Although Ichikawa Ennosuke, 64, the founder of "Super Kabuki," may be absent from the stage due to illness, his company of 25 are delighting audiences with their production of Tsuruya Namboku's classic masterpiece, "Sakurahime Azuma Bunsho (The Story of Sakurahime)" at the Kabukiza Theater this month.

Script-edited by Masakatsu Gunji and directed by Shosuke Nagawa, "Sakurahime" is a six-act drama which is being shown in two parts: the first three acts are performed in the afternoon and the last three acts in the evening.

Tsuruya Namboku IV (1755-1829) was writing during the Bunka-Bunsei era (1804-29) in Edo, and penned over 100 dramas in the last 25 years of his life. "Sakurahime Azuma Bunsho" was premiered at the Kawarazakiza Theater in Edo in March, 1817, with Iwai Hanshiro V, one of the most prominent onnagata (actors specializing in female roles) of the time, performing Princess Sakurahime throughout.