Kabuki Plus
Historical background
In the mid 18th century, Otsuki Denzo, a servant of Maeda Yoshinori, a lord in Kaga Province (today’s Ishikawa Prefecture), plotted to take over the household. Working secretly with Yoshinori’s concubine Osada, he had Yoshinori killed, then poisoned the eldest son. He aimed to kill the second son as well, but was exposed by a servant and executed with his fellow schemers in 1757.
Actual sandal beating incident
In 1724, a 21-year-old servant lady Omichi in Edo mistakenly put on the sandals belonging to the head mistress Sawano. Sawano threw the sandal in anger at Omichi, who committed suicide in humiliation. Satsu, a 24-year-old servant to Omichi, refused to let the incident die and killed Sawano for abusing her mistress.
Chushingura and Onoe/Iwafuji/Ohatsu
notable!In the scene in Onoe’s room, Ohatsu advised her mistress not to jump to conclusions as in the famed drama Chushingura (The 47 Ronin). The audience, who would certainly be familiar with this drama, will recognize the similarities of Onoe, Iwafuji and Ohatsu to the characters Enya Hangan, Moronao and Yuranosuke in that perennial hit. This drama is often nicknamed The Women’s Chushingura.
Mysterious life of ladies-in-waiting
The head lady in a lord’s household was in charge of all duties for the lord’s wife. She was assisted by medium-ranking ladies, while servants help the latter take care of matters in the ladies chamber. The Competition scene features a gold-leafed sliding screen with a flower-circle family crest, and the Sandal Beating scene has a large gorgeous reception room surrounded by silver-leafed sliding screen with flaming drum pattern. These settings depict the main chamber of a lord’s home, which commoners would not normally have seen. This play was commonly presented in spring in order to attract ladies-in-waiting, who took their annual leaves in March.
Three unique main roles
notable!Onoe requires grace and strength of conscience to withstand the mistreatment by Iwafuji. In contrast, Iwafuji is an evil role requiring elegance and a combination of gruesomeness and eroticism. It is often played by a male-role actor who does not usually play female roles. Iwafuji’s maids are all performed by male-role actors as well, making the scene somewhat awkward and grotesque. On the other hand, Ohatsu is a young and clever girl and performed by an up-and-coming female-role specialist.
Danmari (pitch-dark scenes)
In the Crow’s Cry scene, the act becomes a danmari fight in the pitch dark. Characters are supposedly searching for each other in the dark, a staging unique to Kabuki. The stylized beauty in slow motion portrays the characters’ emotions.
