The Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo is embarking on the year of the horse with excellent selections of jidaimono (historical plays) and sewamono (realistic plays).
Matsumoto Koshiro, born in the year of the horse 60 years ago, performs alongside his 29-year-old son Somegoro in the Noh-inspired "Renjishi (Mythical Lions in a Pair)," first performed in 1872. Both tall and handsome, the two give a spirited performance as the magnificent shishi lions, accompanied by dazzling nagauta music.
Koshiro also plays the gallant Kumagai Naozane, eponymous hero of the evening program's "Kumagai Jinya (Kumagai's Camp)." A superb stylized jidaimono, this is adapted from Act III of the 1751 bunraku play "Ichinotani Futaba Gunki," which dramatizes the battle between the Minamoto and Taira forces in 1184. Nakamura Jakuemon, Koshiro's uncle, gives a fine performance as Kumagai's wife, Sagami.