"Jayanagi" was premiered in the 5th lunar month of 1763 at the Nakamuraza. It was entitled "Kôyasan Jayanagi" and it was staged within the new year drama "Momo Chidori Ôiso Gayoi". The leading role of the bakamono Tanba no Suketarô, later the spirit of the Snake Willow was played by Ichikawa Danjûrô IV [picture]. The originality of this drama was the unusual mixing of aragoto with shittogoto. It went to oblivion and the original script was lost but it was nevertheless added to the Kabuki Jûhachiban collection of drama in 1840 by Ichikawa Ebizô V. It was revived in May 1947 at the Tôkyô Gekijô with a new script written by Kawajiri Seitan and starring Ichikawa Sanshô V in the leading role of Akushichibyôe Kagekiyo [more details]. This version was a kagekiyomono, which was not the case in 1763. Never performed by either Ichikawa Danjûrô XI or Ichikawa Danjûrô XII, "Jayanagi" was finally revived by Ichikawa Ebizô XI as a dance-drama written by Matsuoka Ryô and choreographed by Fujima Kanjûrô VIII. This revival was initially scheduled to be staged in January 2011 at the Theatre Ginza in Tôkyô but, following Ichikawa Ebizô's pathetic drunken brawl in November 2010, it was cancelled. It was staged for the first time in August 2013 for the first edition of the ABKAI - Ebikai, the gala of the young star Ichikawa Ebizô, at the Shibuya Bunkamura Theatre Cocoon in Tôkyô. This revival was quite successful and it was staged for the first time in Grand Kabuki, in Tôkyô at the Kabukiza in May 2015, using the same script [more details]. In 2013 and 2015, an oshimodoshi grand final was added at the end of the dance-drama.

The scene opens in sacred Kôyasan. A mysterious and beautiful jayanagi (Snake Willow) is set on stage. According to the legend, the priest Kûkai turned a maleficent giant snake into a weeping willow. This evil snake, which was terrorizing the area, was in fact a monster carrying the jealousy of all the women who had been abandoned by their husbands in order to become monks on the male-only Kôyasan. As a result of this miracle, the jayanagi is said to represent a thousand year bond between men and women.

We are at the Oku-no-In cemetery in Kôyasan near the Snake Willow. The rumor says that this foul tree is causing harm to the people of this area. The priest Jôken has been called to subdue it with his religious powers. Near the tree is the bakamono Tanba no Suketarô (Suketarô from the Tanba province). He tells the story of his recently deceased wife to whom he is still obsessively attached. Dancing his love for his late wife, he lapses into frenzy. This kyôran is the highlight of the play. Before long, it becomes obvious that Suketarô is possessed by the Spirit of the Snake Willow. This evil spirit aggressively attacks the priest Jôken. At last, the powerful warrior Kongômaru Terutada appears on the hanamichi. He is the demon-queller (oshimodoshi) and he has the power to save Jôken and drive back the spirit. The spirit of the Snake Willow is subdued and Kongômaru Terutada strikes a mie at the end this play.

This summary would have not been possible without the help of André!

The actors Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII (top/left) and Ichikawa Ebizô V (bottom/right) playing the roles of Suhô Sôzu and Kongô Kûkai in the drama "Jayanagi" in a mitate-e print made in 1852 by Utagawa Toyokuni III