Lecture 1 Ryogoku and “Sannin Kichisa”: A place to calm the soul
Streaming dates: Friday, September 10 – Sunday, September 19, 2021
Ryogoku, which boasted one of the best “sakariba”amusement quarters in Edo, has featured in various Kabuki plays. This lecture revolves around the Kabuki masterpiece “Sannin Kichisa Kuruwa no Hatsugai” by Kawatake Mokuami, a celebrated playwright active from the late Edo period through to the Meiji era.
Ryogoku has come to play the role of memorial site for the city despite suffering fires, earthquakes, and air raids. “Sannin Kichisa” can also be interpreted as a requiem for the end of the Edo period. We delve into the sentiments people in the Edo period invested in this area.

Lecture 2 Kanegafuchi and “Sumidagawa mono”: A place engendering tales
Streaming dates: Friday, November 5 – Sunday, November 14, 2021
The area from Sensoji Temple to Kanegafuchi was one of Edo’s top sightseeing spots as well as a place of nostalgia for “Edokko,” Edo natives. At the same time, “Umewaka Densetsu”or the legend of Umewaka from Kanegafuchi has featured in numerous joruri (sung narratives) and Kabuki plays including the noh play “Sumidagawa”(Sumida River), a group of works dealing with the Umewaka legend which went on to be known as “Sumidagawamono.” This lecture will guide you through the dazzling world of the “Sumidagawamono,” a literary tradition kept alive by great writers including Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Tsuruya Nanboku, and Kawatake Mokuami.

Lecture 3 Fukagawa and “Yotsuya Kaidan”: A place were life and death merge
Streaming dates: Friday, January 14 – Sunday, January 23 30, 2022
The district of Fukagawa, home to the common people, was a place brimming with modest lives full of poverty, tragedy, sweat and tears. The exceptional writer Nanboku Tsuruya, who specialized in “kizewa” tales depicting human life in a realistic way, also lived and died here in Fukagawa. As we unravel the Fukagawa as portrayed in his masterpiece “Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan,” we close in on what Nanboku saw in this district as a writer who had a harsh view of society and a warm outlook on humanity.

Lecturer: Yuichi Kinoshita (leader of Kinoshita-Kabuki)
Readings: Masahiro Oishi, Marina Nagai
Music composition/performance: Yae Yamamichi

Direction: Takaki Sudo
Organization: Takatoshi Inagaki
Costumes: Rie Usui
Hair and make-up: Eita (Iris), Naoki Toyama (Iris)
Performance of theme tune: Yoko Mochizuki, Rokon Tosha, Yuka Mukaeda, Hidehiko Nishigaki
Camera operators: Ryohei Tomita, Ryo Mikami, Mariko Miyata
Shoot assistant by: Kaede Konishi
Editing: Takaki Sudo
Literature: Yae Yamamichi
Production manager: Mai Hongo
Illustrations/design: Ayahana Fukuda

Streaming fee
1,000 yen per lecture (including tax)
*Please note program details are subject to change.
*Resale for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.

Sales period for stream tickets
Lecture 1: 10:00, Saturday, September 4, 2021 – 22:00, Sunday, September 19, 2021
Lecture 2: 10:00, Saturday, October 30, 2021 – 22:00, Sunday, November 14, 2021
Lecture 3: 10:00, Saturday, January 8, 2022 – 22:00, Sunday, January 23 30, 2022

Stream ticketing
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