Changes

Agemaki then enters with a samurai whose face is hidden by a large hat. Sukeroku tries to provoke a fight with this samurai, but is shocked to discover it is his mother, in disguise, who then scolds the two brothers for their behavior. Sukeroku explains himself, however, and their mother, Manko, is overjoyed to discover her son's devotion to the task of vengeance for their father's death. It is revealed that Ikyû is in fact Iga Heinaizaemon, an enemy of the family, and their father's killer.<ref name=kabuki21/><ref name=guide/>

Agemaki then enters with a samurai whose face is hidden by a large hat. Sukeroku tries to provoke a fight with this samurai, but is shocked to discover it is his mother, in disguise, who then scolds the two brothers for their behavior. Sukeroku explains himself, however, and their mother, Manko, is overjoyed to discover her son's devotion to the task of vengeance for their father's death. It is revealed that Ikyû is in fact Iga Heinaizaemon, an enemy of the family, and their father's killer.<ref name=kabuki21/><ref name=guide/>

Ikyû enters, and Sukeroku quickly hides beneath Agemaki's robes as she sits on a bench. Ikyû quickly finds him, however, and berates him, beating him with his cane and otherwise insulting him. He suggests that perhaps Sukeroku should give up on Agemaki and his shenanigans and that he and his brother should join Ikyû, forming an alliance which might even be powerful enough to take over the country. He seeks to demonstrate his metaphor of the power of three standing together by chopping off one leg from an incense burner, which then falls over, but too late realizes that in doing so he has revealed his sword. Sukeroku now knows for sure that Ikyû is the man he has been searching for: his father's killer.<ref name=kabuki21/><ref name=guide/>

Ikyû enters, and Sukeroku quickly hides beneath Agemaki's robes as she sits on a bench. Ikyû quickly finds him, however, and berates him, beating him with his cane and otherwise insulting him. He suggests that perhaps Sukeroku should give up on Agemaki and his shenanigans and that he and his brother should join Ikyû, forming an alliance which might even be powerful enough to take over the country. He seeks to demonstrate his metaphor of the power of three standing together by chopping off one leg from an [[incense]] burner, which then falls over, but too late realizes that in doing so he has revealed his sword. Sukeroku now knows for sure that Ikyû is the man he has been searching for: his father's killer.<ref name=kabuki21/><ref name=guide/>

The play often ends here, but sometimes continues with a final scene in which Sukeroku kills Ikyû and then hides from the police in a vat of water. [[Ichikawa Danjuro VIII|Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII]] (1823-54) was quite idolized in his time, and when he performed this play, bottles of water from the vat he stepped in would later be sold to adoring fans.<ref name=blumner>Blumner, Holly and Naoko Maeshiba. "Sukeroku: A History." in ''101 Years of Kabuki in Hawai'i''. pp42-44.</ref>

The play often ends here, but sometimes continues with a final scene in which Sukeroku kills Ikyû and then hides from the police in a vat of water. [[Ichikawa Danjuro VIII|Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII]] (1823-54) was quite idolized in his time, and when he performed this play, bottles of water from the vat he stepped in would later be sold to adoring fans.<ref name=blumner>Blumner, Holly and Naoko Maeshiba. "Sukeroku: A History." in ''101 Years of Kabuki in Hawai'i''. pp42-44.</ref>