Shintomi-za Children’s Kabuki

In the Edo Period, there were a number of small theaters showing plays (kabuki) in and around Ginza, and kabuki was cherished as the culture of ordinary people‘s lives. This culture has been inherited by the Kabukiza Theatre and the Shimbashi Enbujo Theater where it can be enjoyed by many people. Shintomi-za Kodomo (children’s) Kabuki will be performed at Taimei elementary school this year again, with the hope that this culture will thrive even more in Ginza and that it can be enjoyed by anyone. The programs will be “Sannin Kichisa Tomoe no Shiranami” (Three Thieves Named Kichisa) and “Shiranami Gonin Otoko” (Five Thieves). Enjoy the charming performance of young actors.

Time & Date: Sunday, November 3 (public holiday), starts at 1:30 p.m. (doors open at 1:00 p.m.). Length: About 70 min.
Venue: Chuo City Taimei Elementary School (special stage set up at the school yard)
　　　(*In the gymnasium if it rains) (5-1-13 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo)
Admission: Free. Performers: Shintomi-za Children‘s Kabuki
Program
　　　Prologue
　　　Sannin Kichisa Tomoe no Shiranami – Okawabata Koshinzuka no Ba
　　　Shiranami Gonin Otoko – Inasegawa Seizoroi no Ba

Sannin Kichisa Tomoe no Shiranami – Okawabata Koshinzuka no Ba

It was on the night of Setsubun, the day before the beginning of spring. Otose carries the 100 ryo left behind by the previous night‘s guest, and in search of the man she arrives at Okawabata. However, a girl in a long-sleeved kimono arrives, steals the 100 ryo and shoves Otose into the river. That girl was actually the famous Ojo Kichisa disguised as a girl.
Ojo also robs a sword from the moneylender Taroemon who happened to witness the scene and Ojo enjoys feeling the euphoria of the night‘s success. Watching everything from the shadows was the thief Obo Kichisa. The two thieves fight over the 100 ryo and
it was the thief Osho Kichisa who intervened to stop their fight. In the end the two thieves are touched by the chivalry of Osho Kichisa and ask to become sworn brothers. Then, Osho responds to their feelings and the three thieves with the same name of Kichisa drip their blood into a cup, which they drink to enter sworn brotherhood.

Shiranami Gonin Otoko – Inasegawa Seizoroi no Ba

After the theft at the Hamamatsu-ya shop, the band of thieves led by Nippon Daemon came under investigation of the police. The five thieves flee their pursuers and go to the banks of Inasegawa River where cherry blossoms are in full bloom, with the thought of temporarily escaping to Kamakura.
The five dapper men in short-sleeved kimonos carrying coarse oilpaper umbrellas make their final move as they realize they can flee no further, and steel themselves against their fate of falling under the net. As they are surrounded by their pursuers that were lying in ambush, they gracefully hurl defiance with the words “let me be judged” and each reveals their identity before facing their potential captors.
This popular scene is one of the most renowned of Kabuki scenes, acted by the Kabuki anti-heroes created by Kawatake Mokuami.