Yamatogana Ariwara Keizu (Rampei’s Madness)
A battle between father and son raises questions of duty versus compassion.
Igagoe Dochu Sugoroku (Numazu)
A father begs a favor of his son in exchange for his life
Genpei Nunobiki no Taki (Genji and Heike at Nunobiki Falls)
The Genji clan’s Kiso Yoshikata is gradually cornered by the enemy after a long battle, but a woman’s arm holding the clan’s white flag triggers a miracle.
Hikosan Gongen Chikai no Sukedachi (Keyamura)
A powerful woman disguised as an itinerant monk suddenly appears before a kind youth in the mountains of northern Kyushu.
Kumo ni Magou Ueno no Hatsuhana (Kochiyama & Naozamurai)
A comical villain or guardian of the weak? The impossible-to-hate tea master Kochiyama defeats a selfish lord. Meanwhile, in a completely different subplot, the fugitive samurai Naojiro rushes to meet his lover briefly before escaping forever.
Kokusenya Gassen (The Battles of Koxinga)
An exotic story featuring a hot-blooded hero of Chinese and Japanese descent who goes to battle in a foreign land.
Kamikakete Sango Taisetsu (The Lover’s Pledge)
Loyalty vs. money: a tale of deception ending in gruesome murder. A piece exploring the depth of human emotions.
Hiragana Seisuiki
A tender love story and a heroic tale of loyalty against the background of the epic Genpei war
Yoritomo no Shi (Death of Yoritomo)
A son seeks the truth of his father’s death
Toribeyama Shinju (Love Suicide at Mt. Toribe)
The fate between an obstinate youth and an innocent Kyoto courtesan. A New Kabuki masterpiece strongly redolent of the romantic early 20th-century Taisho Era.
Sesshu Gappo ga Tsuji (Gappo and His Daughter Tsuji)
A woman’s seemingly illicit love for her stepson is not all it seems
Kamakura Sandaiki (Three Generations of Kamakura)
“I shall defeat Tokimasa. I’d even kill my father to serve my lover.” The blind love of the Red Princess.
Shinju Ten no Amijima (Love Suicide of Amijima)
Desperate love between a married man and courtesan, whose struggles with duty and money issues lead to tragedy.
Ehon Taikoki: Amagasaki Kankyo
Mitsuhide thrusts his bamboo spear into the bath, but the victim is unexpected
Full Moon Over the Hachiman Festival
A tragic tale of a capricious Edo geisha and a naïve country textile salesman
Ise Dance and Love’s Dull Blade
Is this an accident or the work of a magic sword? The good intentions of a woman for her lover goes wrong, leading to an unexpected tragedy. A summer drama resembling unfulfilled love.
Genroku Chushingura
A 20th-century updating of Japan’s most famous revenge story
Kiichi Hogen’s Book of Strategy
Rebels on the Genji side carry out an ambitious uprising at the height of Heike rule. Master and follower, father and son, siblings and married couples join together to pave the way for the overthrow of the hated Heikes.
The Renowned Banzui Chobei
“A man has but one life, but his name lasts forever.” Chobei’s manly pride leads him to his death.
The Tale of Shuzenji
A master mask carver foresees the death of his model
The Haunted Sword
Cherry blossoms and oiran courtesans were called the flowers of Yoshiwara. The homely but innocent Jirozaemon falls for their beauty. When he is mistreated, he turns to the seductive glare of the sword.
Sogoro the Fishmonger
The fishmonger Sogoro is serious and sober. When he learns that his sister was punished unjustly, he lets drink get the better of him and attacks his master.
The Tweezers
Amazing work from womanizing detective in midst of succession battle
Princess Kuzunoha
A heartbroken woman abandons her beloved child, leaving behind a note, “If you long for me, come seek me.” In fact, the mother is not what she seems to be.
Dan no Ura Kabuto Gunki
The courtesan Akoya, dressed proudly in her full gorgeous attire, refuses to divulge the whereabouts of her fugitive husband despite intense pressure from authorities. She is forced to play three instruments in a psychological test of wills.
Sanja Matsuri
Muscular men dance in the seaside in a battle among equals.
Hikimado (The Skylight) from Futatsu Chocho Kuruwa Nikki (A Diary of Two Butterflies in the Pleasure Quarters)
A sumo wrestler and his stepbrother find themselves on opposite sides of the law
Benten the Maiden and the Five Thieves
A beautiful woman is not all she appears to be
The Women’s Chushingura
Jealousy and intrigue in the ladies chamber
The Love Story of Izayoi & Seishin
A monk’s love for a courtesan sets him on the path of evil
Moritsuna’s War Camp
A family torn apart by war as brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the battlefield
Ayatsuri Sanbaso
The actor portrays a marionette bound by strings in a delightful harvest dance
Colorful Guises of the Six Immortal Poets
Dance drama with the poetess Ono no Komachi and her suitors
The Stone-Cutting Feat of Kajiwara
A pure-hearted warrior and a miraculous sword
The Treasury of Loyal Retainers
Kabuki’s greatest work
Heike and the Isle of Women, aka Shunkan
Long-awaited pardon eludes Shunkan
The Courier for Hell
A man who has stolen money out of love runs away with his lover, but they cannot escape their destiny.
The Castle Tower
Once-in-a-millennium love of a fairy princess living in a castle tower
Hokaibo
A lovable villain blending evil and winsomeness, a roguish but engagingly free spirit who ends up indeed a spirit. Hokaibo has retained his strange popularity for over two centuries.
Nozaki Village
Osome is desperately in love with Hisamatsu, but the latter is already engaged to the innocent country girl Omitsu. The heartbreaking fate of a three-sided love affair.
Ya no Ne
Soga Goro, ready at any moment to avenge his father’s death, keeps his arrow and wits sharpened even in the midst of New Year’s celebrations. An auspicious drama highlighting the stylized beauty and wit of aragoto.
The Scarlet Princess of Edo
Sweet child and monk, esteemed princess and thief. Two unusual couples whose fates are linked by karma.
Yamato Takeru
A “flying heart” depicted on a grand scale
The Oil-Hell Murder
A money-hungry youth murders a young woman in a brutal scene of blood and oil
The Fight of the Megumi Fire Brigade
Fights and fires are called “the flowers of Edo”. A showdown between firemen and sumo wrestlers is replete with the ambience of old Edo.
Masakado
Princess Takiyasha uses sorcery in an attempt to take over the country on behalf of her rebel father Masakado.
Kasane
The truth about a woman’s lover leads her to a tragic end.
Two Wankyus
“If we could meet in a dream, I would bring our joyful hearts together and dance.” The dream world of a man driven mad by love.
Renjishi
A depiction of a lion’s strict training. The father lion pushes his cub over a ravine into a deep valley, maintaining a strict demeanor but in truth waiting anxiously to see if his son can climb back.
The Spider
A mysterious monk, who has come ostensibly to cure a lord through prayer, is betrayed by his shadow.
Benkei and the Boat
One actor must depict contrasting scenes of sadness and resentment
The Mirror Lion
A lion materializes in the ladies chamber of Edo Castle
Wait a Minute!
A superhero swoops in to save the innocent. An inventive one-act piece that conveys the joyful feel of Genroku Kabuki.
The Heron Maiden
An unrelenting passion leads to doom
The Black Mound
Extreme sadness turns a women into a devil
Sukeroku: Flower of Edo
Edo’s most famous dandy and most beautiful courtesan
First great love suicide drama
First great love suicide drama
Mt Imo and Mt Se: A Tale of Womanly Virtue
Destiny of a love born amid political turmoil
Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy
A masterpiece featuring three interwoven tales of parent-child separation
Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees
Victor becomes the pursued
The Felicitous Soga Encounter
Brothers find their father’s murderer after 18 years of hardship
The Summer Festival
A gruesome murder in mud and water against the backdrop of Osaka’s joyous summer festival
The Three Kichisas
Blood pact by three like-named thieves spirals into tragedy
Yotsuya Ghost Story
A horror story of love, desire and vengeance
The Love Affair of Yosaburo and Otomi
A downtrodden scar-faced gangster reencounters his first love
Kumagai’s Camp – A Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani
A father’s tortured decision
Barrier Gate
Colorful battle between a cherry tree spirit and a rebel aiming to conquer the nation
The Sword and the Sumo Ring
A poor sumo wrestler is saved by a stranger’s compassion
Shinza the Barber
A poetic depiction of commoners in Edo Period life
Japan’s 24 Paragons of Filial Piety
Nothing will stop a princess in love
The Precious Incense and Autumn Flowers of Sendai
Tense battle of wills in the ladies chamber
The Zen Substitute
A husband’s scheme for an illicit rendezvous is discovered by his jealous wife in a popular comedy
Narukami
A beautiful woman is sent to seduce a monk who has locked up the dragon god
The Golden Pavilion
A warrior attempts a hostage rescue against a ruthless insurgent, while a young woman aims to save her struggling husband
The Dish Mansion at Bancho
A chambermaid’s doubts over her lover, a high-ranking official, lead to tragedy
Love Letters from the Pleasure Quarters
Lover's quarrel between a young man and Osaka’s star courtesan
Maple Viewing
A mysterious princess who appears at a maple-viewing party is not all she appears
The Donation List
A servant acts boldly to get his master past Ataka Barrier, the last outpost between freedom and death
The Maiden at Dojoji Temple
Dance piece showing the many facets of love