A staging of “Yanone,” a play in the renowned Edo Kabuki series The Eighteen Great Kabuki Plays, performed with a nod to original “Yanone” actor Ichikawa Danjyuro under the direction of Onoe Syouroku. ”Nininwankyu” is an impressive Kabuki dance work combining classical dance with a modern sensibility that overseas audiences can also relate to. It was performed in December 1997 in Paris by Ⅴ Nakamura Tomijyuro and Ⅳ Nakamura Jyakuemon to rave reviews. “Nininwankyu” dancer Watanabe Aiko’s grandmother Azuma Tokuho performed overseas under the name “Azuma Kabuki”; in the same way Watanabe aims to take her activities as a classical Japanese dancer onto the global stage. For this performance she took on the role of courtesan Matsuyama with the aim of creating a new work from a classic.
The performance was jointly organized with “Asakusa Kabuki wo sodaterukai” (a Kabuki promotion association) which publicized the performance in the local area (including at public transport facilities) and worked to promote ticket sales through a tie-up with local shopping streets.
As Asakusa is the birthplace of Edo Kabuki, the production was designed to give a sense of that atmosphere. To boost the number of younger audience members, organizers offered special student tickets and provided childcare facilities so that young parents could also attend the performance. Audio guides were also available on loan free of charge to make the performance easier to understand for people seeing Kabuki for the first time.