Second taste of Kabuki

My second time watching Kabuki was a much better experience. I went last Sunday with my aunt to the Shimbashi Enbujo theatre in Ginza.

This time, I wore headphones that provided an English translation and explained certain elements of the story or of Japan's history, relevant to the play. I did understand a lot more thanks to the headphones but I also found it quite distracting. At the same time as I'm trying to listen to the actors, I have a translation in English playing in my ear. And you can't focus on both. I tried. So I would go 50/50, first listen to the English translation, and as soon as there was a pause, try to decipher the Japanese the actors were talking. Overall, I understood 100% more than my first time (where I didn't understand a thing). I did fall asleep a few times... it's just so hot in there, and having to focus so hard to understand is quite exhausting.

We actually saw two different plays along with a kojo ceremony in between.

To give you an idea of what Kabuki plays are about, here are the summaries of the two plays I saw with my aunt on Sunday, recopied from the translated English pamphlet I received. (Therefore, I do not own these summaries.)

1. Ogurusu no Chobei (Chobei of Ogurusu Village): A modern comedy by Okamoto Kido (1872-1939) about a famous historical event. The village of Ogurusu is famous as the place where Akechi Mitsuhide met his death. Mitsuhide assassinated his master, the warlord Nobunaga, but after only ten days of ruling Japan, was killed himself, passing control to Hideyoshi. The farmer Chobei is the bad boy of the village and the object of everyone's laughter and contempt, until a samurai comes and hails Chobei as a hero for killing Mitsuhide.

2. Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees): This is Ennosuke's signature piece, full of fast changes, acrobatics and his trademark flight through the air. A magical fox takes the guise of a warrior named Tadanobu in order to get close to a precious drum made from the skins of his fox parents. But his mysterious activities throw suspicion on the real Tadanobu and finally the fox reveals his true identity. In the end, he flies away joyously when he receives the drum.

Both were very interesting and well played. I especially liked the last one because the actor who played the fox would leap into the air, or fall down from the ceiling, and at the end flew up away on a cable.

In between the two plays, there was a special kojo ceremony. According to the pamphlet : "Kojo is the essential part of the ceremony that makes up a kabuki actor's name taking performance."

During the ceremony, names are passed down. For example, "Ennosuke III is passing on his name to his nephew Kamejiro, who will become Ennosuke IV while Ennosuke himself will become En'o II."

I don't understand how it all works but what I learned is that Kabuki is generally passed down from one generation to the next, creating actor lines. Therefore, a Kabuki troup is mostly made up of blood relatives, with a few adopted actors as well. Kabuki actors usually make their debut on stage as children or in their early twenties at the latest.

Announcing the kojo ceremony

We weren't technically allowed to take pictures during the play but I took this one secretly.
You can see an actor to the right (in red) as well as the beautiful stage decor.

Little paper hearts that fell down from the ceiling at the end of the presentation.

My aunt Shizuko (left) with two friends