観劇の帰り道、明治座から人形町駅に向かう甘酒横丁添いにある「衣裳らくや」さんにお寄りしました。 
目にするだけで気分が浮き立つカラフルな間道の帯。
まるでチェックのワンピースか何かのようなモダンな色合わせが素敵。これからの季節の観劇スタイルのアクセントになりそうです。「衣裳らくや」さんでは、きもののレンタルや着付けのサービスも行っているので、徒歩1～2分の距離にある明治座や、タクシーで15分ほどの歌舞伎座などに出かける際に利用すれば、気軽にきものでの観劇を楽しめます。 若さ溢れる花形歌舞伎公演。着て行くきものにも、どこかフレッシュな感覚を取り入れたいものですね。
Bettyokoジュエリージャーナリストとして活躍する傍ら、歌舞伎、文楽、バレエをはじめ観劇ライフを満喫中のBettyと、米国・ヒューストンでの生活経験を生かし、日本文化を海外に伝える活動をしているYokoによるユニット。
https://www.instagram.com/bettyoko.kbk/ Bettyoko’s Kimono Diary
Go to the Theatre in Kimonos Vol. 30
May Young Stars’ Kabuki at Meijiza Theater
“Umemoto Sannin Renjishi” (Three Lions Dance)May Young Stars’ Kabuki is now playing at Meijiza Theater.Kataoka Ainosuke leads the young Kabuki actors with playing the main role in three stories. This performance attracts Kabuki fan’s attention because of many young actors appear on the stage.In the matinee, the first play is “Tsukigata Hanpeita” which is first performance as a Kabuki play. It was followed by “Sannin Renjishi” (Three Lions’ Dance). Usually Renjishi performance has two parts. In the first part (called Mae-shite) father and child in Noh (a kind of Japanese theatrical art) costumes appear on the stage. And father push the child off the valley to make him strong. The child tries to climb up the rock mountain to meet father’s wish. In the second part (called Ato-shite) they turn into the spirit of lion and they powerfully perform shaking roundly their long mane. This time they perform in Umemoto ryu (a kind of acting style), and it is rare. The stage set is different from usual “matsubame” (picture of pine tree on the golden screen) and it was the Seiryo mountain with blooming peony. Father lion (played by Kataoka Ainosuke), Mother Lion (played by Nakamura Kazutaro) and Child Lion (played by Nakamura Tanenosuke) perform the story of three lions. The strict father lion was wonderful contrast to the gentle mother lion. And Kazuitaro and Tanenosuke completely look like maternal mother lion and vigorous child lion though they are almost same age. It is result of their highly trained express skill and dance performance ability. The climax was the scene of keburi (roundly shaking their long mane) of three lions together, and it was the moment that I admired the fun on Kabuki dance. On the way to the home from the theatre, I stopped by “Isho Rakuya” which is located along the Amazake Yokocho street from Meijiza Theatre to Ningyocho- station. This colorful obi(sash for Kimono) cheered me up on the first sight. The nice harmony of the colors looks like plaid on one-piece and it can be an accent on Theater-going Style. The Kimono rental service is available at this shop, so if you want, you can easily enjoy seeing the play in a Kimono at Meijiza theater which is located within a few minutes’ walk or Kabukiza theatre which is located within 15 minutes’ taxi from Rakuya. It is nice to see the fresh stars’ performance in the kimono with a sense of fresh.
The unit of Betty and YokoBetty; jewelry journalist, enjoys watching stages of Kabuki, Bunraku, Balllet, and so on. Yoko; lived in the U.S.A for 10 years. Loves to introduce Japanese culture to abroad.
https://www.instagram.com/bettyoko.kbk/ 
