Love Letters from the Pleasure Quarters

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Love Letters from the Pleasure Quarters

Bunraku: May 1793, Osaka
Kabuki: October 1808, Edo

This is the Kabuki version of the “Yoshida Scene” from a puppet play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japan’s greatest playwright. It was based on a real-life love affair between the son of a large merchant and the courtesan Yugiri, famous for her intelligence and beauty. Yugiri’s untimely death in January 1678 was mourned all over Osaka. She featured in many plays, starting with New Year’s Without Yugiri just one month after her death. This play is the most famous in the Yugiri series and has been performed repeatedly since its opening.
Sakata Tojuro I, a pioneer of wagoto (gentle, handsome male) characters, was particularly known for his portrayal of Izaemon, and played in 18 productions of New Year’s Without Yugiri. Izaemon is still regarded as one of the principal wagoto roles in Kabuki. The main feature of the role is his typical Osaka charm, making him particularly popular among women despite his lack of power or money. The character famously wears a paper kimono as a symbol of his poverty. This show is one of the Nakamura Ganjiro household’s Twelve Select Plays. The acting family of Kataoka Nizaemon uses old-style stage directions, such as long poles with candles to provide mood lighting for characters when they appear on the hanamichi.

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［from left］Okisa（Kataoka Hidetaro）、Kizaemon（Kataoka Gato）、Izaemon（Nakamura Ganjiro）、Yugiri（Nakamura Jakuemon）　November 2004　 Kabukiza Theatre