Kanadehon Chushingura
【仮名手本忠臣蔵】
【KANADEHONCHUSHINGURA】
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“Gion Ichiriki Jaya no ba” (“Act 7”) from “Kanadehon Chushingura”. Suketakaya Kodenji 2nd as Kudayu, Kataoka Nizaemon 13th as Yuranosuke, and Onoe Baiko 7th as Okaru. November, 1986 at the National Theatre. （Y_E0100139000094）
This is a 11-act Jidaimono play about the raid by the Ako Roshi in 1702. It was premiered as a Ningyo-Joruri (puppet play) at Takemotoza Theatre in Osaka in 1748. The play is a collaborative work written by Takeda Izumo, Miyoshi Shoraku and Namiki Senryu. Receiving a critical acclaim, it was revised into a Kabuki play in Osaka in the same year, and during the following year it was performed concurrently at three theatres in Edo.
It is one of the most popular works of all Kabuki repertoire. Therefore, it is said that the play can draw a large audience even when an attendance has been so small at a theatre. There had been a work on the raid by the Ako Roshi before, but “Chushingura” became a definitive version of the subject. Various types of directing and Kata (forms) have been passed down through generations. The work still enjoys great popularity today, and each scene is performed often.
It is one of the most popular works of all Kabuki repertoire. Therefore, it is said that the play can draw a large audience even when an attendance has been so small at a theatre. There had been a work on the raid by the Ako Roshi before, but “Chushingura” became a definitive version of the subject. Various types of directing and Kata (forms) have been passed down through generations. The work still enjoys great popularity today, and each scene is performed often.
