Onoe Kikugorô, Kataoka Nizaemon, Nakamura Kanzaburô, Nakamura Tomijûrô, Nakamura Shikan, Nakamura Tokizô, Matsumoto Kôshirô, Nakamura Baigyoku, Nakamura Kaishun, Nakamura Fukusuke, Ichikawa Danshirô, Nakamura Kinnosuke, Kataoka Takatarô, Nakamura Tôzô, Kawarasaki Gonjûrô, Nakamura Kashô

11th of the 16 Kabukiza Sayonara Kôen, the Kabukiza Farewell Performances, which will be held up to April 2010. The play "Kanadehon Chûshingura" (The Treasure of 47 Loyal Retainers) is the most popular in the Kabuki repertory and is known throughout the world.

Kabuto Aratame/Shinmotsu/Ninjô: daimyô lords from around the country gather for an important ceremony in the presence of Tadayoshi, the younger brother of the Shôgun. Under the watchful eye of the official Moronô (Nakamura Tomijûrô), lords En'ya Hangan (Nakamura Kanzaburô) and Wakasanosuke (Nakamura Baigyoku) have been charged with making sure everything goes according to protocol. En'ya Hangan's wife Kaoyo (Nakamura Kaishun) is asked to identify a helmet to be used in the ceremony. Moronô is in love with Kaoyo and tries to woo her, but Wakasanosuke stops him. In return, Moronô uses his position of authority to berate the young lord and Wakasanosuke decides to kill Moronô. But the next morning at the Shôgun's mansion, Wakasanosuke's head retainer bribes Moronô to keep his master from causing an incident and although Wakasanosuke is about to attack Moronô, the aged official groveling stops him. As a result, though, Moronô is frustrated and angry and vents his feelings on En'ya Hangan, especially after Hangan innocently brings him a letter in which Kaoyo refuses Moronô's love. Moronô steadily insults Hangan, who tries to ignore the pressure, but finally draws his sword and attacks. Drawing a sword in the Shôgun's palace is a crime punishable by death, but Moronô himself escapes with only a slight wound as others within the mansion hurry in to stop Hangan.

Hangan Seppuku/Shiro Akewatashi: emissaries from the Shôgun arrive at En'ya Hangan's mansion to announce that he has received the strictest penalty for his actions. He is ordered to commit ritual suicide and his household is to be disbanded. Hangan's hate for Moronô grows when he hears that Moronô has received no punishment. Hangan waits and waits for his head retainer, but he does not arrive. Finally, Hangan plunges in the blade. At that moment, his head retainer Yuranosuke (Matsumoto Kôshirô) arrives from their home province. With his last breaths, Hangan gives Yuranosuke the knife he used to commit suicide and tells him to take revenge. Now that the clan has been disbanded, Hangan's men become masterless samurai. Though some urge an immediate attack on Moronô, Yuranosuke bids them not to do anything rash. When alone in front of the closed mansion gates, though, he secretly reveals his determination that his lord will not have died in vain. Featuring Kataoka Nizaemon and Ichikawa Danshirô in the roles of Ishidô Umanojô and Yakushiji Jirozaemon.

Ochiudo: after the death of his lord, the retainer Kanpei (Onoe Kikugorô) and his lover, the lady-in-waiting Okaru (Nakamura Tokizô) flee to Okaru's home, a farmer's house in the country. Kanpei feels responsible for the events since he was having a romantic tryst and was not at his master's side at the crucial moment. He tries to commit suicide, but Okaru stops him and convinces him that they should go to her home as husband and wife and wait for the right moment for him to be reinstated.

Teppô Watashi/Futatsudama/Kanpei Harakiri: Kanpei (Onoe Kikugorô) lives a poor life with Okaru (Nakamura Tokizô) at her parents' rural home. Kanpei desperately wants to take part in the vendetta against Moronô, but must come up with the money necessary to finance his part in it. Secretly, Okaru and her family decide that the only way to raise the money is to sell her to the pleasure quarters. On a lonely highway, a highway thief named Sadakurô (Nakamura Baigyoku) kills her father while he is on the way home from sealing the deal and the money is stolen. In a bizarre twist of events, Kanpei kills the robber while hunting on a dark night and finds the money. The fabric of the wallet, though, seems to prove that he has murdered his father-in-law. Kanpei commits ritual suicide to take responsibility, not only for the death of this father-in-law, but also for being absent when his lord needed him most.

Gion Ichiriki Jaya: Yuranosuke (Kataoka Nizaemon) spends his days and nights in the pleasure quarters of Kyôto in an effort to make Moronô believe he is not planning a vendetta. His acting is so good that even men in his own group believe he has given his life up to pleasure. Moronô is not so easily convinced, though, and has sent spies, including a former retainer of En'ya Hangan, to find Yuranosuke's true intentions. Yuranosuke finds himself tested to the limits by the spy, and is even forced to eat meat on the anniversary of Hangan's death, a strong taboo. Okaru (Nakamura Fukusuke), now a courtesan, is also at the Ichiriki Teahouse. She catches a glimpse of a letter to Yuranosuke detailing plans for the vendetta, but he sees her and offers to buy out her contract, knowing he must kill her to keep the vendetta a secret. Okaru's brother Teraoka Heiemon (Matsumoto Kôshirô), a servant in the Hangan household, has also come to the teahouse and when he hears that Yuranosuke is to buy out her contract, he realizes his true intentions. Heiemon tries to convince Okaru to let him kill her as such an act may allow him to take part in the vendetta as well. Hearing that Kanpei is now dead, Okaru agrees, but observing their loyal actions, Yuranosuke spares Okaru and allows Heiemon to join the vendetta.

Uchiiri/Okuniwa Sensui/Sumibeya/Ryôgokubashi Hikiage: disguised as firemen, En'ya Hangan's retainers attack Moronô's mansion on a snowy night. After a fierce fight, they find Moronô hiding in a charcoal shed and take revenge for their lord's wrongful death. Featuring Kataoka Nizaemon, Nakamura Baigyoku, Nakamura Kashô and Nakamura Kinnosuke in the roles of Yuranosuke, Hattori Itsurô, Kobayashi Heihachirô and Takemori Kitahachi.

Source: Earphone Guide website

Sakata Tôjûrô, Ichikawa Danjûrô, Nakamura Shibajaku, Nakamura Senjaku, Nakamura Kanjaku, Bandô Hikosaburô, Bandô Yajûrô, Kataoka Ichizô, Ichikawa Unosuke, Nakamura Kikaku, Bandô Kamesaburô, Bandô Shingo, Ôtani Keizô

Uirô Uri: there are many plays based on the revenge by the Soga brothers on Kudô Suketsune, the man that arranged to have their father killed. In this particular play, this dramatic fight is transformed into light fantasy by showing one of the Soga brothers disguised as a peddler of uirô, a medicine that makes it possible to speak quickly and elegantly. The highlight of the play is a long speech full of puns and wordplays. Starring Ichikawa Danjûrô as the peddler.

Domo Mata: the artist Matahei has been refused a professional name because of his stuttering. He makes a poor life by drawing folk paintings and decides to make one last effort to gain respectability. His wife Otoku, who is given as much to chatter as Matahei is silent, pleads his case. Turned down again by his master, Matahei decides to take his life. He draws a farewell portrait of himself, a painting so skillful that the lines seep through solid rock and this miracle convinces his master to confer a professional name. Starring Ichikawa Danjûrô as Matahei and Sakata Tôjûrô as his wife Otoku.

Ôtsue Dôjôji: "Musume Dôjôji" or "The Maiden at Dojoji Temple" is the most famous dance to display the alluring charm of an onnagata female role specialist and has inspired many variations. It shows the ghost of a woman who was transformed into a serpent out of passion and destroyed a temple bell. In this particular version, a mysterious figure appears as various characters famous from the cartoon like pictures called ôtsue before revealing that this is the woman of the "Dôjôji" story. Featuring Sakata Tôjûrô in the 5 roles of this hengemono and Nakamura Kanjaku in the role of the Demon Queller.

Source: Earphone Guide website

Ichikawa Ukon, Ichikawa Danjirô, Ichikawa Emisaburô, Ichikawa Emiya, Ichikawa Juen, Ichikawa Shun'en, Ichikawa En'ya, Ichikawa Kôtarô

Takashima Yakata: the story is about Kanô Shirôjirô Motonobu (Ichikawa Emiya), a samurai who serves at the Palace of the Rokkaku Family in Takashima (province of Ômi). Princess Ichô-no-Mae (Ichikawa Shun'en), the daughter of Rokkaku Yorikata, is in love with Motonobu. Nagoya Sanza, a senior retainer of the Rokkaku clan, helped the girl to make Motonobu exchange a cup of sake with Princess Ichô-no-Mae, which means that the marriage between the two is concluded. Unfortunately for them, the evil and jealous Fuwa no Dôken (Ichikawa En'ya), the senior retainer of the Rokkaku family and the father of Fuwa Banzaemon (the arch enemy of Nagoya Sanza), also covets her. He covers Motonobu with a false charge and makes him arrested. Tied to a pillar, Motonobu draws with his own blood the image of a tiger on a sliding paper-door. The image is such a masterpiece that the tiger takes on life, begins to move, picks up Motonobu on its back and disperses the enemies.

Takeyabu: this scene is a spectacular tachimawari in a bamboo grove, outside the moat of the Rokkaku palace. Utanosuke (Ichikawa Danjirô), a young artist of the Kanô school and a disciple of Motonobu, tries unsuccessfully to fight the soldiers of Fuwa no Dôken to protect Princess Ichô-no-Mae, who had run away from the Palace with Motonobu.

Domo Mata: the artist Matahei (Ichikawa Ukon) has been refused a professional name because of his stuttering. He makes a poor life by drawing folk paintings and decides to make one last effort to gain respectability. His wife Otoku (Ichikawa Emisaburô), who is given as much to chatter as Matahei is silent, pleads his case. Turned down again by his master, Matahei decides to take his life. He draws a farewell portrait of himself, a painting so skillful that the lines seep through solid rock and this miracle convinces his master to confer a professional name. Featuring Ichikawa Juen as Matahei's master Tosa Shôgen Mitsunobu and Ichikawa Kôtarô as Tosa Shûrinosuke.

Source: Earphone Guide website, except "Takashima Yakata" and "Takeyabu"

Onoe Kikunosuke, Ichikawa Kamejirô, Kataoka Ainosuke, Onoe Shôroku, Ichikawa Somegorô

Kamikakete Sango Taisetsu: this play is a blend of "Chûshingura" with its tangled stories of loyalties and masterless samurai that ultimately avenge their master's death and the story of "Godairiki", about the love between a geisha named Koman and the samurai Satsuma Gengobê which is spoiled by the jealousy of a man named Sangorô. Sasano Sangorô (Onoe Kikunosuke) is married to Koman (Ichikawa Kamejirô), but she becomes a geisha to help him to raise the money to help his lord, a man that he has never seen. In the pleasure quarters the samurai Satsuma Gengobê (Ichikawa Somegorô) falls in love with her and spends huge sums of money on her, despite the fact that he needs money for the sake of the "Chûshingura" vendetta. Finally Gengobê gets money and Sangorô and Koman decide to defraud him of the money, which results in a massacre in the pleasure quarters. Ironically, Gengobê is none other than the unknown master for whom Sangorô was trying to raise money. This story of passion and greed takes place against the background of inexplicable fate and the strict requirements of samurai society and adds ample doses of sardonic humor, the perfect play for our times.

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 Kataoka Ainosuke and Onoe Shôroku 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.

Sannin Kichisa:
(Three Thieves Named Kichisa)
The playwright Kawatake Mokuami excelled at portrayals of thieves and this short scene, with its music and poetic lines, is one of his most famous. A beautiful young woman helps out a woman who is lost on the road. But she is actually Ojô Kichisa, a male thief who is disguised as a woman. He steals an immense sum of money that the woman is carrying and this leads to an encounter on this riverbank of three thieves, all with the name Kichisa. The two others Kichisa are Oshô Kichisa, a bonze turned thief, and Obô Kichisa, an ex-samurai turned thief Though they start out as rivals, they decide to become blood brothers and form a gang. Featuring Onoe Kikunosuke as Ojô Kichisa, Onoe Shôroku as Oshô Kichisa and Kataoka Ainosuke as Obô Kichisa.

Onizoroi Momijigari:
(The Autumn Leaves and the Demon of Mt. Togakushi)
This dance is a modern adaptation of a colorful Kabuki play based on an austere Nô classic. The aristocrat Koremochi (Onoe Shôroku) has travelled to view the autumn leaves and encounters a beautiful princess (Ichikawa Kamejirô) and her entourage. The entire party of beautiful women turns out to be vicious demons and attack Koremochi after lulling him to sleep with a beautiful dream-like dance.

Source: Earphone Guide website

Bandô Tamasaburô

A special Buyô program starring the amazing onnagata Bandô Tamasaburô in Yamaga at the Yachiyoza, a traditional wooden-built theater, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of its opening.

Kôjô: the close relationship between the actors and the audience is shown by these stage announcements, lavish ceremonies to commemorate various important events. This time, Bandô Tamasaburô talks about the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Yachiyoza.

Musume Dôjôji: a beautiful young woman dances under cherry blossoms at a dedication ceremony for a temple bell. She dances the many aspects of a woman in love, but is actually the spirit of a serpent, driven to destroy the bell out of jealousy. In addition to being the most famous of all Kabuki dances, "Musume Dôjôji" is considered to be the pinnacle of the art of the onnagata. The role of the shirabyôshi is played by Bandô Tamasaburô.

Source: Earphone Guide website

Nakamura Kichiemon, Nakamura Shibajaku, Ichikawa Danshirô, Nakamura Kinnosuke, Nakamura Karoku, Nakamura Kashô

36th edition of Koten Geinô Kanshô Kai (literally the "Classics Entertainment Appreciation Association"), a yearly performance produced by the National TV network NHK. The program includes one kyôgen, one Kabuki play, one traditional dance and traditional music.

Source: Earphone Guide website