July is the month that Ichikawa Ennosuke and his troupe of young actors take over the Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo; this year marks their 32nd season. It also sees Ennosuke, 62, the prolific mastermind behind the new-style "Super Kabuki," return to a story that has fascinated him down the years: "Satomi Hakkenden (Adventures of the Eight Dogs of the Satomi Family)."
Originally a voluminous novel by Takizawa Bakin (1767-1848) which took the author 28 years to complete, in 1836 "Hakkenden" was adapted for the Bunraku stage by Yamada Kagashi.
Ennosuke staged "Satomi Hakkenden" for the first time in 1975, using Yamada's Bunraku text. In 1993 he presented "Hakkenden" as a Super Kabuki production, and scenes from the drama formed part of his 1999 Kabukiza program. For the past 27 years, though, he has not staged "Hakkenden" in its entirety.