Sunday, February 11, 2018

The Dashing Sukeroku

I have uploaded a new recommended title to my live action recommendations. This one is the famous kabuki play Sukeroku, which happens to be available on all region subtitled DVD from NHK.

Sukeroku (1713)
Script: Tsuuchi Jihei II, Tsuuchi Hanemon
 
Also known as Yukaro no Edo Zakira, and Sukeroku: Flower of Edo. This is one of the Kabuki Juhachiban, "Eighteen Great Plays," of the Ichikawa family. The setting is the Yoshiwara during the cherry blossom viewing. The highly regarded courtesan Agemaki longs for her dashing young lover Sukeroku while being pursued by the old lecherous samurai Ikyû who wishes to possess her himself. Sukeroku is constantly getting into fights, however he has a reason for this which I will not go into. Traditionally some of the scenes are improvised so the audience never quite knows what to expect. The NHK DVD release is one of the few kabuki plays to be subtilted.
 
DVD:
Order the all region DVD of Kabuki Meisaku Sen Sukeroku Yuen Kurozakura from CD Japan