Yotsuya Ghost Story

東海道四谷怪談

Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan

Overview

by Hashimoto Hiroki
Title

Yotsuya Ghost Story

Writer Tsuruya Nanboku IV
Premiere

July 1825, Edo

Overview

A classic horror story by the great Tsuruya Nanboku IV based on folk tales surrounding the Oiwa Inari Shrine, which still stands in the Yotsuya area of Tokyo. Going beyond the confines of a mere ghost story, the show depicts in realistic detail the underbelly of society in the Edo Period. The show uses characters and elements from the ever-popular Kanadehon Chushingura. It premiered unusually on a double bill with that show, with scenes of each performed in alternative fashion over a two-day period and coming together in a joint conclusion. It is in a sense a parallel version of Chushingura, with vengeance being the final goal of each. The show is now performed as an independent work, but references to Chushingura remain throughout.

 

●main graphic

[from left]Tamiya Iemon(Ichikawa Ebizo)、Oiwa(Nakamura Kantaro) August 2010 Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre

 

●publish on the web February20 2015