KOTOBUKISHIKI SAMBASO
STORY: There is no more important celebratory dance than
Sambaso, a ritual showing the old man Okina and the vigorous Sambaso. The old
man is a symbol of eternal youth and as the Sambaso stamps and shakes bells at
the stage, he prays for agricultural fertility and prosperity for all. A good
program to congratulate the opening of the all-star performance in the month of November.
II TAIRO
STORY: Ii Naosuke was the head councilor of the Tokugawa
shogunate in Japan in 1860 when there were pressures from inside and outside
the country. Imperial loyalists demanded that the shogun step down and hand
over rule to the emperor to resist the foreign barbarians. The United States
and other countries insisted that Japan open its doors. On March 3, at the
snow-covered gate to the shogun's castle, Ii Naosuke was assassinated by
imperial loyalists. This modem play by Hojo Hideji features the last day before
the assassination as Naosuke senses that his end is near. The deaths of an old
friend and his newbom daughter make Naosuke and his mistress Oshizu think back
to simpler times before he was burdened by such responsibilities.
KUMAGAI JINYA -from Ichinotani Futaba Gunki
STORY: One of the climactic battles between the Heike
and Genji clans took place on the beach at Suma, when the Genji made a surprise
attack on the Heike camp and drove the Heike to escape in their boats. In one
of the most famous episodes of that battle, the Genji warrior Kumagai was
riding on the beach searching for a worthy opponent when he saw a magnificent
general. But fighting with him, he suddenly found that it was a young boy,
named Atsumori, the same age as his son. Kumagai wanted to spare Atsumori, but
couldn't and eventually he was moved to reject the life of a warrior and become
a Buddhist priest. This version of this story transforms the battle between
Kumagai and Atsumori into a complex drama of love, duty and sacrifice with some
very surprising plot twists.
