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| Curtain time: 12:00 noon (except 9th (Fri) and 16th(Fri)) 4:30 PM (9th (Fri) and 16th(Fri)) No performance on 11th (Sun) |
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ICHINOTANI FUTABA GUNKI (Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani)
Namiki Sosuke (1695 – 1751) is famous as one of the three playwrights that wrote the classic “Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy,” “Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees” and “Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers” for the puppet theatre. His final play, “Ichinotani Futaba Gunki,” first performed in 1751 is known for its scene at Kumagai’s battle camp and is a great masterpiece that is performed frequently in Bunraku and kabuki. The National Theatre continues its celebration of its 45th anniversary with a definitive production of this classic scene as well as a revival of two acts that have not been performed in kabuki in many years. In the scene at the Horikawa palace (last performed 98 years ago), the Heike clan has fled Kyoto and the Genji general Yoshitsune must recover the three imperial regalia. He plans to do so by showing mercy to the imperial court and the Heike clan. Yoshitsune gives a veiled order to the warrior Kumagai to spare the life of the young Heike general Atsumori because he is actually the son of the retired emperor. He also tries to see that the Heike warrior Tadanori gets his final wish to have a poem included in an imperial anthology, even though it must be labeled “poet unknown” because the Heike clan has now been designated enemies of the imperial court. Yoshitsune sends Okabe no Rokuyata to take this message to Tadanori. The “Nagashi no Eda (Flowing Branch)” scene was last performed in kabuki in 1975 and continues the story of Tadanori, a famous historical figure who was a model of a warrior and a poet and is the subject of a famous classical Noh play. In this scene, Tadanori encounters Okabe no Rokuyata who eventually killed Tadanori in battle. The scene combines foreshadowing of Tadanori’s actual death with his romance with the daughter of the poet Shunzei and develops the theme of magnanimity and severity in wartime. Finally, the famous scene at Kumagai’s battle camp shows the anguish of Kumagai as he finds that the only way he can save the life of Atsumori is by sacrificing his own son. |
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