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Usually, Kabuki is presented some different plays a day, and its program is different even at daytime and night time. But this month, Kabukiza presented only 'Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami' through daytime to night time as a memorial performance of the 1100th anniversary of the death of Sugawara-no Michizane. It is very rare case, and is a very good opportunity in order to understand this play for beginners.

I'm also a beginner, and I hadn't seen 'Kamo-zutsumi', 'Hippo Denju', and 'Domyoji' until this time. So I was very glad to see these plays this month. I think that I could understand clearly why Michizane was exiled in this play. Sometimes 'Kurumabiki', 'Ga-no-Iwai', 'Trakoya', are performed individually, because they are very popular. Nevertheless, I don't think that they are understood easily. When I see 'Kurumabiki', I always feel its difficulty to understand it, because it is too stylistic.

Recently, audiences are not always the fervent Kabuki fans. I think that most Japanese don't know even its title 'Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami'. And most Japanese aren't so different from foreigners about Kabuki. I would like the Kabuki world to present with more understandable style. I don't think that someone who has a relationship to the Kabuki world would read this article, though.

Well, Sugawara-no Michizane is well known as a great doctor of literature and as a great politician at the same time. So he has been respected by students preparing for an examination for long years. He is one of the most popular persons in Japan. But his downfall was caused in 901. 'Sugawara Denje Tenarai Kagami' was written based to the real incident of Sugawara-no Michizane.

As I mentioned before, I watched 'Domyoji' first time, so that I didn't know it was an erotic melodrama. It represented a parting of father and daughter. That daughter Kariyahime is an adopted daughter of Michizane. Kariyahime asks Michzane to take her with him to the place where he is exiled. Of course, Kariyahime is responsible for his downfall, but it is an unlikely matter that she hopes to go with him so strongly. And it is also an unlikely matter that Michizane refuses her so strongly.

This time, Nizaemon performed as Michizane, and Tamasaburo performed as Kariyahime. They are so-called the best-matched couple of Kabuki. When they are on the stage, they always love each other. Although it might be my misunderstanding, Michizane and Kariyahime gave to me an impression that they love each other deeply. I think that they suggested that there might have been even a sexual relationship between Michizane and Kariyahime.

Michizane wrote a poem like the following;
I hope that a plum flower won't forget to bloom, when the east wind blows.
Unless I will be there, remember the east wind brings Spring.

I guess that a plum flower means Kariyahime, so that I think that Michizane might have wished her happiness from the far place in this poem.

Next, children in Kabuki have a tragic destiny. Moreover if he was a good child, he could be the most unfortunate child. Because a good child has no method to escape, he has to die silently. In Edo period, of course persons loved their children. It meant that he could be a good worker for his parents after a child has grown up enough. And parent wasn't sure if children could grow up or not. So if he had died for the loyalty of his parent before he grew up, it must have been a delighted matter. There was a morality like that at old Japan.

But recently, the rights of children have been protected since they were unborn babies. Audiences should know the old morality was a mistake rather than was a prepared rule for the children's tragedy in Kabuki stories. And I hope audiences of Kabiki to have a conscience like getting angry against the morality full of mistakes. Actually the morality of old Japan wasn't wrong, but people had misunderstood it at that time.

If you wanted to know about the real morality of old Japan, I would recommend you to read 'Bushido; Soul of Japan' that was written in English by Nitobe Inazo. If you would like to know about recent Japan's problem, I would recommend you to read 'Dogs and Demons' instead of 'Bushido', though.

Sugawara-no Michizane was appointed a Japanese envoy to China in 894. He suggested to the authorities the abolition of sending the envoy, because China had a civil war at that time. As a result, the system that had been continued for over 200years was abolished and he didn't go to China. Michizane was accused in 901, because he plotted the abdication of the present emperor. He died in despair after two years. Although most Japanese think he was innocent, historians haven't been saying that he was innocent clearly.

Nobody knows the truth. However, I think that he might have felt that it had been better to go to China. (2002,2,9)