Kabuki

Kabuki NEXT Lord of the Lies (December 2024)

Kabuki NEXT Lord of the Lies, seen from the front row of the second balcony. Somegoro's Shuten was perfection itself, Tokizo's Tsuna simply had it all, and the Shinkansen-style music won me over completely.

2024.12.05

Kabuki

The Kaomise Maneki Boards at the Minamiza Theatre (December 2024)

No tickets for me this year, but just seeing the maneki boards up at the Minamiza was enough to make me giggle. A mini report on the sign that winter has come to Kyoto.

2024.12.01

Kabuki

September Program at the Kabukiza Theatre: Evening Show (September 2024)

Watching the Shuzan-sai Evening Show from a seat right beside the temporary hanamichi. The which-bank-to-sit-on dilemma of Yoshinogawa, a luxurious cast for Kanjincho, a bromide photographed against the real stage, and a medetai-yaki dash.

2024.09.23

Kabuki

September Program at the Minamiza Theatre: One Stormy Night (September 2024)

Gabu's voice from the film, now live on stage. Ichitaro's Mei and Takematsu's bespectacled Haku, cuteness at full tilt. A solo theatre diary of One Stormy Night at the Minamiza, and the cross-species friendship that brought me to tears — plus a matcha parfait at Nadaman and special-edition yatsuhashi to take home.

2024.09.16

Kabuki

July Program at the Kabukiza Theatre: Evening Show (July 2024)

Three evenings at Ura Omote Taikoki with the Shochiku Kabuki-kai flat-rate theatregoing service. Koshiro's aerial stunt, three generations of the Koraiya on one stage, and a Sanbaso finale so good I could have gone just for that.

2024.07.18

Kabuki

Shikoku Konpira Grand Kabuki: Part 1 & Part 2 (April 2024)

My first time at the Kanamaru-za, Japan's oldest playhouse, for the 37th Shikoku Konpira Grand Kabuki. Laughs from Somegoro and Koshiro, Jakuemon's hand-powered flying scene right beside the hanamichi — and somehow I didn't eat a thing all day. A back-to-back solo day out.

2024.04.15

Kabuki

March Program at the Minamiza Theatre: Cherry Program (March 2024)

Roaring laughter at Ukon's pre-show talk, a breathless Onnagoroshi Abura no Jigoku, and a lottery card that made my day. A solo trip to the Minamiza's spring hanagata kabuki.

2024.03.21

Kabuki

Kaomise at Kyoto’s Minamiza Theatre: Evening Program (December 2023)

The Evening Show of the Minamiza kaomise celebrating Ichikawa Danjuro XIII's name succession: Nizaemon's sublime Yuranosuke, a Stage Announcement that nearly made me cry, and the whole audience shouting "Naritaya!" together.

2023.12.10

Kabuki

Kaomise at Kyoto’s Minamiza Theatre: Matinee (December 2023)

A solo matinee at the Minamiza in Kyoto during the December 2023 Kaomise: Somegoro as Yogoro, the stage debut of Shinnosuke VIII, and a curtain by Takashi Murakami.

2023.12.09

Kabuki