My name is Shimamura and I am the manager of Premium Japan's kimono department. The Kimono Club regularly holds events to enjoy Japanese culture in kimono, but this time it was held at the Kabuki-za. That's because I heard that two big stars, Nizaemon Kataoka and Tamasaburo Bando, will be performing together in the night section of April Kabuki. In particular, Tamasaburo hinted at retiring from the big stage last year, so I wonder if this will be their last time together at the Kabukiza. Fans flocked to the venue and bought premium tickets.

We watched it at night. The performance was as follows.

Tamasaburo's comedienne skills are in full bloom!
Osomehisa Matsukina no Yomiuri
It is commonly known as ``Osome no Shichiyaku,'' and is originally a play that allows you to enjoy rapid changes. This time, it was not a complete Kyogen performance, but two scenes from the Kyogen series, ``Oroku on the Bank'' and ``Kimon no Kihei''. There is also no quick change. Among female actors, the role of a woman who does evil things without any qualms is called an akuba, and this time Tamasaburo's role, Oroku, is exactly that. The scene of cutting the cracks is very impressive and refreshing. However, it was very funny to see how they reacted as soon as their misdeeds were discovered, and there were chuckles and laughter from the audience. I realized once again that Tamasaburo is actually a very talented actor who is also a comedienne!

They are now a couple! Be enchanted by the beauty of the Nizatama duo
Kanda Festival
The festival of Kanda Myojin Shrine is called "Tenka Matsuri". Then, a little tipsy, came Nizaemon-sama, a tobi-headed man. Perfect for a stylish and stylish Tobigashira. Tamasaburo is a stylish geisha with short legs. It's cute to see how the two go to the master's house to greet them as husband and wife, and to use dance to express the scene, and to see them flirting (in Kabuki, flirting is called jaratsuku or jarajara). If you look at the way they look close to each other at Shichisan on Hanamichi... This face turns red! Their interactions with the young people at the festival are so youthful that you forget how old they are! beauty! is. After all, the Nizatama duo was the best.

The flower shape is also very active. A number of eye-pleasing dances
four seasons
Four dance themes that beautifully depict Japan's four seasons. Young performers wearing gorgeous costumes display the four seasons in a gorgeous manner. It is said to be the posthumous work of Takeko Kujo, a beautiful poet who is considered one of the three beauties of the Taisho era. In ``Spring Paper Hina,'' the stage goes dark and is suddenly enveloped in light, and Kikunosuke Onoe's Hina dolls and Ainosuke Kataoka's Dairi-sama appear, creating a dazzling display. The five musicians also danced happily, creating a fantastical piece.

``Summer Tamashii Festival'' is set during the summer of Gion, during the Gozan Okuribi festival. Shikan Nakamura plays the young master of the village, and Kotaro Nakamura plays the maiko, making me think of a gentle summer in Kyoto.

“Autumn Kinuta” is set in China. Inspired by a poem by Li Bai, a wife beats her cloth with a kinako, thinking of her husband who is far away, and dances in the lonely autumn evening. The woman who expresses the loneliness of late autumn is Kotaro Kataoka.

Lastly, ``Fuyu Kogare'' is a very fun dance. The worms were created by Matsumori Onoe and Kamezo Bando. The leaves of the trees, which are disturbed by the tree-killing, are filled with the star performers of today. In particular, the dancing by Mr. Matsumori's son, Sakon Onoe, was amazing! Mr. Sankai's dragonflies were also sharp and worth seeing.

Familiar picture signs are hung on either side of Kabukiza's main entrance, creating an old-fashioned and glamorous atmosphere reminiscent of an Edo playhouse, along with the exterior of the building. Each picture depicts the main characters for each day and night program, and provides a glimpse of the story.

All of them are large-format hand-drawn paintings, and the technique and composition are different from the nishiki-e (multicolor prints) familiar to artists such as Sharaku and Kunisada. While Nishiki-e became popular for its large neck paintings and caricatures that took advantage of the actors' characteristics, picture signboards conveyed the overall image of the play and the actors, and their facial expressions were depicted in gentle, curved faces that were almost uniform.

Picture signboards for playhouses began in the Genroku era by Torii Kiyomoto, the founder of the Torii school, and have a history of over 300 years, but the person currently painting the picture signboards for the Kabukiza theater is the first female artist of the Torii school. This is Kiyomitsu Torii.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, people were seated at intervals, so you couldn't feel the glamor of Kabuki, but Kabukiza is now packed with people of all ages, men and women, many wearing kimono, regardless of age or nationality. I was able to spend an elegant time for 4 hours from 3:XNUMX in the evening. Compared to the last time I saw it, there were more easy-to-understand performances and dances, and the tone of the costumes, stage settings, and direction seemed more modern. I thought it was changing little by little to accommodate inbound guests, but I think the best thing is that Kabuki, which represents traditional Japanese culture, will be popular.

Also, Nizaemon, 80 years old, and Tamasaburo, 73 years old. It was a wonderful stage performance that didn't make you feel your age. Even in 52, when Nizaemon played his first role as a Tobigashira in the Kanda Festival, the role of a geisha was still played by Tamasaburo. In an interview with Nizaemon on the Kabukiza official website, he said the following.

Tamasaburo, who co-stars with him, is ``an objectively wonderful actor who I get to know the most.'' Kanya the 14th, who was Tamasaburo's adoptive father, and his own father (Nizaemon the 13th) were also good friends, and he said, ``We had a very similar way of looking at acting.'' We can understand each other,'' he continues, giving a sense of the deep trust and bond between the two of them. "I talk to Tamasaburo all the time. I'm really grateful that he's said he wants to see this duo for over half a century now," he said.

A total of 12 people participated on the day, including members of the kimono club. After all, going to see Kabuki in a kimono makes you feel good! According to people in the kimono industry, opportunities to wear kimono are decreasing rapidly, and are they worried that the kimono will become extinct? I'm worried.

I think the kimono is the best way for Japanese women to look beautiful even as they age, and from my personal experience, I was surprised by the reaction when I wore a kimono overseas.

Although there are hurdles such as various rules such as patterns and materials that match the season, and the difficulty of dressing, I would like to have more opportunities to wear them casually.

Stay tuned for future events from Premium Japan Kimono Club!