms in full bloom. In elaborate speeches, they each announce their name in the poetic diction for which the playwright Mokuami is famous. Finally Benten Kozô fights off his pursuers in a spectacular fight on the roof of a temple. Starring Onoe Kikunosuke as Benten Kozô, Onoe Shôroku as Nippon Daemon, Bandô Hikosaburô as Nangô Rikimaru, Nakamura Baishi as Akaboshi Jûzaburô and Bandô Kamezô as Tadanobu Rihei. Also featuring Nakamura Kinnosuke, Ichikawa Danzô and Onoe Ukon as the magistrate Aoto Saemon Fujitsuna, Hamamatsuya Kôbê and Princess Senju.

Migawari Zazen: a dance play adopted from a classical kyôgen farce. A man (Living National Treasure 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 (Kawarasaki Gonjûrô) 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.

Kagotsurube: one of the most sensational plays of late Kabuki, it shows a humble, pockmarked merchant from the country named Sano Jirôzaemon (Living National Treasure Nakamura Kichiemon). He is wealthy, but because of the way he looks, has never thought that it would be possible to have a woman. He and his servant go sightseeing in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters and a chance look at top courtesan Yatsuhashi (Onoe Kikunosuke) who smiles at him, makes Jirôzaemon fall in love. However, the pleasure quarters are full of intrigue, and on the eve of the day that Jirôzaemon is to buy up Yatsuhashi's contract, her true love Einojô (Nakamura Kinnosuke) forces her to reject and humiliate Jirôzaemon in the middle of the celebratory banquet. Jirôzaemon seems to forgive her, but returns with the sword Kagotsurube to exact his revenge.

Sarashi Sanbasô: the white banner of the Genji clan has been lost in the Hakone Gongen shrine. This loss causes a uproar. Soga no Ni-no-Miya is suspected by all around. Ni-no-Miya is in reality Princess Kisaragi (Onoe Ukon), the daughter of Taira no Tadanori. She starts to perform a sanbasô as a dedication dance to the Gods of Hakone Gongen. Shortly afterwards, she uses the nuno-zarashi technique with the white banner of the Genji clan to tell her story. Featuring also Nakamura Yonekichi.

Amiuchi: this is a dance portraying fishermen casting for fish with his net. It shows the daily lives of fishermen in a lively and nimble dance with brisk movements. While costumes in Kabuki dances are often concealing, in this case, the bare leggings and hand guards the actors wear reveal their skill as they perform. Featuring Nakamura Kashô, Nakamura Mantarô and Nakamura Tanenosuke.

Sources: Earphone Guide Website or Shôchiku Kabuki Official Website

Matsumoto Hakuô, Matsumoto Kôshirô, Nakamura Jakuemon, Nakamura Ganjirô, Ôtani Tomoemon, Ichikawa Komazô, Kataoka Kamezô, Matsumoto Kingo, Ôtani Hirotarô, Ichikawa Otora, Kamimura Kichitarô

36th edition of the Spring Kabuki performance Shikoku Konpira Kabuki Ôshibai at the Kanamaruza on Shikoku Island! Matsumoto Hakuô II and his son Matsumoto Kôshirô X celebrate their shûmei at the Kanamaruza!

Bandô Minosuke, Nakamura Hayato, Nakamura Baigyoku

Kishimoto Masashi's internationally popular manga "NARUTO" got its Kabuki adaptation in August 2018 at the Shinbashi Enbujô, under the supervision of G2 (both writer and director). This month it is staged in Nagoya at the Misonoza. The roles of Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are played by Bandô Minosuke and Nakamura Hayato. The guest star Nakamura Baigyoku plays the role of Uchiha Madara.

NARUTO: Once upon a time, a monstrous fox demon called Nine-Tails controlled by a mysterious masked man visited the Land of Fire and created chaos and disaster. In the Land of Fire, there was a village of ninjas called Konohagakure Village. In an attempt to save the land, the chief of the village, the 'Fourth Hokage', sacrificed his own life to seal Nine-Tails into the stomach of his newborn son, Uzumaki Naruto (Bandô Minosuke). Naruto attends the Ninja Academy with the aim of becoming a mature Ninja, but instead he proves a problem child. He has been lonely throughout his life due to the hatred everyone feels towards him for having Nine-Tails sealed within him. After graduating the Ninja Academy, together with Uchiha Sasuke (Nakamura Hayato) and Sakura Haruno, he joins the team commanded by Kakashi Hatake and works as a Ninja of Konohagakure Village. Naruto works hard to be accepted by the villagers, but at the same time he feels a sense of rivalry with Sasuke who is always ahead of him. Yet, somehow, he also has sympathy with the shadow Sasuke casts over him and feels a bond of friendship. On the other hand, Sasuke himself has a dark past. When he was just a child, his elder brother Itachi Uchiha killed the whole Uchiha clan including his own parents. Since that time, Sasuke has built an emotional barrier between himself and others and has trained to become stronger than anyone else with the sole intention of killing his brother who had escaped the village. Naruto and Sasuke face many challenges but soon meet Jiraiya, who will become Naruto's master, and Tsunade, who will become the Fifth Hokage. He also has a fight with Orochimaru, a fugitive Ninja who tries to destroy Konohagakure Village. Eventually, Naruto's battle against his powerful earth-shaking enemy Uchiha Madara (Nakamura Baigyoku) begins.

Sources: Shôchiku Kabuki Official Website

Living National Treasure Kataoka Nizaemon, Bandô Yajûrô, Kataoka Takatarô, Nakamura Kazutarô, Kamimura Kichiya, Ichikawa Omezô, Sawamura Sônosuke, Nakamura Hashinosuke, Kataoka Matsunosuke, Bandô Kamezô

The usual Grand Kabuki Tour in the western provinces, in April and not in September this year.

Kusazuri:
(the Tug-of-War Over the Armor)
A short dance in the oldest style of Kabuki, leisurely and full of humor, combining the charm of an onnagata female role specialist with the larger-than-life heroism of the bombastic aragoto style of acting. The strong woman Maizuru stops the powerful, but rash, warrior Soga no Gorô from rushing to a fight by pulling on the set of armor he is carrying. Starring Nakamura Kazutarô and Nakamura Hashinosuke as Maizuru and Gorô.

Ko-no-Mi/Kokingo Uchijini: (The Chestnut Tree and the Death of Kokingo)
Wakaba-no-Naishi(Sawamura Sônosuke), the wife of the Heike commander Koremori, travels with her young son and their retainer Kokingo (Nakamura Hashinosuke), searching for her husband. While resting in a small mountain village, they are met by Gonta (Living National Treasure Kataoka Nizaemon), a local bully who skillfully cons them out of their money. Later they are set upon by Genji forces, and in a spectacular fight scene, Kokingo sacrifices himself to save his mistress and her son.

Sushiya: (The Sushi Shop)
Gonta's father Yazaemon (Bandô Yajûrô) runs a sushi shop, but was formerly a retainer of Taira no Koremori. With his clan defeated, Koremori (Kataoka Takatarô) now lives with Yazaemon's family disguised as a humble apprentice. Innocently, Yazaemon's daughter, Osato (Nakamura Kazutarô) is in love with him. But knowing of the bounty on Koremori's head, her brother Gonta kills him and turns his wife and child over to the Genji commander. Furious at his son, Yazaemon stabs him, but before his death, Gonta reveals that he only pretended to kill Koremori and sacrificed his own wife and son to save the real Koremori and his family.

Sources: Shôchiku Kabuki Official Website

Nakamura Shidô, Hatsune Miku

The world of Kabuki and the world of otaku collide for the 6th time in Kabuki history! Resulting from this spectacular collision, a new genre, the Chôkabuki (literally Ultra-Kabuki), was born in 2016 [more details]. Nakamura Shidô shares the stage with the virtual 3D creature Hatsune Miku. They perform "together" in a newly-created Chôkabuki drama. It is staged at the Makuhari Messe as part of the Niconico Chôkaigi 2020 event, an important yearly event for the otaku tribes.

Ôtani Keizô, Ôtani Ryûsei

2nd edition of the Yû no Kai, a gala which stars Ôtani Keizô and his son Ôtani Ryûsei, at the Nagame Yokyôjô (Nagame Entertainment Theater), a traditional wooden-built theater (1937) in the city of Midori in Gunma Prefecture.