The Tweezers

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The Tweezers

January 1742, Osaka

The Eighteen Select Plays of Kabuki are a collection of famous aragoto plays known as the signature roles of the Ichikawa Danjuro family. They were selected by Danjuro VII in the late Edo Period. Kenuki is an extract from a longer piece, Narukami Fudo Kitayama Zakura, that was staged by Danjuro II in 1742. Two other of the Eighteen Select Plays, Narukami and Fudo, were taken from the same piece. It fell out of the repertory in the late Edo Period, but was revised in 1909 by Oka Onitaro for Ichikawa Sadanji, and has now become a popular piece carrying an enjoyable and classic storyline.

●main graphic ［from left］Hata Minbu（Kawarasaki Gonjuro）、Nishiki-no-Mae（Bando Kametoshi）、Kumedera Danjo（Ichikawa Danjuro）、Ono Harumichi（Otani Tomoemon）、Ono Harukaze（Ichikawa Komazo）、Yatsurugi Genba（Ichikawa Danzo）　April 2005　Kabukiza Theatre

●publication date　 October 2015