The drama "Osome Hisamatsu Ukina no Yomiuri" was premiered in the 3rd lunar month of 1813 at the Moritaza [casting].

The drama "Osome Hisamatsu Ukina no Yomiuri" is made up of 3 acts (7 scenes):

Act I, scene 1: within the precincts of the Myôken Shrine in Yanagishima

There are many people at the Myôken shrine. Sashirô meets Yamagaya Seibê there accidentally. Sashirô was on the way to Seibê's home in order to talk with him. Sashirô arranged the marriage of Seibê and Osome, but he has heard that Osome had a lover. Sashirô was worried about it, and he intended to talk about it to Seibê directly. Seibê thinks that it is not likely and Sashirô should not worry about it. He knows that people like to gossip about such a beautiful young girl. Seibê says also that he will visit to Osome's home himself later. Sashirô is relieved and they leave the shrine.

Osome also comes at the shrine with Osono and Hisamatsu. Osome is the beautiful daughter of a wealthy pawnshop, the Aburaya. Osono is a maid of that shop, and Hisamatsu is an apprentice there. Osome has an official fiance, Seibê, nevertheless she and Hisamatsu love each other secretly. Osome and Osono go to the shrine, but Hisamatsu leaves the shrine because he doesn't like to be witnessed in the company of Osome.

Kyûsaku who sells vegetables comes at the shrine, and drops by the tea shop near the precincts. Kyûsaku is an elder brother of Hisamatsu, and he finds Omitsu who comes here as well. Omitsu is the fiancee of Hisamatsu. She's heard the gossip about Hisamatsu and Osome. She is decided to get the truth from Hisamatsu. Kyûsaku stops her meeting Hisamatsu, and makes her go home. Actually Kyûsaku doesn't accept Omitsu as a fiancee of Hisamatsu.

Then, Takekawa comes to the tea shop from the shrine, and she is very glad to meet Kyûsaku accidentally. Takekawa is a lady-in-waiting of the Chiba clan, powerful samurai family. Takekawa's father Ishizu Hisanoshin was a retainer of the Chiba clan, but he committed ritual suicide, because he lost a treasure sword called Goô Yoshimitsu and its certificate. After that, Takekawa's younger brother was adopted by a wet nurse who was Kyûsaku's mother. This younger brother is none other than Hisamatsu. Takekawa is worried about her real younger brother Hisamatsu, and asks Kyûsaku about him. Hisamatsu works for the pawnshop Aburaya as an apprentice in order to search for the sword and its certificate, but he hasn't found them yet. Takekawa asks Kyûsaku to take care of Hisamatsu as well and she leaves the place.

Aburaya Tasaburô comes here. Tasaburô is Osome's elder brother, but he doesn't care about the Aburaya and its business. He just cares of his lover, a geisha named Koito, but recently the Chiba clan's retainer Suzuki Yachûta has started to try to buy Koito. Koito and Yachûta come here, but Koito seems to be with him unwillingly. Tasaburô hides himself. Yachûta and Koito drops by the tea shop, and Yachûta tries to put Koito in a good mood. Yachûta buys a bundle of vegetable, but Koito doesn't care of course. Meanwhile, Kyûsaku goes to the shrine. Yachûta says to Koito to go together to a first-class restaurant, the Hashimotoya, and Koito accepts reluctantly. Yachûta leaves the bundle of vegetable in the tea shop. Tasaburô has watched everything, and he finds Zenroku who is the chief manager of the Aburaya. Tasaburô hands the certificate to Zenroku in order to sell it, and goes to the Hashimotoya, following Koito and Yachûta.

Tasaburô needs money in order to buy Koito before Yachûta. Zenroku successfully sweet-talked to Tasaburô in order to put his hand on the sword certificate to make some money. Zenroku plans to sell the certificate to get enough money, to become the owner of the Aburaya after his wedding with Osome. Zenroku makes the mistake to speak out loud and the apprentice Kyûta has heard everything about this stupid plot. Zenroku gives some money to Kyûta, and says to go to his hometown as soon as possible. Kyûta goes away.

Zenroku finds the bundle of vegetable, which was purchased by Yachûta, and he hides the sword certificate in it. Zenroku's subordinate Kyûsuke comes here, and Zenroku is going to go with him. Kyûsaku stops it, because Zenroku is holding the bundle of vegetable, which was already sold to Yachûta. Zenroku is ready to buy it but Kyûsaku doesn't accept it. They argue, and Kyûsuke finally hits Kyûsaku with his wooden sandal. Kyûsaku's forehead is hurt and his kimono is ripped. Seibê and Taroshichi come here and stop them. Seibê gives some money to Kyûsaku to buy some medicine, and Taroshichi gives a second-hand kimono to replace the ripped one. They all leave the tea shop. The sword certificate is carried by Kyûsaku with the bundle of vegetable.

Act I, scene 2: the Guest Room of the Hashimotoya

Koito is waiting for her lover Tasaburô at the room of the first-class restaurant Hashimotoya. Tasaburô arrives and says that he can make money to buy back Koito's courtesan contract. Tasaburô leaves the restaurant in order to receive money from Zenroku, and Koito also leaves the place.

Tasaburô comes back, looking for Koito, and finds Zenroku and Gonbê, who is a henchman of Yachûta. Yachûta demands the sword certificate to Zenroku, but Zenroku can't say enough excuse. Then, Yachûta demands money that Gonbê should have received from Kimon no Kihê. Gonbê also can't say enough excuse. Yachûta is a retainer of the Chiba clan, and he ordered the villain Kihê to steal the treasure sword and its certificate from Ishizu Hisanoshin. Kihê managed to steal them and brought them to the pawnshop Aburaya to get his reward. Although Kihê got the money, 100 ryô, but he hasn't given that money to Yachûta. They go away to talk about their problem.

Takekawa is also waiting for Hisamatsu at the next room of the Hashimotoya. Hisamatsu arrives at the restaurant to meet his elder sister, and he is watched over by Yachûta. Yachûta talks about it to Zenroku, and Zenroku thinks that there must be Osome in that room, because he knows that Osome also came to the Hashimotoya searching for Hisamatsu. Zenroku goes into the room, but there is Takekawa only. Takekawa is furious with Yachûta and Zenroku.

Act I, scene 3: the Koume Tobacco Shop

Oroku who sells tobacco at Koume has received a letter from Takekawa. She was a maid of Takekawa before. In this letter, Takekawa asks Oroku to find 100 ryô in order to get the treasure sword and its certificate from the Aburaya. Oroku would like to do anything for Takekawa, but she has no way to make such a big amount of money.

Kimon no Kihê, who is Oroku's husband, is on his way to home, and Gonbê speaks to him. Gonbê asks him to give the money, but Kihê says that he can't do it. Kihê has stolen the treasure sword and its certificate. He brought them to the pawnshop Aburaya, and got the money 100 ryô. Kihê did gamble with that 100 ryô, and he had lost all that money. Kihê says that he won't hide himself anywhere. Gonbê iss scared of Kihê, and has no choice but to get away. However, Kihê knows that he needs to make the 100 ryô immediately.

Kihê comes home, and starts drinking sake with Oroku. Then, Kyûsaku comes here to buy some tobacco. He is followed by a hairdresser. Kyûsaku asks the hairdresser to dress his hair. He talks about the events at the shrine. After that, Kyûsaku asks Oroku to repair his ripped kimono, and the second-hand kimono that he's received from Taroshichi.

After the departure of both Kyûsaku and the hairdresser, Kihê and Oroku think up the same thing. There is an unidentified young man who has suddenly died. His dead body was taken into a coffin, and it is near the tobacco shop now. Kihê and Oroku dress the dead body with Kyûsaku's ripped kimono, and shave his forelock. Kihê makes also a scar on the dead body forehead.

Act II, scene 1: at the Aburaya in Kawaramachi

Oroku visites the pawnshop Aburaya, and shows the second-hand kimono to the clerks. She says that her younger brother brought it to her home last night. Oroku worried if he had stolen it, so she asked if his story is true. The chief manager Zenroku says that Oroku's younger brother's story is indeed a true one. There was a squabble, and the second-hand kimono was a way apologize. Oroku suddenly changes her attitude and calls her husband's name, Kihê, who arrives walking near a palanquin.

The unidentified young man's dead body is also in the palanquin. Oroku says that her younger brother died suddenly after he came home. He must have been violently hitten by a clerk. Oroku and Kihê demand some consolation money. Although Zenroku gives some money to them, they refuse to receive it. They demand 100 ryô, the exact amount of money needed by Tatekawa.

Yamagaya Seibê appears on stage and he takes a look to the dead body. The young man has a scar on his forehead, but Seibê finds that he is somehow still alive. Seibê sugggests to cauterize the skin with moxa on that man's body. As a result, that dead man comes back to life. The young man is the apprentice Kyûta. After he received some money from Zenroku, he ate a globe fish (fugu) and got poisoned. Kyûta had lost consciousness until now. There is no reason for Kihê and Oroku to continue their blackmail attempt now. Moreover, Kyûsaku arrives at the Aburaya and says that he found a strange document in his vegetables when he came home last night. He wanted to bring it back here. It is the sword certificate for Goô Yoshimitsu. Seibê is pleased to receive it. Then, Kihê and Oroku leave the Aburaya, carrying a palanquin themselves.

Act II, scene 2: on the 2nd floor behind the Aburaya in Kawaramachi

Osome has locked herself up in the room of Aburaya, because she is worried that she is pregnant. Hisamatsu comes here worrying about Osome. They both become sad with their tragic fate. Then, Teishô who is the widow of Aburaya visites Osome's room. Teishô is the stepmother of both Tasaburô and Osome. After her husband has died, she has treated them well. However she feels that it might not have been enough, because Tasaburô selfishly fell in love and Osome is pregnant. Actually, the Aburaya is in a serious business slump now. So Teishô intends to make Osome marry with Yamagaya Seibê in order to save the Aburaya. Teishô knows that Osome and Hisamatsu love each other, and that Osome is pregnant. Nevertheless, Teishô asks Osome to accept to get married with Seibê. After the departure of Teishô, Osome and Hisamatsu promise to do double suicide (shinjû).

Act II, scene 3: the Storehouse behind the Aburaya in Kawaramachi

Osome leaves the Aburaya to secretly go to the Sumida River in order to meet Hisamatsu. Then, Kimon no Kihê appears on stage, breaking the wall of the dozô and enters it to steal the sword Goô Yoshimitsu. Hisamatsu follows Kihê and they start to fight each other. Hisamatsu finally kills Kihê and rushes to the Sumida River to meet his beloved Osome.

Act III, scene 1: the Travelling Dance at Mukôjima

A palanquin with Osome in it appears on stage. The Palanquin bearers tie their palanquin with a rope in order to keep Osome in. They are on Zenroku's payroll and were ordered to bring Osome somewhere. Hisamatsu tries to stop the palanquin, but he can't succeed. Hisamatsu does not give it up and he chases the palanquin. Then, Omitsu comes on stage. She has gone crazy and follows Hisamatsu. Suddenly Oroku appears on stage. She helps Osome to escape from the palanquin bearers. Then, she prevents Osome and Hisamatsu to commit a double suicide.

This summary was written by Sekidobashi Sakura (October 2003) and Shôriya Aragorô (April 2009)

Iwai Hanshirô V playing the roles of Hisamatsu and Osome in the drama "Osome Hisamatsu Ukina no Yomiuri", comonly called "Osome no Nanayaku" ("Osome's seven roles"), which was staged in the 9th lunar month of 1820 at the Naka no Shibai (print made by Utagawa Kunihiro)

Iwai Hanshirô V and Matsumoto Kôshirô V playing the roles of Dote no Oroku and Kimon no Kihê in the drama "Osome Hisamatsu Ukina no Yomiuri", comonly called "Osome no Nanayaku" ("Osome's seven roles"), which was staged in the 9th lunar month of 1820 at the Naka no Shibai (print made by Utagawa Kunihiro)