Kabuki Plus
Moritsuna and Takatsuna
The historical brothers worked for Yoritomo when the latter rose to fight the Heike clan. During the conflict, the brothers separately led major battles, which gave rise to the advance guard in the drama’s Japanese title. The real-life Moritsuna continued to work for the government after Yoritomo’s death, while Takatsuna followed Yoritomo’s brother Yoshitsune into exile, where he became a monk. His whereabouts thereafter are unknown.
Fall of Osaka castle as hidden theme
The hidden theme of this drama is the fall of Osaka castle. The story refers obliquely to events surrounding the elimination of the Toyotomi family in Osaka in 1615, but restrictions by the ever-watchful authorities led the authors to recast the story in the guise of 13th-century history. The drama’s Sakamoto Castle is in actuality Osaka Castle, and Moritsuna, Takatsuna, Wada and Tokimasa all have their real-life counterparts in the Osaka incident. There is a sequel to this drama by Chikamatsu Hanji called Kamakura Sandaiki.
Moritsuna’s costume
Moritsuna wears a special namajime wig and a robe with a four-eyed crest. This crest resembles a six-mon coin as used in the crest of the Sanada family.
Three old-woman roles
notable!Mimyo is regarded as one of the most important old-woman roles in Kabuki along with Kakuji in Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy and Koshiji in Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety (the list is sometimes extended to Koshiji in The Battle of Kawanakajima). All of these works are major history dramas, and the woman are bold characters unafraid to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the household. They are regarded as highly difficult roles for actors specializing in older female characters.
War reporters
These characters appear in period dramas to report on developments on the battlefield. This play features two such roles. The first wears a special costume and comes in via the hanamichi to a percussive sound known as a “far cry” and tells his story to an upbeat shamisen melody. The second reporter is performed more comically. It is often handled by popular younger actors to the delight of the audience.
Head inspection
notable!In both Kabuki and Bunraku, heads are cut off slain warriors or noblemen and inspected by individuals who knew them personally in order to verify them. The head is placed inside a bucket. Other major dramas with inspection scenes include Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy, Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees and Kumagai’s War Camp. In all cases, the heads are not the individual claimed, and the intentions of the characters only later become apparent.
Soul of head inspection
notable!In the head inspection in this drama, Moritsuna wonders why his nephew shouts “Father!” and commits suicide even though the head is clearly not his father’s. He realizes that his nephew was purposely captured as a ruse by the father to fool Tokimasa. Looking at the nephew, he decides to die himself instead of wasting this young boy’s life. Such emotions are not written in the script and must be expressed without words. Kichiemon I once called this the longest and most difficult of the many head inspections in Kabuki. The conflict between the compassion to one’s family and loyalty to one’s master make Moritsuna very human. At the same time, Danjuro IX dismissed the role as a two-minded warrior and played it only once.
Major child roles
Koshiro is a major child role. He must be natural as a young boy in asking his grandmother to save his life, but also resolute and wise in cutting his stomach open to save his father and ensure that the uncle keep his secret. Many actors who played Koshiro later became great actors, and it is interesting to look back at the performance list over the years.
