Ise Ondo Koi no Netaba

• Genre: Sewamono
• Premiere: 1796/7/25, Kado no Shibai, Osaka
• Writers: Chikamatsu Tokuzô, Tatsuoka Mansaku, Namiki Shôzô II
• Japanese: 伊勢音頭恋の寝刃 (Ise Ondo Koi no Netaba)

Ise Ondo Koi no Netaba is a kabuki sewamono play by Chikamatsu Tokuzô, Tatsuoka Mansaku, and Namiki Shôzô II, which debuted on 1796/7/25 at the Kado no Shibai in Osaka. The title roughly translates as "The Ise Dances and Love's Dull Blade", though it has been given the English titles "The Quest of Shimosaka" and "The Vengeful Sword" as well.

The play takes place primarily at the Aburaya, a house of assignation in the town of Furuichi near Ise Shrine, and features a cursed Shimosaka sword which, once it is drawn, must taste blood. The hero, Mitsugi, aids Manjirô, in searching for his family's heirloom Shimosaka sword, and eventually finds it at the Aburaya, which they both frequent. Through the machinations of the teahouse's proprietess or chief maid, Mannô, Mitsugi finds himself dumped by his lover, Okon. Taunted by Mannô to strike her with his scabbard to express his anger with her, he does so, but the scabbard splits, and the sword cuts the woman's neck; the curse is never explicitly discussed at all in the play, but Mitsugi is possessed by it, and goes on a killing spree, killing nearly everyone in the brothel.

Ise Ondo is a summer play, both set during the summer and traditionally performed during the summer, when it is believed the chills the audience feels at the horror of the bloodbath will cool them off. Most of the characters wear summer yukata, and visual and verbal references are made to the summer heat.

Like many sewamono, the play is based on a real incident, in this case a mass murder which occurred near Ise that same year. A local doctor by the name of Magofuku Itsuki, went on a drunken killing spree in the Aburaya, a local Furuichi brothel; among those killed was a maid by the name of Oman (note that the chief maid or proprietess of the Aburaya in the play is named Mannô). Itsuki committed suicide two days later at the home of his uncle, a low-ranking Ise Shrine priest.

Though Ise Ondo is said to have been written in three days, making it an ichiyazuke or "pickled overnight" play, it in fact debuted roughly two and a half months after the incident, and after a local rural theatre in Matsuzaka had already begun showing a play based on the event.

The debut performance was produced by Kado no Shibai zamoto Fujikawa Hachizô III, and featured Nakayama Bunshichi II, Yoshizawa Iroha I, and Nakayama Bungorô I in the lead roles of, respectively, the samurai Mitsugi and the courtesans Okon and Mannô.

In a reverse from the more common situation of kabuki plays being based on those from the puppet theatre, a ningyô jôruri version of Ise Ondo first debuted in 1838.

Today, the Aburaya and Inner Courtyard/Garden scenes of Act III are most often performed, with the Futami-ga-Ura scene from Act I being quite common as well. Act IV is no longer performed at all, and so the ending of Act III has been modified to serve as the ending of the play. In addition, two styles or traditions of performing Ise Ondo have emerged, one in Kamigata, established by Ichikawa Danzô V, and a different style or tradition in Edo, tracing back to Onoe Kikugorô III.

Characters

• Manjirô - a low-ranking Ise Shrine priest, who has lost the sword and is seeking it (nimaime)
• Mitsugi - a samurai in the service of Manjirô's father (pintokona)
• Okon - a courtesan; Mitsugi's lover
• Okishi - a courtesan; Manjirô's lover
• Oshika - a homely courtesan
• Mannô - the conniving proprietess at the Aburaya
• Sennô - a courtesan
• Kisuke - the head cook at the Aburaya, who is loyal to Mitsugi
• Rinpei - a yakko (footman) in the service of Mitsugi
• Daizô and Jôshirô - two men in the service of Tokushima no Iwaji, seeking to keep the sword from Manjirô
• Tokushima no Iwaji and Aidamaya Kitaroku - two men from Awa no kuni, who have stolen the sword

Plot

Act III

Scene One: Aburaya

The Aburaya scene, among the most frequently performed scenes from the play, is among the most popular and famous examples in kabuki of an enkiri scene, in which two lovers cut off (kiri) their relationship (en).

Scene Two: Okuniwa

Today, Act IV is not performed either in kabuki or bunraku, and Act III has been altered to make it the ending of the play. Following the bloodbath, Mitsugi, Manjirô, and Okon pose, successful at having obtained the sword, and the curtain closes, leaving quite unclear the moral or practical consequences of Mitsugi's rampage.

Act IV

In this rarely performed scene, after Iwaji flees from the Aburaya, Mitsugi flees as well, in a rainstorm, to his aunt's house. He remains unaware that the sword he is holding, with which he killed so many, is the Shimosaka blade he has been searching for. Manjirô arrives, asking after the sword, and Mitsugi, apologizing for his failure to obtain the blade, stabs himself. Kisuke then arrives, and explains how he switched the swords, and that the one Mitsugi has here is in fact the Shimosaka.

Iwaji then arrives, and attempts to steal the sword, but is killed by Mitsugi. His wounds are determined not to be fatal, and the play ends on a happy note, with Manjirô and Mitsugi alive and successful in obtaining the sword, though the fate of Okon remains unclear.

References

• Ise Ondo at Kabuki21.com. Accessed 20 November 2010.
• Jones, Stanleigh H. "The Ise Dances and Love's Dull Blade." in Brandon, James and Samuel Leiter (eds.) Kabuki Plays on Stage: Villainy and Vengeance, 1773-1799. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002. pp318-350.