5 shows in Tôkyô (Kabukiza, Meijiza, National Theatre, Orchard Hall), 2 in Ôsaka (Shôchikuza) and 1 in Niigata (Niigata Kenmin Kaikan)!

Living National Treasure Onoe Kikugorô, Nakamura Tokizô, Nakamura Baigyoku, Nakamura Kaishun, Bandô Rakuzen, Bandô Hikosaburô, Bandô Kamezô, Ichikawa Ebizô, Onoe Kikunosuke, Onoe Shôroku, Ichikawa Danzô, Ichikawa Sadanji and Nakamura Karoku perform at the Kabukiza!

Ichikawa Ennosuke, Nakamura Kankurô, Nakamura Shichinosuke, Bandô Yajûrô, Bandô Takesaburô and Ichikawa Monnosuke perform at the Shôchikuza!

Kataoka Ainosuke, Nakamura Ganjirô and Kataoka Kamezô performs at the Meijiza!

The Zenshinza troupe performs at the National Theatre!

Living National Treasure Bandô Tamasaburô performs at the Orchard Hall and at the Niigata Kenmin Kaikan!

Living National Treasure Onoe Kikugorô, Nakamura Tokizô, Nakamura Baigyoku, Nakamura Kaishun, Bandô Rakuzen, Bandô Hikosaburô, Bandô Kamezô, Ichikawa Ebizô, Onoe Kikunosuke, Onoe Shôroku, Ichikawa Danzô, Ichikawa Sadanji, Nakamura Karoku, Nakamura Baishi, Ichimura Manjirô, Kawarasaki Gonjûrô, Onoe Matsuya, Ôtani Tomoemon, Ichikawa Udanji, Kataoka Ichizô, Ichikawa Udanji, Ichimura Kakitsu, Ichikawa Kudanji, Ichikawa Omezô, Bandô Minosuke, Ôtani Hiromatsu, Ichikawa Otora, Ichimura Kitsutarô, Ichimura Takematsu, Onoe Ukon, Bandô Kamesaburô, Terajima Maholo

The great yearly Dankiku festival for the Naritaya and Otowaya guilds, which commemorates 2 great stars of the Meiji era: Dan = Ichikawa Danjûrô IX and Kiku = Onoe Kikugorô V. An important 3-generation shûmei for the Bandô branch of the Otowaya guild this month at the Kabukiza! Bandô Hikosaburô VIII, his two sons Bandô Kamesaburô V and Bandô Kametoshi respectively take the names of Bandô Rakuzen, Bandô Hikosaburô IX and Bandô Kamezô III. Moreover, Bandô Kamesaburô's son Bandô Yûta makes his hatsubutai and receives the name of Bandô Kamesaburô VI. Moreover, the 22nd and 16th anniversaries (23rd and 17th memorial services) of the passing away of Onoe Baikô VII and Ichimura Uzaemon XVII are commemorated. Another special event : Terajima Maholo, the grandson of Living National Treasure Onoe Kikugorô and son of the actress Terajima Shinobu makes his first stage appearance (omemie).

Ishikiri Kajiwara: the Heike general Kajiwara (Bandô Hikosaburô) 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 Bandô Rakuzen, Bandô Kamezô, Onoe Kikunosuke, Ichikawa Danzô and Onoe Shôroku.

Yoshinoyama: a dance travel scene from the epic "Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura". Now in exile and disgrace, Yoshitsune has left his lover Shizuka in the safekeeping of his trusted retainer Tadanobu. But she is unaware that this Tadanobu is actually a magical fox who has disguised himself to be near the treasured drum that Shizuka carries, a drum made from the skins of his fox parents. Starring Ichikawa Ebizô as Tadanobu, with Onoe Kikunosuke as Shizuka. Featuring also Ichikawa Omezô as Hayami no Tôta.

Sakanaya Sôgorô: Sôgorô (Living National Treasure 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 Tokizô, Ichikawa Sadanji, Ichikawa Danzô, Kawarasaki Gonjûrô, Ichimura Manjirô, Nakamura Baishi and Onoe Shôroku.

Soga no Taimen: this is one of the oldest and most classical of all Kabuki plays. In the Edo period, every January, plays appeared about the vendetta carried out by the Soga brothers Jûrô and Gorô after eighteen years of hardship. In "Soga no Taimen" the brothers confront Kudô Suketsune, the man responsible for their father's death. More ceremony than play, it features each of the important Kabuki character types, including the bombastic aragoto style of Gorô and the soft wagoto style of Jûrô. This month features a cast headed by Living National Treasure Onoe Kikugorô as Kudô and some of the most popular young stars in Kabuki with Bandô Hikosaburô as Gorô and Nakamura Tokizô as Jûrô. Featuring also Bandô Rakuzen, Bandô Kamezô, Kawarasaki Gonjûrô, Ichimura Manjirô, Onoe Matsuya and Nakamura Baishi.

Meiboku Sendai Hagi: this play is about the attempt to take over one of the most famous samurai households in the Edo period, a scandal that caused a sensation in its day.

Goten: Masaoka (Onoe Kikunosuke), a loyal maidservant, is taking care of the lord's young heir. Afraid he will be poisoned, she refuses to let anyone see him who might try to assassinate him. She even fixes his meal in her quarters using her delicate tea ceremony implements to cook rice. The plotting faction does not give up, though, and sends poison in the form of candy as a present from the Shôgun. Masaoka's son sacrifices his life for the young lord by eating the poisoned candy, and when he is killed, she thinks only of protecting her lord. Her fierce devotion to duty convinces the plotters that she is on their side. Masaoka's actions help save the young lord, and only when she is alone can she grieve for her son. With Nakamura Karoku as the villainous Yashio, a court woman who kills Masaoka’s son.

Yukashita: Another faithful retainer Otokonosuke (Onoe Shôroku), stands guard underneath the room, but the evil Nikki Danjô (Ichikawa Ebizô) appears as a giant rat, but then slips away, walking calmly through the clouds.

Taiketsu/Ninjô: the elderly Geki (Kataoka Ichizô), a faithful retainer, brings charges against Nikki Danjô (Ichikawa Ebizô). Danjô cleverly protests his innocence, but his lies are seen through by the wise judge Katsumoto (Nakamura Baigyoku). Condemned to death, Danjô tries to take his revenge on Geki.

Asakusa Matsuri: in the Edo period, there were virtuoso sets of dances with one actor changing from character to character with a series of spectacular quick changes (hengemono). This is a set of four dances, all featuring Onoe Shôroku and Bandô Kamezô in a series of roles. It begins in the ancient past with Empress Jingô and her aged minister Takeuchi Sukune. It is said that the empress delayed the birth of her child, the emperor, so that she could conduct an attack on the Asian continent. Then the scene changes to the exuberant Sanja festival and shows two fishermen who discover a sacred statue in a river. Suddenly, the fishermen are possessed by the spirits of Good and Evil and dance vigorously. The scene switches to the pleasure quarters with two patrons, a sophisticated urban playboy and a clumsy unfashionable man. Finally it ends on a fantastic note with the two dancers as lion spirits.

Sources: Earphone Guide Website or Shôchiku Kabuki Official Website

Ichikawa Ennosuke, Nakamura Kankurô, Nakamura Shichinosuke, Bandô Yajûrô, Bandô Takesaburô, Ichikawa Monnosuke, Ichikawa Emisaburô, Ichikawa En'ya, Ichikawa Juen, Nakamura Kotarô, Nakamura Kashô

Two Kabuki programs with young actors of the Omodakaya and Nakamuraya guilds. This is also the 20th anniversary of the Shôchikuza which is celebrated.

Modori Kago: two palanquin bearers, one from Ôsaka, the other from Edo (pre-modern Tôkyô), decide to stop and rest. As they do so, each boasts of the respective merits of his native town. Finally, the little apprentice courtesan (kamuro) they have been carrying, alights from the palanquin and joins them in their dance. Featuring Nakamura Kankurô as the palanquin bearer from Ôsaka (in reality Ishikawa Goemon), Nakamura Kashô as the palanquin bearer from Edo (in reality Goemon's arch-enemy Mashiba Hisayoshi) and Nakamura Kotarô as the kamuro.

Kin no Zai Sarushima Dairi: the actor Ichikawa Ennosuke III has directed a series of revivals of neglected Kabuki plays that have allowed him to display his distinctive theatrical style, full of lightning-fast costume changes and acrobatic stunts. He first revived this play in 1964. "Kin no Zai Sarushima Dairi" combines the story of two plotters for the Imperial throne with the famous Dôjôji legend in which passion turns a young woman into a jealous serpent. The treacherous pirate Fujiwara no Sumitomo brings the proud Taira no Masakado back from the dead to continue their plots to take over Japan. A forlorn court noble spurned in love and a beautiful young girl turned into a jealous spirit through rejection find their spirits combined in the form of an evil serpent. All the plots are tied together in a beautiful and spectacular dance play that combines Kabuki's greatest dances. Starring Ichikawa Ennosuke, Nakamura Kankurô, Nakamura Shichinosuke and Ichikawa Monnosuke.

Nozaki-mura: a farm girl Omitsu (Nakamura Shichinosuke) is busy planning her marriage to Hisamatsu (Nakamura Kashô) who has just returned to the country after leaving his post in the city in disgrace. Suddenly Osome (Nakamura Kotarô) appears. She is the daughter of the rich merchant Hisamatsu served and their love affair was the cause of his disgrace. Despite the best efforts of Hisamatsu's father Kyûsaku (Bandô Yajûrô), the course of true love cannot be changed. Omitsu decides to sacrifice her own love and to become a nun to save the young couple who would rather die than be separated.

Chibusa no Enoki:
(The Ghost and the Milk-Giving Tree)
Based on a rakugo story by Sanyûtei Enchô, this is a showpiece for the star actor (Nakamura Kankurô) who plays multiple roles, culminating in a thrilling fight scene in a waterfall where he switches rapidly from one to another. An artist named Hishikawa Shigenobu (Nakamura Kankurô) is killed by a handsome samurai named Isogai Namie (Ichikawa Ennosuke) who makes love to Shigenobu's wife Oseki (Nakamura Shichinosuke). He carries out the murder with the help of Shigenobu's honest, but simple minded, servant Shôsuke (Nakamura Kankurô) and the tattooed villain Uwabami no Sanji (Nakamura Kankurô). But the baby is rescued by the ghost of Shigenobu and finally the boy avenges the death of his father by killing Isogai.

Sources: Earphone Guide Website or Shôchiku Kabuki Official Website

Kataoka Ainosuke, Nakamura Ganjirô, Kataoka Kamezô, Arashi Kitsusaburô, Nakamura Jûjirô, Kataoka Matsunosuke, Kamimura Kichiya, Nakamura Kazutarô, Nakamura Matsue, Nakamura Kamenojô, Nakamura Hashinosuke, Ichikawa Fukutarô, Nakamura Hayato, Nakamura Yonekichi, Nakamura Mantarô, Nakamura Tanenosuke

May Young Actors Kabuki performances at the Meijiza with a troupe led by Kataoka Ainosuke.

Tsukigata Hanpeita: it's near the end of the Tokugawa era. Chôshû Clan's Lord has apparently been seeking a Chôshû-Satsuma alliance against the desperate Tokugawa regime. But Chôshû vassals are divided as to their opinions of this move, as not all are devoted to the idea of the Emperor's restoration. The hero of this play Tsukigata Hanpeita (Kataoka Ainosuke) is on the rebel side. During a fight against loyalists serving the Togukawa regime, he sings a folk song while dueling and fights them with the back of his sword so as not to harm them. But when the severe loyalist Okudaira joins the fray, Tsukigata does not hesitate to kill him. Later, because Tsukigata has meetings with loyalists, the fellow members of his group of rebel call him a spy, which enrages him. Tsukigata is also a notorious customer of the local pleasure quarter where he meets the courtesans Somehachi who regards him as her enemy for she wants to avenge Okudaira. This drama is the story of a master swordsman who harmonizes the lightheartedness of a star in the kuruwa with the seriousness of his violence and his ultimate tragedy.

Renjishi: 3 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 father and a mother 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, in the style of the Umemoto school of Kamigata-mai, features Kataoka Ainosuke (who is the 4th iemoto of the Umemoto school) in the role of the father shishi, Nakamura Kazutarô as the mother shishi and Nakamura Tanenosuke in the role of the cub.

Hakkenden:
(The Eight Dog Warriors)
the original novel is an immense epic by 19th century novelist Takizawa Bakin published over many years, but eventually reaching one-hundred and sixty volumes. The Satomi clan is being attacked and its lord offers his daughter Princess Fuse to the warrior that will bring him the head of the enemy. It is his loyal dog that kills and beheads the enemy and, saying that her father must not go back on his word, Princess Fuse goes with the dog. Nevertheless, the Satomi clan is defeated and one of its loyal retainers goes to rescue Princess Fuse, shooting the dog, but unfortunately shooting Princess Fuse as well. The eight crystal beads of her rosary, each engraved with the Chinese characters of one of the Confucian virtues, goes flying through the air. Miraculously, each will be found with a newborn baby. These eight children, all of whom have the character inu for "dog" in their names, eventually meet and join together to restore the Satomi clan. The play features all the stars of the company and follows the adventures of the eight dog warriors as they meet and gradually join together, leading to a climactic fight on the roof of a dizzyingly high tower. Starring Kataoka Ainosuke in the role of Inuyama Dôsetsu Tadatomo.

Sources: Earphone Guide Website or Shôchiku Kabuki Official Website

Kawarasaki Kunitarô, Arashi Yoshisaburô, Fujikawa Yanosuke, Yamazaki Tatsusaburô, Matsunami Kihachirô, Tadamura Shin'ya, Seiganji Shigemori, Hayase Einojô, Arashi Ichitarô

The usual Zenshinza May program at the National Theatre! "Ura Nagaya Sôdôki" is a newly-created drama which was written by the veteran movie director Yamada Yôji and which was based on two famous rakugo stories, "Rakuda" and "Ido no Chawan".

Living National Treasure Bandô Tamasaburô

Living National Treasure Bandô Tamasaburô performs at the Orchard Hall along with the Kodô taiko drummers in a newly-created dance-drama entitled "Yûgen", which features an array of classical Japanese images from plays by Nô founder Zeami Motokiyo, incorporating themes from iconic works such as "Hagoromo" (The Feather Robe), "Dôjôji" (Dôjôji Temple) and "Shakkyô" (The Stone Bridge). Bandô Tamasaburô shares the stage with the dance master Hanayagi Jusuke IV and his disciples.

Living National Treasure Bandô Tamasaburô

Living National Treasure Bandô Tamasaburô performs in Niigata at the Niigata Kenmin Kaikan (Niigata Prefectural Civic Center) along with the Kodô taiko drummers in a newly-created dance-drama entitled "Yûgen", which features an array of classical Japanese images from plays by Nô founder Zeami Motokiyo, incorporating themes from iconic works such as "Hagoromo" (The Feather Robe), "Dôjôji" (Dôjôji Temple) and "Shakkyô" (The Stone Bridge). Bandô Tamasaburô shares the stage with the dance master Hanayagi Jusuke IV and his disciples.