Hello, this is Kikunojo Onoe.

Last time, I talked about the "Onoue-kai," where members of the school of Noh theater showcase the results of their training. There, my eldest son, Yoshito Hatori, made his debut as "Onoue Kotoya." He is currently 9 years old and in the 4th grade of elementary school. In April, he was given the important role of Tsuruchiyo, the young lord of the Ashikaga family, in the Kabuki-za production of "Ura Omote Sendai Hagi," and we, his parents, were more nervous than our son. This time, as a special edition, we will share Kotoya's diary. Our son has just started a new chapter in his life, so we ask for your continued support.

Hello, my name is Kotoya Onoue.

This time, I'd like to speak on behalf of my father about the Onoe-kai in January and the Kabuki-za in April.

Until now, I had been performing on stage under my real name, Yoshito Hatori, but on January 12th of this year, at the Onoe-ryu school's naming ceremony, I received the name Kotoya Onoe. The "Koto" in Kotoya comes from "Kotojiro," the name my great-grandfather, the first Kikunojo Onoe, used when he was a Kabuki actor, and the youthful character "ya" was added to it. My parents decided on the name together, and I really like it. However, on the day of the naming ceremony, I felt a strong connection to my great-grandfather, and I was very nervous.

Then, on January 30th and 31st, she made her official debut at the "Onoue-kai" performance at the Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre.

The piece I performed was "Tamato" (The Jade Rabbit). It was a piece I learned in my first lesson when I was three years old, so I remembered some of the choreography for the first half. However, it was my first time dancing it on stage. It was also my first time dancing barefoot in a costume that showed almost all of my feet. It was difficult to turn around in barefoot because it was hard to slip. It was also difficult to lower my hips in certain parts. Ms. Murasaki (Kikunojo's older sister) helped me with the lessons, and my father taught me things like eye contact during stage rehearsals.

My performance was scheduled for the 31st, but my older sister (Onoe Tsubaki) fell ill and had to take a break, so I ended up dancing "Tamato" on the 30th as well. The day before, I was more worried about my sister, who had a fever of over 40 degrees Celsius, than nervous about being on stage. We were performing on different days, but I was sad that we couldn't have our debut performance together, as I had hoped we could.

On the morning of the 30th, I was practicing alone when my mother told me, "You're getting tired, maybe you should stop." I guess I was getting a little nervous after all. I was most nervous about an hour before the show, when I had put on my costume and wig. When the curtain rose, all my nervousness was gone. And I was so happy to hear the audience's loud applause. The applause turned into power!

On the first and second days, the narrator (of the Kiyomoto style) was different, the audience's applause was slightly different, and even though it was the same stage, it felt completely different. On the first day, I had lowered my hips quite a bit, so by the end of the second day, my legs were starting to tremble. Even so, I personally felt that I was able to concentrate better on the second day, but everyone told me that the first day was better. My father was busy during the performance and I didn't see him much, but the next day he said, "It was great!"

This was Kotoya's debut performance, and it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I savored every moment of the dance. For two days, the joy far outweighed any nervousness or fatigue! Thank you to everyone who came to watch!

"I'm going to try acting at the Kabuki-za Theatre!"

Something else amazing happened the day before the Onoe-kai performance. The eighth generation Onoe Kikugoro called my father and asked if he would like to play Tsuruchiyo in "Ura Omote Sendai Hagi." Performing for a month at the Kabuki-za was a dream come true, so I was incredibly happy!

I had the opportunity to perform in Kabuki once, in Kenken's (Onoe Ukon's) "Ken no Kai," playing Ichimatsu in "Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami" (August 2023, Asakusa Public Hall). There was a scene where I had to sit on a bench on stage, but on the final day, my sandal came off. I clearly remember trying my best to pick up the sandal with my foot and how worried I was at the time. However, I enjoyed the time I spent with Kenken and everyone else, and the performance itself made me love Kabuki even more.

And ever since I saw a play at the Kabuki-za last November, I've grown to love Kabuki even more, and I've been going to see it every month since. I'd always dreamed of appearing in a month-long play at the Kabuki-za someday—I never imagined my dream would actually come true!

Rehearsals started around the end of February. There were a lot of vocal tones and words that aren't used anymore, so it was difficult to express myself. But Hideyuki-san (the second son of Nakamura Kasho), who plays the role of Senmatsu, delivered his long lines so well, so I thought I had to work hard too.

I made so many memories with Hidenosuke-san, from practicing lines together to singing the sparrow song, during rehearsals, performances, and backstage. In the scene where Tsuruchiyo and Senmatsu play sugoroku on stage, we were actually competing against each other every day. In the backstage, his older brother, Tanetaro-san (Nakamura Kasho's eldest son), also played with us.

I was so nervous on the first day. I was especially nervous when the curtain rose and I had to say Tsuruchiyo's first line, "This is the wet nurse," and when I almost ate the sweets. I was scared thinking that this would continue for a month. On the morning of the first day, I wrote a letter and gave it to Kikugoro-san. I drew a picture of Masaoka in the middle and wrote my feelings on the left side. Kikugoro-san replied, "Let's grow together this month," and I was so happy. It's a treasure!

I shared a dressing room with Kikugoro-san, and he taught me a lot of things. Kikugoro-san ate honey every day. I thought it was amazing that he was taking care of his voice, so I also started eating the black beans in honey in the morning, at noon, and at night before brushing my teeth.

Despite all that, I fell ill, developed a fever of over 40 degrees Celsius, and had to take a six-day break from the performances. The performances would have lasted 23 days if we didn't include the days off, so it was incredibly sad to have six days cut short. But, just as my older sister had said at the Onoe-kai meeting, I was in so much pain during the break that I couldn't even think about being sad.

"There are so many things I want to do!"

I'm gradually getting used to both names, Yoshito and Kotoya. Yoshito is the name I use when I play with friends, and Kotoya is the name I use for work such as dancing and performing on stage. When I hear the name Kotoya, I naturally feel like I'm heading towards dancing, and it clicks.

I learn to dance from Ms. Murasaki. Occasionally, when my father is free, or right before a performance, he teaches me. He's rarely free, but he teaches me when there are intense dances that involve using a sword. That was the case for "Hashi Benkei" at the "Isseikai" performance. Ms. Murasaki's lessons are gentle and she teaches slowly. My father is faster. He'll be kind and correct me about twice, but if I make the same mistake three or more times, he becomes strict. But normally, my father is kind.

Besides Japanese traditional dance, I also take lessons in traditional Japanese music. I also attend English classes and a Lego school. At the Lego school, we assemble Lego bricks and then program them to move. Right now, we're working on a project based on "Sukeroku Yukari Edozakura." I like art class at school, and I'm drawing pictures of "Sukeroku" in that class as well.

Besides "Sukeroku," I also love "Kanadehon Chushingura" and "Onna Goroshi Abura Jigoku," which I saw in January. I sometimes pretend water is oil in the bath and imitate Yohei (laughs).

I also love reading "Kabuki Techo," a book that features Kabuki actors and their family trees. It's published every year, so I'm reading it back from 2026 to 2012. It includes actors who have passed away, and looking at the family trees, I realize that these people are related! I'm getting more and more drawn into the world of Kabuki.

I'd love to create new kabuki plays someday, like "Noda Version: Kenjin's Revenge," "Kabuki Absolutely Continued (Show Must Go On)," "The Demon Who Lives in the Misty Forest," and "Kabuki Sword Dance," and I'd also like to direct like my father. I love all kinds of dancing. I want to challenge myself with everything I'm asked to do!

This year, in September and October, I'm scheduled to play the role of Kocho in "Shunkyo Kagami Jishi" at Kenken's (Ukon Onoe) "Ken no Kai" FINAL. As Kotoya Onoe, I want to do my best in both dancing and acting!