Ise Dance and Love’s Dull Blade

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Ise Dance and Love’s Dull Blade

July 1796, Osaka

During the Edo Period, when communications relied largely on local newspapers and word of mouth, Kabuki plays played an important role in bringing news, scandals and local customs and lifestyles to the public. In 1796, there was a massacre at the Aburaya pleasure quarters of Furuichi near Ise Shrine, where a doctor stabbed two people to death and injured seven. The incident was soon known nationwide and was dramatized in various works in Ise and Kyoto/Osaka. This play was written by Chikamatsu Tokuzo in just three days after the event as a kiwamono (seasonal piece). There are several production styles. After seeing the original production in Osaka, Bando Hikosaburo III staged the show in Edo in February 1803 in his own style, while another version is performed by the Otowa acting household, including noted actors Kikugoro V and Uzaemon XV.

●main graphic ［from left］Kisuke（Nakamura Baigyoku）、Fukuoka Mitsugi（Kataoka Nizaemon）、Okon（Nakamura Tokizo）　April 2006　Osaka Kabukiza Theatre

●publication date　October 2015