''Sukeroku'' (助六由縁江戸桜) is a play in the

Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

repertoire, and one of the celebrated '' Kabuki Jūhachiban'' ("Eighteen Great Plays"). The play is known in English as ''The Flower of Edo''. The play is strongly associated with the

Ichikawa Danjūrō is a stage name taken on by a series of Kabuki actors of the Ichikawa family. Most of these were blood relatives, though some were adopted into the family. It is a famous and important name, and receiving it is an honor. There are a number of r ...

family of actors.

Plot

Events take place in Yoshiwara, a pleasure district of present-day

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Agemaki is a

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...

who is frequented by Sukeroku (who turns out to be samurai

Soga Gorō Soga may refer to: People * Soga clan, a Japanese clan of the Yamato period * Soga clan (Sagami Province), a Japanese clan * Soga people, of the Busoga kingdom in present-day Uganda * Machiko Soga, Japanese voice actress * Soga Tokimune, Japanes ...

). Sukeroku is continually looking for fights. An old

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

called Ikyū arrives and tries to subtly persuade Agemaki away from Sukeroku. Sukeroku does not succeed in provoking Ikyū to draw his

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

. A

saké Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

-seller named Shimbei shows up, and Sukeroku picks a fight with him, but Shimbei reveals himself to be Soga Jyūrō (Sukeroku's elder brother) in disguise. Sukeroku explains to his brother (and later his mother) that he tries to provoke people into drawing their sword. If the sword turns out to be Tomokirimaru (their fathers sword), the person who holds the sword is probably the killer of their father and revenge can be exacted. Ikyū tries to convince the brothers to join him. To demonstrate his power he hacks a leg of an incense burner. Thus revealing that his sword is in fact Tomokirimaru and he is Iga Heinaizaemon, an enemy of the family, and their father's killer. Quite often the play ends here, although there are versions where Sukeroku kills Ikyū.

History

The work is

derived Derive may refer to: * Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments * ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism *Dérive, a psychogeographical concept See also * *Derivation (disambiguatio ...

from The Tale of the Soga Brothers.

In popular culture

The play is still regularly performed. The Ichikawa family secured its control over the play in 1832 using the title Sukeroku Yukari Edo Zakura. As the play is extremely popular, other families have developed their own versions, such as Sukeroku Kuruwa no Momoyogusa performed by the Onoe Kikugorô line of actors. In Junichiro Tanizaki's novel, "Diary of a Mad Old-Man", Sukeroku is referred to five times at the beginning of Chapter I.

Translation

The play was translated into English by James R. BrandonKabuki, Five Classic Plays; Brandon, James R.;

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

; 1972; 378 pages; {{ISBN, 978-0674304857 as part of a book containing five Kabuki plays. The book has been reprinted by the University of Hawaii Press (in 1992). The book is also part of the

UNESCO Collection of Representative Works The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

External references

* Holly Blumner and Naoko Maeshiba; "Sukeroku: A History." in 101 Years of Kabuki in Hawai'i; pages 42–44. * Constantine Vaporis; "A Hero for the Masses: The Kabuki Play Sukeroku: Flower of Edo (1713)" in Voices of Early Modern Japan. * Tamotsu Watanabe; Kabuki 101 monogatari; in Japanese

References

1713 plays Plays set in the 11th century Kabuki plays