Background Information

This play was first performed as a puppet play in 1751 in Osaka , and that was written by Miyoshi Shoraku and Yoshida Kanji. It has 13-act. Chikamatsu Monzaemon wrote ‘Tanba Yosaku Matsuyo no Komurobushi’ in 1708, and they rewrote it into this play. This play was performed as a kabuki play in the same year 1751, and it made a big hit. Act-10 that was well known as ‘Shigenoi Kowakare / Shigenoi leaves from her son’ was performed this time. This act has been performed alone until today.

Cast     

Lord Yuruki’s mansion

Lord Yuruki is the lord of Tanba, and his daughter, Princess Shirabe has to depart to Edo (present Tokyo) in order to marry with Lord Iruma’s son, but she doesn’t accept it because she is a little girl yet. Of course she doesn’t need to marry right now, but Lord Iruma thought that she should live with her future husband’s family together. Lord Iruma sent the chief retainer, Honda Yazaemon to Tanba to take Princess Shirabe to Edo , but she says ‘no’ only. A lady-in-waiting, Wakana found a boy Sankichi who works as a horse driver. Sankichi showed a dice game to Princess Shirabe, and she enjoyed it very much. She said in a good mood that if there was such interesting game like this in Edo, she accepted to go there. They all start preparing to depart to Edo as soon as possible before Princess Shirabe doesn’t change her mind. Shigenoi who is a wet nurse of Princess Shirabe says to Sankichi to wait there until gratitude is given, and leaves from the room with Princess.

Shigenoi came back to give sweets as gratitude to Sankichi, and said to Sankichi to travel with Princess Shirabe’s company to Edo . She said her name, Shigenoi, and said that Sankichi should say anything anytime to her, if he had a trouble or found something that he wanted on the way to Edo . Sabkichi was surprised very much to hear her name, Shigenoi, because a woman who had that name must be his mother.

Sankichi told the following;

As for parents, there was the reason to divorce, and Sankichi's father, Yosaku who was a bushi / samurai before was disappeared. Sankichi was grown by a wet nurse, and she said that his real name was Yonosuke, and that his mother Shigenoi was a wet nurse of a princess. After the wet nurse died, Sankichi started serving as a horse driver to live alone. Sankichi found his mother Shigenoi now, and he said to Shigenoi that he would like to find his missing father to live together at least one day. He took out the charm bag and showed it to Shigenoi.

Shigenoi told the following;

Shinonoi’s father was a Noh player retained by Lord Yuruki. Shinonoi fell in love with Date Yosaku who was a son of the chief retainer, and he committed hara-kiri in order to obtain permission of his daughter’s crime. In-house love was strict prohibition the Edo term in the samurai society. As the result, Yosaku was banished, but Shinonoi was allowed and she became a wet nurse of a princess. However, Shinonoi was pregnant, so she bore a child secretly. The charm bag that Sankichi kept proved that Sankichi was her real son Yonosuke.

Although Sankichi must have been promised the wealthy life without any inconvenience as Yonosuke, he has the poor life which serves as a horse driver actually. Shinonoi feels that it’s her responsibility, but nobody should know that Princess Shirabe and Sankichi were the milk brothers. If Lord Iruma knew it, the marriage must become impossible. So Shigenoi can’t accept Sankichi as Yonosuke. Shigenoi gives money to Sankichi, but Sankichi refuses to take it. Sankichi said that he must not take such money from a woman who wasn’t his mother because Yonosuke was a son of Yosaku who was a real samurai. Sankichi threw the money to Shigenoi, but cried. Voice called Shigenoi.

Lord Yuruki's mansion entrance

The entrance of Lord Yuruki’s mansion, there are many retainers sat in a row in order to wait for the departure of Proncess Shirabe. Then, Princess Shirabe comes with Shigenoi there, and a retainer orders Sankichi to sing a song of horse drivers. Sankichi sang but cried, because he thought a difficult position of his mother Shigenoi and himself.

Now, Princess Shirabe has departed.