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Program / Single Show (4F)
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March Grand Kabuki(March 2 - 28, 2010)
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Today's program features three sections of "SUGAWARA DENJU TENARAI KAGAMI (Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy)." This is a very long play about Sugawara no Michizane (known in this play as Kanshojo), a high-ranking imperial court minister who was a brilliant calligrapher and scholar. Political rivalries forced him to be exiled to distant Kyushu, where he died. But after Michizane's death, he became revered as the god of learning. |
Program I 11:00am
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Act |
Performance Time |
On Sale
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Price
(Yen) |
| 1 |
KAMO ZUTSUMI |
11:00am - 11:30am |
10:30am |
700 |
| 2 |
SANMON GOSAN NO KIRI |
12:00pm - 12:15pm |
11:40pm |
800 |
| 3 |
ONNA SHIBARAKU |
12:45pm - 1:43pm |
12:25pm |
1,000 |
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KAMO ZUTSUMI (The Kamo Riverbank)
Young Sakuramaru serves imperial prince Tokiyo who has fallen in love with Princess Kariya, Michizane’s beautiful daughter. Sakuramaru and his wife Yae are charmed by the affair, since it reminds them of their own love. But the affair is discovered and Michizane’s rivals use it as proof that he is attempting to take over the imperial court. This innocent love affair triggers the tragedies of the play. |
SANMON GOSAN NO KIRI (Goemon and Hisayoshi)
Though short, this play is one of the most visually spectacular in kabuki. The famous villain Ishikawa Goemon enjoys a sea of cherry blossoms while sitting on top the large gate of Nanzen-ji Temple. His enjoyment of the scene is cut short, though, but the appearance below of his arch-nemesis, the general Hisayoshi. |
ONNA SHIBARAKU (Female "Wait a Minute")
More ceremony than play, Shibaraku is one of the oldest pieces in kabuki. Just as an evil villain is about to execute a group of loyal retainers, a voice calls out for him to wait and a hero appears to save the day. This version is a parody, though, as the hero is played by an onnagata female role specialist, who mixes the super-human strength of an aragoto hero with the soft gentleness of a kabuki heroine. |
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Program II 2:30pm
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Act |
Performance Time |
On Sale
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Price
(Yen) |
| 1 |
HIPPO DENJU NO DAN |
2:30pm - 3:58pm |
2:00pm |
1,200 |
| 2 |
BENTEN MUSUME MEO NO SHIRANAMI |
4:13pm - 5:23pm |
3:40pm |
1,300 |
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HIPPO DENJU NO DAN
Michizane, in this play called Kanshojo, after his title, knows that he will soon be exiled. Before he goes, he hands over the scroll of his secrets to his most talented student Genzo. But Genzo was disowned forever for having an affair with Tonami, another servant in the household. Only the intervention of Kanshojo’s wife Sonou-no-Mae saved their lives. Even though Genzo receives his master’s teachings, he is not forgiven. Sugawara is arrested, but as Genzo and his wife leave, they rescue Kanshojo’s young son and take him to safety. |
BENTEN MUSUME MEO NO SHIRANAMI (Benten, the Thief)
Written by Kawatake Mokuami in 1862, this play was inspired by a woodblock print of a sexy young man with tattoos covering his body with a woman's hairstyle and kimono. 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 Nango Rikimaru and the samurai is actually the head of the gang Nippon Daemon.The performance 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.
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Program III 6:00pm
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Act |
Performance Time |
On Sale
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Price
(Yen) |
| 1 |
DOMYOJI
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6:00pm - 7:55pm |
5:30pm |
1,800 |
| 2 |
SHAKKYO |
8:25pm - 9:05pm |
8:05pm |
700 |
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DOMYOJI (Domyoji Temple)
On his way to exile, Kanshojo is allowed to stop at the home of his aunt, Kakuju. There he carves a statue of himself for his aunt. But Princess Kariya is actually Kakuju’s daughter and was adopted by Kanshojo. She has come desperately hoping to say farewell to him, but she is punished severely by Kakuju for having been responsible for Kanshojo’s downfall. At the same time, Kakuju has another daughter, Tatsuta and Tatsuta’s husband Sukune Taro and father-in-law are plotting to assassinate Kanshojo by pretending to be the emissary to take him to exile and then killing him. Miraculously, the statue Kanshojo carved comes to life and saves his life. Finally, when the real emissary Terukuni appears, Kanshojo must part from his family as he goes into exile.
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SHAKKYO (The Stone Bridge)
In Asian tradition, the shishi is not really a lion, but a kind of mythical creature that guards the mythical stone bridge to the heaven of the Buddhist deity Monju. This version of the dance closely follows the classical noh play. A high ranking Buddhist priest travels to China to try to cross the stone bridge into paradise. He encounters a woodcutter and a boy who say that only those with the greatest Buddhist merit can do that. The priest goes to continue his meditation and training. In the second half, the woodcutter and boy reveal themselves as the spirit of the shishi and Monju himself. The shishi shows his power by shaking his mane vigorously.
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| Admission for the entire ticket (Including tax) |
(1F) 15,000yen 11,000yen
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(2F) 15,000yen 11,000yen
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(3F) 4,200yen 2,500yen
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