The Donation List

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The Donation List

March 1840, Edo

This is one of the Eighteen Select Plays associated with the Ichikawa Danjuro line of actors. It is practically the representative Kabuki play and performed so often that people call Ataka Barrier the “Mata ka?” (Again?) Barrier. Based on the Noh play Ataka, it is notable for using important elements of Noh staging. It was first performed by Ichikawa Danjuro VII toward the end of the feudal Edo Period and has been preserved in that manner since. He passed the key role of Benkei to his son Danjuro IX, who taught it to his disciple Matsumoto Koshiro VII, who in turn trained his three sons (Danjuro XI, Matsumoto Hakuo I and Onoe Shoroku II) in a process that has continued on to their sons and grandsons. The presence of this direct line of Benkei actors has underpinned the popularity of the drama to the present day.
The first half of the show features a tense standoff between Benkei, who is trying to protect his master, and the suspicious inspector Togashi. The second half shows the bond between Benkei and his master Yoshitsune after surviving the predicament. The show is a virtual series of highlights, including Benkei’s Longevity Dance and his famous flying exit down the hanamichi runway at the show’s close.

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［from left］Minamoto Yoshitsune（Sakata Tojuro）、Musashibo Benkei（Ichikawa Danjuro）、Togashi Saemon（Matsumoto Koshiro）　October 2012　Shimbashi Enbujo Theatre