At a handsome old farmhouse turned coffee shop in Chichibu, western Saitama Prefecture, Yasuichi Tsukagoshi, 58, anxiously awaits March 10 when his cherished dream will come true.

That weekend "The Mikado" will be presented by local citizens, breaking an old taboo in Japan. The event follows a citizens' initiative to dismantle a cultural barrier, as well as their proud declaration that Chichibu is "the Town of Titipu," the opera's setting.

The humorous light opera by Gilbert and Sullivan has delighted audiences worldwide ever since its premiere at the Savoy Theatre, London on March 14, 1885.

The funny characters and lovely music, however, have never been accepted in Japan because of the strange, comically exotic image it presents of Japan and of the Mikado (an old name for the Emperor) in particular.

To the 19th-century Japanese a caricature of the Emperor was an intolerable offense, even if it was actually intended to satirize Victorian England.

Negative reviews soon arrived in Tokyo from Japanese who saw it in London, Paris and Munich and initiated the aversion felt in Japan.

The operetta reached Yokohama quite early in 1887, but nervous British diplomats persuaded the impresario to change the title and delete parts of the script that might be taken as referring to the Emperor. The audience was limited to expatriates in the Foreign Concession.

In 1907 when Prince Fushimi visited King Edward VII on behalf of Emperor Meiji, the performance then on was canceled despite Londoners' furious protests.

In 1923 a Savoy Theater troupe traveling to Japan met a flat refusal by the Tokyo authorities. During the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952, a Japanese opera company successfully presented "The Mikado" to military audiences, but got a lukewarm response from Japanese still bound by the chrysanthemum taboo.

In December 1991 Tsukagoshi learned by chance about the opera and its possible link with Chichibu on account of the subtitle, "The Town of Titipuh." His friend Takashi Inoue heard influential media personality Rokusuke Ei speaking of it on the radio.

Ei thought that the historic Chichibu Incident, a rebellion by local peasants impoverished by government deflationary policies, which erupted Nov. 1, 1884, a few months before the opera's premiere in 1885, had inspired the librettist with the opera's theme and subtitle.

Ei actually tried in 1984 to encourage people of Chichibu to promote the opera, but the response was cold. Although the rebellion is glorified outside Chichibu as an ideal of democratic movements in Japan, it is still a delicate issue for locals with memories of ancestors whose protest was rigorously suppressed by the government.

Seven years later, though, Ei's idea finally clicked with Tsukagoshi. He and his friends set out to gather more information on the forbidden opera and became fascinated by their findings.

A festival buff with a strong sense of humor, Tsukagoshi particularly loved the opera's topsy-turvy Victorian exaggeration. He and his friends preferred to imagine that Chichibu silk inspired the librettist, rather than the rebellion, as high quality silk from Chichibu was an important export item in the 19th century.

In 1885 working class Japanese were in London for the Japanese Village fair in Knightsbridge. Old photographs of the villagers showed them dressed in kimono very similar to Chichibu Meisen.

Some of them were invited to the rehearsals of "The Mikado" to coach how to bow and use fans. It may well have happened that Gilbert learned of Chichibu silk, or heard the area name from his diplomat friend and liked its funny sound.

To collect firsthand information Tsukagoshi visited D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Birmingham, flying overseas for the first time. He was assisted by Professor Shin'ichi Miyazawa, a neighbor who teaches English literature. Everybody got a great kick when Tsukagoshi introduced himself, saying he had come from the "Town of Titipu."

Upon returning from his trip, Tsukagoshi began to arrange to somehow produce "The Mikado" in Chichibu.

Meanwhile, Miyazawa wrote a book on "The Mikado" and the Titipu-Chichibu link. He has eliminated Ei's idea about the Chichibu Rebellion on the basis of a letter by Sullivan, dated May 8, 1884, which accepted Gilbert's idea of a Japanese theme for their next work. This was six months before the rebellion.

In March 2000 the Chichibu Municipal Assembly passed the mayor's proposal to produce "The Mikado" to mark the 50th anniversary of the city's municipal inaugeration.

In his proposal the mayor emphasized Chichibu's continuing tradition in performing arts since the Edo Period as well as the rare honor of their town being used for the setting of a world famous opera.

Enthusiastic applause drowned a few murmurs of reluctance.

The Chichibu version of "The Mikado" opens with an old folk song. The cast is all local people except for the Mikado.

Wardrobe and wigs are works of Fumio Ino, a veteran local kabuki actor and costume creator. Extensive citizen participation and fast ticket sales endorsed the great impact of the ambitious event, just as the Chichibu farmers' uprising shook the whole of Japan a century ago.