Changes

==Plot Summary==

==Plot Summary==

Sukeroku enters on the ''hanamichi'', swaggering jauntily and showily in wooden ''[[geta]]'', performing a type of step, or walk, called ''[[tanzen roppo|tanzen roppô]]''<!--丹前六方--><ref>Brandon, James. "Form in Kabuki Acting." in ''Studies in Kabuki''. p89.</ref>. He has one arm tucked inside his kimono, his umbrella over his shoulder, a purple headband tied to one side, the ends dangling down the right side of his face. He stops at ''[[shichi-san]]'', and performs a number of poses and gestures meant to display his bravado, style, and charm. In total, his walk down the ''hanamichi'' and dance at ''shichi-san'' takes about fifteen minutes, and is one of the chief highlights of the play, an opportunity for the star actor to show off, and for the audience to enjoy watching the star perform these dramatic poses, prideful walk, and charming character.<ref>Brandon. "Form in Kabuki Acting." p94.</ref>

Sukeroku enters on the ''hanamichi'', swaggering jauntily and showily in wooden ''[[geta]]'', performing a type of step, or walk, called ''[[tanzen roppo|tanzen roppô]]''<!--丹前六方--><ref>Brandon, James. "Form in Kabuki Acting." in ''Studies in Kabuki''. p89.</ref>. He has one arm tucked inside his kimono, his umbrella over his shoulder, a purple headband tied to one side, the ends dangling down the right side of his face. He stops at ''[[shichi-san]]'', and performs a number of poses and gestures meant to display his bravado, style, and charm. In total, his walk down the ''hanamichi'' and dance at ''shichi-san'' takes about fifteen minutes, and is one of the chief highlights of the play, an opportunity for the star actor to show off, and for the audience to enjoy watching the star perform these dramatic poses, prideful walk, and charming character.<ref>Brandon. "Form in Kabuki Acting." p94.</ref>

Sukeroku forces passersby to crawl between his legs, in a famous example of improvisation, or ''[[sutezerifu]]'' in kabuki. While many plays include short sections where one or two lines might be improvised, this entire section is left open for improvisation, which often includes contemporary references.<ref>Brandon. "Form in Kabuki Acting." p106.</ref> For example, in one performance in 2008, the characters performed, briefly, a gag "''sonna no kankei nai'' ("it's got nothing to do with that!") popularized around 2007-08 by comedian Kojima Yoshio.

Sukeroku forces passersby to crawl between his legs, in a famous example of improvisation, or ''[[sutezerifu]]'' in kabuki. While many plays include short sections where one or two lines might be improvised, this entire section is left open for improvisation, which often includes contemporary references.<ref>Brandon. "Form in Kabuki Acting." p106.</ref> For example, in one performance in 2008, the characters performed, briefly, a gag "''sonna no kankei nai'' ("it's got nothing to do with that!") popularized around 2007-08 by comedian Kojima Yoshio.

In any case, though the kabuki play as it is known today did not debut until 1713, the characters of Sukeroku and Agemaki appeared on the [[ningyo joruri|bunraku]] stage as early as [[1678]]. [[Kamigata]] (Kansai) kabuki theatres soon afterward began to stage productions featuring the couple in love suicide stories, including ''Sennichi-dera Shinjû'' ("Love Suicide at Sennichi Temple") and ''Kyô Sukeroku Shinjû'' ("Kyoto Sukeroku Love Suicide").<ref name=blumner/>

In any case, though the kabuki play as it is known today did not debut until 1713, the characters of Sukeroku and Agemaki appeared on the [[ningyo joruri|bunraku]] stage as early as [[1678]]. [[Kamigata]] (Kansai) kabuki theatres soon afterward began to stage productions featuring the couple in love suicide stories, including ''Sennichi-dera Shinjû'' ("Love Suicide at Sennichi Temple") and ''Kyô Sukeroku Shinjû'' ("Kyoto Sukeroku Love Suicide").<ref name=blumner/>

The play as it is known today - the [[Edo]] Kabuki version associated with the Ichikawa family - was first developed by [[Ichikawa Danjuro II|Ichikawa Danjûrô II]], who witnessed performances of these Kamigata plays while touring in that part of the country, and who then brought it back to Edo, debuting his version in 1713.<ref name=blumner/>

The play as it is known today - the [[Edo]] Kabuki version associated with the Ichikawa family - was first developed by [[Ichikawa Danjuro II|Ichikawa Danjûrô II]], who witnessed performances of these Kamigata plays while touring in that part of the country, and who then brought it back to Edo, debuting his version in 1713<ref name=blumner/>, at the Yamamura-za, with Danjûrô, [[Tamazawa Rin'ya]], [[Ikushima Shingoro|Ikushima Shingorô]] and [[Yamanaka Heikuro I|Yamanaka Heikurô I]] as Sukeroku, Agemaki, Shimbei the saké merchant, and Ikyû respectively.<ref name=kabuki21/>

Whereas in the Kamigata plays Sukeroku was often a merchant, Danjûrô made him a samurai, giving him a black kimono, red-yellow headband, and a pattern of black [[kumadori|face makeup]] (today, chiefly red on a white foundation). Danjûrô, 26 years old at the time, performed the role in the distinctive ''[[aragoto]]'' fashion pioneered by [[Ichikawa Danjuro I|his father]]. Danjûrô also added a number of characters who are now standard elements of the plot, including the fool Monbei, Sukeroku's brother Shinbei (secretly Soga Jûrô), their mother Manko, and the villain Ikyû, many of whom were based on real figures. Shinbei and the Noodle Vendor served initially as onstage advertisements for specific neighborhood merchants, as was a common practice in kabuki at the time, Shinbei being a reference to the ''asagao [[senbei]]'' ("Morning Glory Rice Crackers") sold by [[Fujiya Seizaemon]]. The noodle vendor, similarly, was introduced by [[Ichikawa Danjuro III|Danjûrô III]] and named Ichikawa-ya, after an actual local noodle vendor; when the real-life noodle shop changed its name to Fukuyama, [[Ichikawa Danjuro VII|Danjûrô VII]] changed the character's name to Fukuyama as well. Ikyû, meanwhile, was based on the gangster [[Fukami Juzaemon|Fukami Jûzaemon]], also known as "Bearded Jikyû," who had in 1713 or so, at the time Danjûrô II was first adapting the story, recently returned from exile and who was thus a topic of conversation.<ref name=blumner/>

Whereas in the Kamigata plays Sukeroku was often a merchant, Danjûrô made him a samurai, giving him a black kimono, red-yellow headband, and a pattern of black [[kumadori|face makeup]] (today, chiefly red on a white foundation). Danjûrô, 26 years old at the time, performed the role in the distinctive ''[[aragoto]]'' fashion pioneered by [[Ichikawa Danjuro I|his father]]. Danjûrô also added a number of characters who are now standard elements of the plot, including the fool Monbei, Sukeroku's brother Shinbei (secretly Soga Jûrô), their mother Manko, and the villain Ikyû, many of whom were based on real figures. Shinbei and the Noodle Vendor served initially as onstage advertisements for specific neighborhood merchants, as was a common practice in kabuki at the time, Shinbei being a reference to the ''asagao [[senbei]]'' ("Morning Glory Rice Crackers") sold by [[Fujiya Seizaemon]]. The noodle vendor, similarly, was introduced by [[Ichikawa Danjuro III|Danjûrô III]] and named Ichikawa-ya, after an actual local noodle vendor; when the real-life noodle shop changed its name to Fukuyama, [[Ichikawa Danjuro VII|Danjûrô VII]] changed the character's name to Fukuyama as well. Ikyû, meanwhile, was based on the gangster [[Fukami Juzaemon|Fukami Jûzaemon]], also known as "Bearded Jikyû," who had in 1713 or so, at the time Danjûrô II was first adapting the story, recently returned from exile and who was thus a topic of conversation.<ref name=blumner/>

The close ties between the theatre and the broader community extended beyond such onstage references to real merchants. The play would often be performed with the ''hanamichi'' lined with real, blooming cherry trees donated to the theatre by the teahouses of the Yoshiwara,<ref name=spectacle>Omoto, Lisa Ann M. and Kathy Welch. "Kabuki Spectacle." in ''101 Years of Kabuki in Hawai'i''. pp50-54.</ref> and actors playing the lead roles would often pay a visit to the Yoshiwara and offer gifts to the teahouses, receiving in exchange umbrellas, ''[[kiseru]]'', lanterns, and other objects for use onstage and for distribution or sale to audience members following the production. The actors' visit was a fairly major affair involving a procession of many actors, and involved various traditions or rituals performed as part of the visit and of the offering of gifts; courtesans and others directly associated with the teahouses would also attend the performances at the kabuki theatres, and performed various customs even as audience members. When the actor playing Sukeroku addressed the audience as himself (the actor) in the role of the stage manager, the courtesans would clap along with him. This addressing of the audience, incidentally, is not unique to ''Sukeroku'', but the play is distinctive in incorporating more improvisation, and more elements of the actor shedding the character and being himself, the actor, for certain parts of the performance.<ref>Maeshiba, Naoko. "About the Play." "Sukeroku: The Flower of Edo." Theater Program. Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawaii at Manoa, March 1995. p9.</ref>

The close ties between the theatre and the broader community extended beyond such onstage references to real merchants. The play would often be performed with the ''hanamichi'' lined with real, blooming cherry trees donated to the theatre by the teahouses of the Yoshiwara,<ref name=spectacle>Omoto, Lisa Ann M. and Kathy Welch. "Kabuki Spectacle." in ''101 Years of Kabuki in Hawai'i''. pp50-54.</ref> and actors playing the lead roles would often pay a visit to the Yoshiwara and offer gifts to the teahouses, receiving in exchange umbrellas, ''[[kiseru]]'', lanterns, and other objects for use onstage and for distribution or sale to audience members following the production. The actors' visit was a fairly major affair involving a procession of many actors, and involved various traditions or rituals performed as part of the visit and of the offering of gifts; courtesans and others directly associated with the teahouses would also attend the performances at the kabuki theatres, and performed various customs even as audience members. When the actor playing Sukeroku addressed the audience as himself (the actor) in the role of the stage manager, the courtesans would clap along with him. This addressing of the audience, incidentally, is not unique to ''Sukeroku'', but the play is distinctive in incorporating more improvisation, and more elements of the actor shedding the character and being himself, the actor, for certain parts of the performance.<ref>Maeshiba, Naoko. "About the Play." "Sukeroku: The Flower of Edo." Theater Program. Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawaii at Manoa, March 1995. p9.</ref>

In his second performance of the play, [[1716|three years later]], Danjûrô played Sukeroku in a somewhat gentler manner, incorporating elements of the Kamigata ''[[wagoto]]'' style in his performance. This was the first time that ''wagoto'' and ''aragoto'' elements were combined in the same character. Danjûrô also introduced at this time other elements which would later become quite standard, and even iconic. It was during this performance that he first wore a purple headband and carried as bullseye-patterned umbrella, today two of the most iconic props or costume elements in kabuki.<ref name=blumner/> Purple dye was among the most expensive of colors, and had previously been restricted almost exclusively to shogunal use.<ref name=kabuki21.com> The connection to ''Soga Monogatari'' was added at this time as well.<ref name=blumner/>

In his second performance of the play, [[1716|three years later]], Danjûrô played Sukeroku in a somewhat gentler manner, incorporating elements of the Kamigata ''[[wagoto]]'' style in his performance. This was the first time that ''wagoto'' and ''aragoto'' elements were combined in the same character. Danjûrô also introduced at this time other elements which would later become quite standard, and even iconic. It was during this performance that he first wore a purple headband and carried as bullseye-patterned umbrella, today two of the most iconic props or costume elements in kabuki.<ref name=blumner/> Purple dye was among the most expensive of colors, and had previously been restricted almost exclusively to shogunal use.<ref name=kabuki21/> The connection to ''Soga Monogatari'' was added at this time as well.<ref name=blumner/>

Many variations on the play were later developed and performed throughout the Edo period, and down into more modern times. The famous ''[[onnagata]]'' [[Segawa Kikunojo II|Segawa Kikunojô]] appeared in the premiere of ''Onna Sukeroku'' ("Woman Sukeroku") at the [[Ichimura-za]] in [[1764]], a variation in which a female Sukeroku is not the man Soga Gorô in disguise, but rather [[Oiso no Tora]], a courtesan who is the lover of one or the other of the two Soga brothers in many of the old stories.<ref name=blumner/> Three theatres were staging versions of the Sukeroku story at this time; such competitions would occur in later years as well, with each theatre using a different type, or school, of music, and different interpretations of the characters and story. As is the case with most kabuki plays, it would eventually settle into a single more-or-less standard form, though never becoming wholly static.<ref name=iezzi>Iezzi, Julie. "Sounding Out Kabuki: Music Behind the Scenes." in ''101 Years of Kabuki in Hawai'i''. pp45-48.</ref>

Many variations on the play were later developed and performed throughout the Edo period, and down into more modern times. The famous ''[[onnagata]]'' [[Segawa Kikunojo II|Segawa Kikunojô]] appeared in the premiere of ''Onna Sukeroku'' ("Woman Sukeroku") at the [[Ichimura-za]] in [[1764]], a variation in which a female Sukeroku is not the man Soga Gorô in disguise, but rather [[Oiso no Tora]], a courtesan who is the lover of one or the other of the two Soga brothers in many of the old stories.<ref name=blumner/> Three theatres were staging versions of the Sukeroku story at this time; such competitions would occur in later years as well, with each theatre using a different type, or school, of music, and different interpretations of the characters and story. As is the case with most kabuki plays, it would eventually settle into a single more-or-less standard form, though never becoming wholly static.<ref name=iezzi>Iezzi, Julie. "Sounding Out Kabuki: Music Behind the Scenes." in ''101 Years of Kabuki in Hawai'i''. pp45-48.</ref>

The following year ([[1765]]), the [[Morita-za]] debuted a dance drama version of the story which focused more heavily on Agemaki's ''[[kamuro]]'' (child attendants).<ref name=blumner/>

The following year ([[1765]]), the [[Morita-za]] debuted a dance drama version of the story which focused more heavily on Agemaki's ''[[kamuro]]'' (child attendants).<ref name=blumner/> The title "Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura" first appeared in [[1782]], for a performance at the [[Ichimura-za]] starring [[Ichimura Uzaemon IX]].<ref name=kabuki21/>

 

''Sukeroku'' is quite unique, as well, in its use of the ''[[katobushi|katôbushi]]''<!--河東節--> style of musical accompaniment. This style has been used for ''Sukeroku'' since [[1749]], when it replaced the ''[[itchu bushi|itchû bushi]]'' style originally used for the play; other versions of the play, employing ''[[tokiwazu]]'' or ''[[kiyomoto]]'' musical styles, are still sometimes performed today, having been composed, respectively, in [[1870]] for [[Onoe Kikugoro V|Onoe Kikugorô V]] and in 1915 for [[Onoe Kikugoro VI|Kikugorô VI]].<ref name=kabuki21/>

''Sukeroku'' is quite unique, as well, in its use of the ''[[katobushi|katôbushi]]''<!--河東節--> style of musical accompaniment. While it is quite typical in kabuki for a combination of different styles of [[shamisen]] and chanting, such as ''[[kiyomoto]]'' and ''[[nagauta]]'', to be used within a single play (often switching between styles numerous times within a single scene), ''Sukeroku'' is the only play in the current repertoire to make use of ''katôbushi'' music (which it employs alongside ''kiyomoto'' and ''nagauta''). Due in large part to the unique traditions of the ''katôbushi'' style, which employs amateur performers alongside professionals, ''Sukeroku'' is the only play in which amateur performers appear on stage having been granted professional status just for the duration of the performance; it is also one of the only plays in which female musicians perform onstage, and the only play in which an actor onstage formally requests the musicians to play. During the Edo period, ''katôbushi'' was especially popular in the Yoshiwara, even after its popularity in the theatre world waned. As part of the close ties between the theatres and the pleasure districts, ''katôbushi'' musicians from the Yoshiwara (i.e. not performers professionally associated with the kabuki theatres) were often invited to perform onstage in productions of ''Sukeroku''. This was a great honor, and source of pleasure for the musicians offered this rare opportunity. Unlike in most plays, where the musicians perform behind a ''[[kuromisu]]'' screen in one corner or end of the stage, in ''Sukeroku'', they are more fully and more centrally onstage, albeit still hidden behind a screen. This helps simulate, or recall, the idea of courtesans on display in the front windows of teahouses, allows these amateur musicians to more easily see Sukeroku's grand ''[[hanamichi]]'' entrance that is a highlight of the play, and grants them more fully the honor and pleasure of being "on stage" for the performance.<ref name=iezzi/>

While it is quite typical in kabuki for a combination of different styles of [[shamisen]] and chanting, such as ''kiyomoto'' and ''[[nagauta]]'', to be used within a single play (often switching between styles numerous times within a single scene), ''Sukeroku'' is the only play in the current repertoire to make use of ''katôbushi'' music (which it employs alongside ''kiyomoto'' and ''nagauta''). Due in large part to the unique traditions of the ''katôbushi'' style, which employs amateur performers alongside professionals, ''Sukeroku'' is the only play in which amateur performers appear on stage having been granted professional status just for the duration of the performance; it is also one of the only plays in which female musicians perform onstage, and the only play in which an actor onstage formally requests the musicians to play. During the Edo period, ''katôbushi'' was especially popular in the Yoshiwara, even after its popularity in the theatre world waned. As part of the close ties between the theatres and the pleasure districts, ''katôbushi'' musicians from the Yoshiwara (i.e. not performers professionally associated with the kabuki theatres) were often invited to perform onstage in productions of ''Sukeroku''. This was a great honor, and source of pleasure for the musicians offered this rare opportunity. Unlike in most plays, where the musicians perform behind a ''[[kuromisu]]'' screen in one corner or end of the stage, in ''Sukeroku'', they are more fully and more centrally onstage, albeit still hidden behind a screen. This helps simulate, or recall, the idea of courtesans on display in the front windows of teahouses, allows these amateur musicians to more easily see Sukeroku's grand ''[[hanamichi]]'' entrance that is a highlight of the play, and grants them more fully the honor and pleasure of being "on stage" for the performance.<ref name=iezzi/>

The Ichikawa family secured its control over the play in [[1832]], and some histories trace the current version of the play back to this year, rather than to any earlier date.<ref>"''Kaisetsu to midokoro''" (解説と見どころ, "Highlights and Commentary"). ''Rokugatsu Ôkabuki'' (六月大歌舞伎, "The June Grand Kabuki"). Theatre Program. Tokyo: Kabuki-za, June 2004. p63.</ref> As the play is extremely popular, other families have developed their own versions, such as ''Sukeroku Kuruwa no Momoyogusa'' performed by the [[Onoe Kikugoro|Onoe Kikugorô]] line of actors. However, only the Ichikawa family uses the title ''Sukeroku Yukari Edo Zakura'', and various stylistic elements only appear in this version of the play.<ref name=blumner/>

The Ichikawa family secured its control over the play in [[1832]], and some histories trace the current version of the play back to this year, rather than to any earlier date.<ref>"''Kaisetsu to midokoro''" (解説と見どころ, "Highlights and Commentary"). ''Rokugatsu Ôkabuki'' (六月大歌舞伎, "The June Grand Kabuki"). Theatre Program. Tokyo: Kabuki-za, June 2004. p63.</ref> As the play is extremely popular, other families have developed their own versions, such as ''Sukeroku Kuruwa no Momoyogusa'' performed by the [[Onoe Kikugoro|Onoe Kikugorô]] line of actors. However, only the Ichikawa family uses the title ''Sukeroku Yukari Edo Zakura'', and various stylistic elements only appear in this version of the play.<ref name=blumner/>