Back in 1751, the haunting power and harrowing sadness of a new five-act bunraku (puppet) play by Namiki Sosuke titled "Ichi-no-tani Futaba Gunki" (Chronicle of the Battle of Ichi-no-tani)" made it such a hit among the masses that, within a year, a kabuki version was being staged in Osaka and Edo (present-day Tokyo).
Now, at the National Theatre in the capital's central Hanzomon district, two acts from that hastily created kabuki classic are being staged to packed (but better-heeled) houses, with Matsumoto Koshiro IX in the title role of Kumagai Naozane, a famed warrior under Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-89).
During the 1180-85 Genpei War between the Minamoto (Genji) and Heike (Taira) clans, Kumagai played a key role in the Battle of Ichi-no-tani near Kobe in 1184, a pivotal triumph for the Minamoto forces on their way to establishing the military Kamakura Shogunate in 1192.