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Background Information

'Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura' was first performed in 1747 as a puppet play. And it was first performed as kabuki the next year. It was written by Takeda Izumo, Miyoshi Shoraku, and Namiki Senryu, and they are well known as the playwrights who wrote the big three kabuki plays. This play is one of them. Kabukiza Theater showed a part of this drama this time.

Taira-Minamoto War/Genji-Heike Clan War happened in 1156-1185. It is the most famous civil war in Japan. A lot of stories, dramas, movies, and stage plays were written about it, and they all were based to 'The Tale of Heike'. And this play isn't an exception of them.

This play starts just after the final battle of Dannoura. Minamoto-no Yoshitsune, a general of the Genji clan army, got the victory at that battle and the Heike clan was destroyed then. However, Yoshitsune was suspected by his elder brother Minamoto-no Yoritomo, who becomes Shogun of Kamakura Shogunate government in 1192. Yoritomo had three suspicions about Yoshitsune.

The three suspicions are the following;
1; Goshirakawa, an ex-emperor, gave a hand drum to Yoshitsune. Yoritomo thought that Goshirakawa could have meant to make Yoshitsune beat the drum/Yoritomo indirectly.
2; Yoshitsune sent to Yoritomo three severed heads of Taira-no Tomomori, Koremori, and Noritsune. But they were all fakes.
3; Yoshitsune has a wife who is a daughter of Taira-no Tokitada who was a warrior of the Heike clan. So Yoshitsune is one of the members of the Heike clan.

Yoshitsune's answers of them are the following;
1; Yoshitsune received the drum, because he wouldn't have liked to make Goshirakawa embarrass. Yoshitsune just keeps it, and he will never beat it.
2; Those three warriors have sunk into sea, so Yoshitsune intended to make people be calm by their fake severed heads.
3; Yoshitsune's wife Kyo-no-kata committed suicide already in order to clear her husband's suspicion.

Yoritomo didn't believe Yoshitsune's answers, and thought that Yoshitsune might plot a revolt against him. Yoritomo made his army go to subjugate Yoshitsune from Kamakura.

Story

Act-1

Scene; Before the gateway to Inari Shrine at Fushimi

Cast

Yoshitsune and his retainers came to Inari shrine in order to pray their fortunate future. Yoritomo's army from Kamakura is getting close there already. Yoshitsune wouldn't like to fight against his elder brother Yoritomo, so he intends to escape with his retainers. Shizuka, Yoshitsune's lover who was a professional dancer, comes there to chase Yoshitsune. Although she would like to go with Yoshitsune, Yoshitsune refuses her wish. But Shizuka doesn't accept it.

Benkei, the first retainer of Yoshitsune, arrived. Just after Yoshitsune's wife Kyo-no-kata committed suicide, Yoritomo's warriors attacked Yoshitsune's mansion, and Benkei killed them. Yoshitsune ordered Benkei not to fight against Yoritomo's warriors. However Benkei couldn't stop fighting, because he always fought against Yoshitsune's enemy. After that, Yoshitsune got angry with Benkei very much, because Benkei made his wife's death useless. So Yoshitsune didn't allow Benkei to come with him. Then, Yoshitsune still doesn't allow Benkei, but everyone intercedes with Yoshitsune for Benkei. Shizuka is one of them. And Yoshitsune forgives Benkei finally.

Benkei thanks for everyone. And Shizuka says that Benkei should intercede with Yoshitsune for her, now. Benkei is in trouble, but he can say nothing because he also thinks that Shizuka shouldn't come with them. Yoshitsune gives to her a hand drum that the ex-emperor Goshirakawa gave to him. Yoshitsune says Shizuka to keep it as a memento of him. But Shizuka still hopes to go with Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune orders his retainer to tie Shizuka and the hand drum to a plum tree. And Yoshitsune and his party go into the gateway of Inari shrine.

Sasame Chuta and warriors from Kamakura come there, and find Shizuka and a hand drum. Chuta is delighted, because he could get both of Shizuka and the hand drum without any battle. When Chuta tries to take Shizuka with him, Sato Tadanobu appears on the scene. Tadanobu is a retainer of Yoshitsune. He gets back Shizuka and a hand drum, and kicks out Chuta and warriors from the stage.

After Yoshitsune finished praying, he and his party comes there. Yoshitsune asks Tadanobu to take Shizuka to Kyoto as a bodyguard. Yoshitsune and his party depart for west as their escape trip. After that, Shizuka and Tadanobu also depart for Kyoto.

Act-2

Scene-1; Tokaiya boathouse

Cast

The Tokaiya is a boathouse by Daimon Bay. Its proprietor is Ginpei, in reality Taira-no Tomomori who is a warrior of the Heike clan. Tomomori seemed to be killed at the Dannoura battle, but he has been living. He is waiting a chance to revenge against the Genji clan. And Ginpei's wife is in reality the court lady Suke-no-tsubone, nurse of the boy-emperor Antoku. She also seemed to have died with the emperor Antoku. Ginpei and Oryu bring Antoku up as a daughter at Tokaiya. Yoshitsune and his party would like to go to Kyushu by a boat, but they have to stay in Tokaiya because of the bad weather. They are disguised, but Tomomori knows that they are Yoshitsune's party

Sagami Goro who is a warrior of the Genji clan comes to Tokaiya in order to catch Yoshitsune. Goro asks Oryu to take him on a boat, but she refuses it because she has guests already. Goro orders the same thing again. As Ginpei is out, Oryu asks Goro to wait until Ginpei comes back. Then Ginpei comes back. Goro explains his situation again, and Ginpei refuses and kicks him out. Ginpei says Oryu to do ready the guests' departure, and he goes to the other room to do ready himself.

Yoshitsune and his party appear. They observed what Ginpei did against Goro, and Yoshitsune was impressed very much. Oryu says that they should depart as soon as possible, but Yoshitsune is worried about the bad weather. It is raining, and the wave is still high. However, Yoshitsune decides to depart, because Oryu says that Ginpei thinks there is no problem. Yoshitsune and his party leave from Tokaiya.

Oryu makes a daughter come beside her, and she calls Ginpei. Ginpei, in reality Tomomori appears on the stage wearing white kimono that people put on to die. Tomomori says that he will kill Yoshitsune with his warriors as evil spirits of the Henke clan. And he says that if he couldn't kill Yoshitsune, the boy-emperor Antoku must die. A daughter, in reality the boy-emperor Antoku accepts it. Then, Tomomori departs to do the vendetta of the Heike clan that was destroyed already.

The boy-emperor, Suke-no-tsubone, and some court ladies put on formal court dress, and they watch the sea battle from the window. Soga Goro rushes there to report the sea battle. Goro disguised before to make Yoshitsune believe Ginpei, and he is one of the warriors of the Heike clan. Goro reports that Tomomori attacked Yoshitsune's boat, but that the situation is not so good, because Yoshitsune countered back immediately. Yoshitsune noticed that Ginpei was Tomomori. After Goro finishes reporting, he comes back to the battlefield.

When Suke-no-tsubone and the others watch the sea battle, all of the lights of the boats go out. That was a sign that Tomomori lost the battle. Irie Tanzo rushes there to do the final report, and says that they lost the battle. He says that all hope has vanished. That meant that all of the court ladies there and the boy-emperor Antoku must commit suicide. Then, some warriors of Yoshitsune chase Tanzo, and they fight. Tanzo stabs a warrior who is his back through his abdomen with his sword. And he jumps into the water with a warrior. After that, the court ladies jump into the water one after another.

Suke-no-tsubone says that there would be a metropolitan city also in the sea, and that people of the Heike clan wait him there. The boy-emperor Antoku understood what she said, and accepts it. When Suke-no-tsubone is going to jump into the water with the boy-emperor Antoku, Yoshitsune comes there and takes Antoku from her.

Scene-2; Daimotsu Bay

Cast

Tomomori was injured and bloody all over. He searches for the boy-emperor Antoku, but he is surround by Yoshitsune's warriors. Tomomori still doesn't stop fighting. Then, Yoshitsune appears on the scene with Antoku. And Suke-no-tsubone is there, but she seems to anguish. Yoshitsune says Tomomori to stop fighting. Tmomori has done his jobs already, so he may as well do surrender, now. Yoshitsune recommends Tomomori to pray for the Heike clan that was destroyed as a monk. Benkei who was a monk before gives prayer beans to Tomomori, but he breaks it. Tomomori is still a warrior.

The boy-emperor Antoku says that he appreciates Tomomori's effort very much, and that it is enough already. Tomomori helped Antoku before, and Yoshitsune helps him now and the future. So Tomomori doesn't need to worry about Antoku after this. Then Suke-no-tsubone kills herself suddenly. She knows that she has nothing to do anymore.

Tomomori decides his mind at last. Tomomori asks Yoshitsune to think that everything that he did this time was done by an evil spirit of him, because Tomomori died at the Dannoura battle already. Tomomori realized that his world had disappeared. There is a big rock there, and Tomomori climbs it. A big anchor is on the top of the rock. He ties himself with rope to a big anchor, and throws it into the sea. And Tomomori is pulled into the water finally. Yoshitsune takes Antoku with him, and he and his party continue their escape trip. (2003,2,1)