The Scarlet Princess of Edo

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The Scarlet Princess of Edo

March 1817, Edo

This was written by the esteemed Tsuruya Nanboku IV at the peak of his career at age 63. It is a retelling of the much-told story of the monk Seigen and Princess Sakura but is transformed by Nanboku’s artistry, such as Sakura’s mixture of noble speech with that of a cheap prostitute after she is sold to a brothel. The princess in this play is believed to be modeled on a real prostitute who, some ten years earlier, reportedly worked in a brothel in Edo’s Shinagawa district. She called herself the daughter of a Kyoto aristocrat, dressed like a court lady and wrote poetry for her clients. The premiere featured the popular Iwai Hanshiro V (42) as Princess Sakura, while Ichikawa Danjuro VII (27) played both the monk and the rapist. Despite a highly successful run, there is no record of a revival during the Edo Period. It was finally brought back over a century later in March 1927 with Nakamura Kichiemon I as Seigen and Nakamura Tokizo III as Sakura. The present template for the show was created in March 1967 at the newly built National Theater, rewritten and directed by Gunji Masakatsu and performed by Nakamura Jakuemon IV as Sakura. The teenaged Bando Tamasaburo, today a Living National Treasure, played the monk’s young acolyte with the appropriate adolescent sexiness. In a revival eight years later (June 1975), he made a dramatic leap to the role of Princess Sakura. This production, which also starred Ebizo (later Ichikawa Danjuro XII) and Takao (later Kataoka Nizaemon XV), cemented the piece’s popularity in the repertory.

●main graphic ［from left］Princess Sakura（Nakamura Fukusuke）、Seigen（Kataoka Ainosuke）　August 2012　Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre

●publication date　January 2016