今回の「一條大蔵譚」の上演では、秀山祭10周年、二代目吉右衛門襲名50周年に加え、もう一つおめでたいことがありました。 中村吉之助さんが三代目中村吉之丞を襲名し、敵役の八剣勘解由を演じているのです。 
記者懇親会の際に吉右衛門さんは「吉之丞を名乗る者は代々、吉右衛門と共に歩いて、その足元を照らしてくれる役者でした。当代にもぜひ、そうなってほしい」と語っていました。 まさに、偉大な先人の芸を追いかけて研鑽を続ける役者さんたちによる名舞台。 秀山祭九月大歌舞伎は9月25日（日）までです。どうぞお見逃しなく。 ●「歌舞伎美人」URL：http://www.kabuki-bito.jp/theaters/kabukiza/play/493
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/ Go to the Theatre in Kimonos vol. 13
September Grand Kabuki Shuzan sai ICHIJO OKURA MONOGATARI at the Kabukiza Theatre in matinee I went to watch the matinee of September Grand Kabuki Shuzan sai at the Kabukiza Theatre. Shuzan sai is the special performance to praise the achievements of the great Kabuki actor, Nakamura Kichiemon I, who was popular during the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa era. Nakamura Kichiemon II and the other Kabuki actors perform on this stage. This is the 10th year of the Shuzan sai and also the 50th anniversary of Nakamura Kichiemon II succeeding the great Kabuki actor's name. So the program and the casting are fulfilling. Before the performance, at the press interview Nakamura Kichiemon II, the grandson and adopted son of Kichiemon I, told "Kichiemon I performed a variety of roles. The number of the roles which I had played is less than one third of him" But we can recognize that he tried to deeply understand the meaning of the roles and mastered his way to deliver the lines and impress the audiences. I believe that the playing techniques were surely passed on the Kichiemon I to Kichiemon II and to another generations. Especially, Kichiemon I and II were perfect performers of ICHIJO OKURA MONOGATARI (The Tale of Aristocrat Ichijo Okura). In the time of the Heike clan's domination, Okura-kyo (played by Kichiemon II), the aristocrat who wished the Genji clan overcame the Heike clan, pretended as he was a fool to hide his true mind. It was so fascinating of Kichirmon II to clearly change the characters between pretending to be lovable foolish and true sharp personality every time I watched this play. He has played this role since he was fifteen years old and he said, "The more I played this role, the more I understand the depth of the meaning of the lines". At the end of the play Okura kyo declared "I will pretend to be a fool until the Genji clan dominate this country." And in his lines "All what I enjoy is only Kyogen and dance". I indeed felt the sorrow of surviving the turbulent political world with hiding his true mind. The gorgeous costumes also attracted the audiences. Especially in the last part of the play, when he confessed his true mind, the cords of the costumes are pulled out to separate and flipped down the upper part from the shoulder, then instantly changed the color of the costume. This technique signifies the true self on the character and surprised the audiences. They broke into applause at this scene. This picture is an amulet pouch of Harimaya Kabuki family. (Nakamura Kichiemon's family) which I had a chance to see when I made coverage it for Kimono Salon magazine before. It was made of the costume of Ichijo Okura kyo which Kichiemon I wore and was used for the shrine visiting (pray for the health and safe in someone's life) of Kichiemon II. It is wonderful that we can hand on our kimonos and obis (belt for kimono) to the next generations like as Kabuki actor's playing techniques and costumes. There is one more celebration on the performance this month. Nakamura Kichinosuke took the new stage name, Nakamura Kichinojo III and played the role of enemy, Yatsurugi Kageyu. At the press interview, Kichiemon II told, "The actors with the name of Kichinojo always worked with Kichiemon and kept lighting his way ever. I hope new Kichinojo become such a Kabuki actor." The actors who tried to carry on the refined techniques of previous great Kabuki actors performed Shuzan sai. It runs through September 25. Don't miss it!
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/ 
