Back at the Kabukiza again! My second time ever in the front row — and once again far to one side, in which the hanamichi runway is almost out of sight. Even so, it turned into a day I won’t forget.
Read about the Evening Show → July Program at the Kabukiza Theatre: Evening Show (July 2026)
More from this production → July Program at the Kabukiza Theatre: Suehirogari, Single Act Tickets (July 2026)
The Kabukiza from the Far End of the Front Row
My seat was just inside East Door 1. The day started with a little shock the moment I opened the door: “THIS is the angle?!” You see the stage at quite a diagonal — the far side of the stage is hard to make out, and the hanamichi is almost entirely hidden.
But when a scene plays out on your side of the stage, the actors are literally right in front of you. So close that, for some mysterious reason, I was the one getting nervous 😂 What exactly was I nervous about?
When I made my front-row debut in May, I was also at this same end. My usual home is actually the cheap-and-cheerful “gutter seats” right beside the hanamichi on the opposite side — so the only spot left to conquer is dead center. This year’s goal is still very much alive.
‘Suehirogari’: What a Second Viewing Revealed
My favorite piece of the Matinee was the opening dance play ‘Suehirogari’, with Hayato Nakamura as the servant Tarokaja and Somegoro Ichikawa as the lord — a fresh young pairing, and both in these roles for the first time, apparently.
I had actually seen this piece the day before with a Single Act Ticket. One of the highlights is an acrobatic trick in which a kemari ball is spun on top of an open umbrella. The previous time it was flawless from start to finish — but this time, the ball dropped partway through…! And the way the two of them handled that moment was wonderful. Of course they have a routine ready for when it goes wrong, too.
I know, I know — you’re not supposed to be happy about someone’s slip-up! But getting to see both the perfect version and the not-quite-perfect one felt like a gift. So glad I watched it twice. Thank you, Single Act Tickets!
‘Toki wa Ima Kikyo no Hataage’ and the Earphone Guide
Next came ‘Toki wa Ima Kikyo no Hataage’, with Koshiro Matsumoto performing the role of Takechi Mitsuhide for the first time. It had been a while since I’d last seen Koshiro, and his steady presence was as reassuring as ever. In the printed program he wrote how happy he was to share the stage with Somegoro again after a long time — heartwarming.
Yonekichi Nakamura as Kikyo was perfection: even the way she lifted and set down a sword was impossibly graceful, every single movement more feminine than feminine. “THIS is what I came to see!” — the thought I have every single time. Just lovely 🥺
And of course, my trusty earphone guide was with me today 👂 Matsuya Onoe plays Oda Harunaga, who is a thoroughly nasty piece of work — and during the interval, the earphone guide commentary said something like, “You may come to hate Oda Harunaga, but please don’t hate Matsuya.” I burst out laughing. Now in which have I heard that line before? But honestly, if a role makes you come close to disliking the actor himself, that is proof of just how good the actor is. Matsuya, I hated you. (Just kidding. I still love you.)
‘Ohama Goten Tsunatoyo Kyo’ — Oh, the Whiplash
The Matinee closed with ‘Genroku Chushingura: Ohama Goten Tsunatoyo Kyo’. This piece is double-cast this month, and on my day it was Matsuya as Lord Tokugawa Tsunatoyo and Hayato as the samurai Tomimori Sukeemon.
The same Matsuya who had been so horrid in the second piece was now the wise, dignified Tsunatoyo. The whiplash! I loved it.
There was a moment when Sukeemon, who had been stubbornly holding his tongue, finally started to open his mouth — only for Tsunatoyo to jump in before he could get a word out. I couldn’t help laughing. With different actors, the whole atmosphere would surely change: Program A pairs Nizaemon Kataoka with Koshiro, and I’m itching to see both and compare the two Tsunatoyos… though tickets for Program A were completely gone, even the Single Act ones.
The Pleasures of the Interval
During the interval after the first piece, I bought the Kabukiza-exclusive “medetai-yaki” — a fish-shaped cake whose name puns on “medetai” (happy occasion) and “tai” (sea bream). Taiyaki in the morning~. As excellent as always. I ate it half-hoping that three extra pieces of mochi had snuck inside (they had not, of course).
Lunch was July’s boxed lunch, the “Gindara Bento” with simmered black cod. The monthly bento feels like a little record of each month’s theatre-going.
In the lobby, there was also a display by the Shochiku Otani Library: a fully assembled “kumiage toro-e” — an Edo-period paper diorama — of ‘Megumi no Kenka’, and it was adorable. Their book covers are sold at the theatre shop, by the way; the paperback size is so cute that I bought one ages ago and still use it. A cute book cover lifts the spirits.
Final Thoughts
I couldn’t see the hanamichi, but I witnessed “that moment” of the umbrella trick, got mysteriously nervous with the actors right in front of me, and altogether it was a very full Matinee.
Next time: dead center of the front row. Apparently it isn’t the easiest seat to see everything from — but I’m not after easy viewing, I want to bathe in it. (← This year’s goal, still going strong.)
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