July is the month for Ennosuke Ichikawa at the Kabukiza. For the champion of Super Kabuki, this year's event is particularly significant because it marks the 30th performance since the initial presentation of his summer program at the Kabukiza.
For the afternoon program, Ennosuke has chosen three numbers that were performed on the memorable occasion in July 1971: "Kamahige" rom the Ichikawa special repertory of 18 kabuki plays, the dance "Kurozuka" and the last act from "Yoshi- tsune Senbonzakura," crowned with Ennosuke's famous exit flying over the hanamichi runway. For the evening program, Ennosuke is staging "Uwajima Sodo (The Uwajima Incident)," an 1873 kabuki play he revived in 1977. Ennosuke is presenting "Uwajima" at the Kabukiza for the first time, leading his personally trained troupe of young, able actors.
"Kamahige," first performed in 1719, is a fine example of the bombastic aragoto style of kabuki acting. It was revived and staged at the Kabukiza in 1910 by Ennosuke Ichikawa I when he changed his stage name to Danshiro II, while his son became Ennosuke II (later En'o, the grandfather of the present Ennosuke).