Wait a Minute!

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Wait a Minute!

January 1697, Edo (under the title Sankai Nagoya)

This is one of the Ichikawa family’s Eighteen Select Plays and a representative aragoto action drama. In the past, it was always included in the November performance introducing the actors for the next season, and the names of characters and the direction were changed each time. Following a landmark performance by Danjuro IX in November 1878, it became an independent piece. The title was changed to Shibaraku from the words exclaimed by the hero Gongoro. The script and direction used in the final performance by Danjuro IX in November 1895 has been preserved ever since.
This is an archetypal morality story where the superhero arrives just in time to save the good guys from the bad guys, who are duly punished. There are numerous stylized moments, condensing the dynamics of Edo Kabuki into a single act. It is a piece best enjoyed for what it is without analysis or explanation. There is also a female version called Onna Shibaraku featuring a woman as the superhero.

●main graphic
［from left］Togane Taro Yoshinari（Ichikawa Danzo）、Narita Goro Yoshihide（Ichikawa Omezo）、Kamakura Gongoro（Ichikawa Danjuro）、Kiyohara Takehira（Ichikawa Sadanji）　May 2003　Kabukiza Theatre

●publication date　June 2015