Celebrating the 35th anniversary of its establishment this month, the National Theater of Japan is presenting in its entirety Kawatake Mokuami's 1860 kabuki masterpiece "Sannin Kichisa (Three Men Named Kichisa)."
This sewamono (realistic play) in five acts and 11 scenes, set in mid-19th century Edo, deals with three extraordinary characters who made their living through robbery, murder and extortion. It amply demonstrates Mokuami's skill in constructing dramas that are exceedingly convoluted in plot.
The story revolves around 100 gold ryo made from the sale of a precious sword that was stolen from the house of Obo Kichisa's father by Denkichi, the yakuza-like father of Osho Kichisa (Koshiro Matsumoto).