2026年2月– date –

Sagi Musume (The Heron Maiden) – Overview Sagi Musume is a classic Kabuki dance that tells a tragic love story through the image of a white heron spirit. The work expresses the pain and obsession of unfulfilled love by blending human emo...

Kotobuki Soga no Taimen 寿曽我対面 (Kotobuki Soga no Taimen) Kotobuki Soga no Taimen is one of the most famous and celebratory works in Kabuki theatre, based on the real historical revenge carried out by the Soga brothers, Jūrō and Gorō,...

Shunkyō Kagamijishi（春興鏡獅子）Overview Shunkyō Kagamijishi (Spring Mirror Lion) is one of the New Kabuki Eighteen Plays and a representative masterpiece of lion dance (shishi-mono) in kabuki. Often referred to simply as Kagamijishi, t...

In a previous blog post, I wrote how irresistible both the morning and afternoon programs of the May Grand Kabuki—the farewell performances at Osaka Shochikuza—looked, and how I wanted to see them both!! Now, the same dilemma has struck ...

Is Kabuki Worth Watching for Tourists? To be honest,at first I thought kabuki might be difficult and boring for foreign visitors. It looks long.The language is Japanese.And the rules feel unfamiliar. Many first-time visitors worry about ...

I had the pleasure of watching “Kyōganoko Musume Ninin Dōjōji.” February 2009.The “Farewell to the Kabuki-za” performances marked the final days of the old Kabuki-za theater before its reconstruction.I watched on DVD Kyōganoko Musume Nin...

Kuruwa Bunsho: Yoshidaya – Overview Kuruwa Bunsho: Yoshidaya is a play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, adapted from the Yoshidaya scene of Yugiri Awa no Naruto. It tells the story of the romance between Yugiri, a courtesan of Osaka’s Shinmachi ...

Aragoto in Kabuki: An Easy Explanation for Beginners What Is Aragoto? Aragoto in Kabuki is a bold and powerful performance style created in the Genroku period by the first Ichikawa Danjūrō. It portrays a heroic figure with superhuman str...

Wagoto in Kabuki: An Easy Explanation for Beginners What Is Wagoto? Wagoto in Kabuki is a performance style established in the Genroku period by the first Sakata Tōjūrō, who was active in the Kyoto–Osaka region. It portrays characters wh...

Shibaraku: The Origin of Japan’s Kabuki Hero Shibaraku is one of the most famous and iconic Kabuki plays, often described as the origin of Japan’s hero stories.It is part of the Kabuki Juhachiban (Kabuki Eighteen Classics) and a 대표 wor...