Sukeroku and the mystery 1884 Shintomi-za performance

Sukeroku is another classic kabuki play – something that is always on the repertoire in Tokyo. For the lead performer it is an Otokodate role – that of a “chivalrous commoner” – a lowly citizen who stands up for what is right, against unjust powers. Sukeroku is always featured wearing a purple headband (yamai hachimaki) tied on the right side of his forehead, which is taken to be a sign of sickness, but which makes him very easy to spot in prints.

Plot

The basic plot is quite simple and centres around Sukeroku who is pledged to find who stole his father’s prized sword (Tomokirimaru) and to avenge his father’s murder. He roams the pleasure quarters where he has heard the thief is and tries to challenge men to draw their swords – allowing him to see the distinctive blade. He has fallen in love though with the celebrated courtesan Agemaki who in turn is the favourite of the old samurai Ikyū, the man Sukeroku thinks has his father’s sword.

They first meet in the street outside the tea houses and argue – Ikyū’s retainers try to beat up Sukeroku but he throws them at the feet of the old samurai, and the old man refuses to draw his sword saying that his sword “is too noble to be spoiled by the blood of a thief.” They retire inside a tea house.

After a skirmish with ruffians Sukeroku realises that one of them is his brother, Shinbē, who had been disguised as a sake wine seller. He reminds him of their oath to avenge their father’s murder and they agree to join forces again.

Agemaki appears leading Soga Mankō who is initially disguised under a travelling hat, until Sukeroku challenges her and realised to his astonishment that it is his mother. Soga Mankō announces that she has resolved to kill Ikyū and then take her own life, but Sukeroku convinces her of his determination to kill their enemy himself.

A little later Ikyū sits with Agemaki while Sukeroku hides behind Agemaki’s skirts listening to their conversation. Ikyū understands that Sukeroku is listening and to jibes him with insults, calling him a “ditch rat”. This causes Sukeroku to emerge and Ikyū calls him by his real name (Soga no Gorō) and reviles him for not avenging his father’s death. He then tries to trick Sukeroku into making treasonous statements about the government (Ikyū would then be in his rights to kill the offender) by alluding to a three-legged burner – that they might strike at the shogun if they were united. In his excitement, to demonstrate, he draws his sword and slices the burner in two but he has revealed the sword to Sukeroku in the process. Sukeroku understands now who he must kill and resolves to attack Ikyū and demand the return of the sword.

Later Sukeroku is seen in a white kimono, his hair untied and with his sword drawn, as Ikyū and his retainer Senbei appear from the Miuraya brothel. Sukeroku demands they hand over the sword but Ikyū refuses and a fight ensues in which both Ikyū and Senbei are killed and the sword is retrieved, but Sukeroku is injured. An alarm is raised and a crowd gathers shouting “Murder!” so Sukeroku hides in a barrel of water (which dramatically splashes across the stage) and emerges later when Agemaki hides him under her skirts as the mob searches for Ikyū’s killer. Eventually they disappear and Sukeroku climbs a ladder to the roof tops to make his escape, with Agemaki calling after, saying she will meet him by the riverbank.

As you san see, this is actually a reworking of the Soga Monogatari (Tales of Soga, or the Soga Brother’s) story about 2 brothers who have to avenge the death of their father.

The mystery Shintomi-za performance of 1884

The following prints are for an 1884 performance entitled “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (Sukeroku: Flower of Edo) but there is quite a mystery though surrounding this production because it seems that prints were made by both Kunichika and Kunisada III but the cast was changed and new prints issued with the corrected cast.

Paul Morris Griffith (the great authority on kabuki) said in a discussion on Facebook: Gosh, this one’s a real mystery. As you said, the role of Agemaki in the original Shintomi-za production was played by Takasuke. It couldn’t possibly have been Matsunosuke because he was performing at the Ichimura-za in that month/year. So you may be right that your print shows a later production, but I cannot find any record of one with Matsunosuke playing Agemaki at all. [CMTR: I actually now think that there must have been a last-minute change in cast, precipitating both prints needing to be changed]

However, the mystery doesn’t stop there because while your print shows Sadanji as the ‘shirozake’ seller and Kakitsu as the delivery boy from the Fukuyama restaurant, they didn’t actually play those roles in 1884. The ‘shirozake’ seller was played by Kakitsu and Sadanji took the role of Asagao Senbei. See this other design (also signed ‘Baidō Kunimasa, following Toyohara Kunichika’) showing Kakitsu as the ‘shirozake’ seller. There are other prints showing Sadanji as Senbei, too. So, both your print AND the other earlier impression you posted above, are anomalies.

So, according to Paul there were 2 distinct casts in this play – the one that is credited in the catalogues as being the one that performed, and the one that appears on some yakusha-e:

Cast in the correct Kunisada III print:
- Bandō Kakitsu I [坂東家橘][坂東家橘] as Fukuyama delivery boy [ふく山]
- Suketakaya Takasuke IV [助高屋高助] as Agemaki [揚まき]
- Nakamura Fukusuke IV [中村福助] as Shiratama [志ら玉]
- Ichikawa Sadanji I [市川左団次] as Shirozake seller [白酒うり]
Cast in the incorrect Kunisada III print:
- Bandō Kakitsu I [坂東家橘] as Fukuyama delivery boy [ふく山]
- Iwai Matsunosuke IV [岩井松之助] as Agemaki [揚まき]
- Nakamura Fukusuke IV [中村福助] as Shiratama [志ら玉]
- Ichikawa Sadanji I [市川左団次] as the ‘shirozake seller’ [白酒うり]
But both prints are wrong because, according to the kabuki catalogues, in the actual performance:
- Ichikawa Sadanji I [市川左団次] played Asagao Senbei (Sukeroku’s brother)
- Bandō Kakitsu I [坂東家橘][坂東家橘] played the ‘shirozake seller’ [白酒うり]
Cast in the Chikanobu print:
- Ichikawa Sadanji I [市川左団次] as the Fukuyama delivery boy [福山]
- Iwai Matsunosuke IV [岩井松之助] as Agemaki [揚巻]
- Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎] as Sukeroku [助六]
- Nakamura Fukusuke IV [中村福助] as Shiratama [白玉]
- Nakamura Shikan IV [中村芝翫] as Ikyū [意休]

To me, these multiple inconsistencies in the casting suggest that there was a mix-up and parts were reallocated sometime between initial plans being discussed with ukiyo-e publishers and the play actually going ahead. Perhaps in the meantime someone fell sick or there was a dispute and there was a last minute change of cast? It certainly seems a lot more plausible that there being 2 performances with a near identical cast, which cannot be found in any of the kabuki catalogues. As Paul said, Iwai Matsunosuke IV in fact performed in a different play at this time AND doesn’t ever seem to have played the part of Agemaki in his whole career. Perhaps Matsunosuke fell out with the play’s producers or the cast and decided to perform elsewhere, leaving the Shintomi-za production to reallocate roles according to who was best prepared at short-notice to play each character?

Kunisada III: Bandō Kakitsu I, Suketakaya Takasuke IV, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Nakamura Shikan IV, Nakamura Fukusuke IV & Ichikawa Sadanji I in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged at the Shintomi-za theatre from 29th April 1884 (correct cast) [CMTR collection]

Tokyo Metro Library has 2 exact copies of this print:

Kunisada III: Bandō Kakitsu I, Iwai Matsunosuke IV, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Nakamura Shikan IV, Nakamura Fukusuke IV & Ichikawa Sadanji I in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged at the Shintomi-za theatre from 29th April 1884 (incorrect cast) [CMTR collection]

Title: Bandō Kakitsu I, Iwai Matsunosuke IV, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Nakamura Shikan IV, Nakamura Fukusuke IV & Ichikawa Sadanji I in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged at the Shintomi-za theatre from 29th April 1884 (incorrect cast)

Date: Meiji17 (erased in the latter print) (1884) / month 4 / day 10; Signed: Toyohara Kunichika hitsu (imitated by) Baidō Kunimasa ga with toshidama ring 豊原国周筆倣テ梅堂国政画; Publisher: 小宮山昇平 Shohei Komiyama

Text:

L:
- Bandō Kakitsu I [坂東家橘] as Fukuyama [ふく山]
- Agemaki [揚まき]
  - (original actor) Suketakaya Takasuke IV [助高屋高助]
  - (this actor) Iwai Matsunosuke IV [岩井松之助]
M:
- Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎] as Hana kawado no Sukeroku [花川戸の助六]
- Nakamura Shikan IV [中村芝翫] as Hige no Ikyū [髭の意休]
R:
- Nakamura Fukusuke IV [中村福助] as Shiratama [志ら玉]
- Ichikawa Sadanji I [市川左団次] as Shirozake seller [白酒うり]

More prints of this performance

Chikanobu: Nakamura Nakazō III, Suketakaya Takasuke IV, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Nakamura Fukusuke IV & Nakamura Shikan IV in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged at the Shintomi-za theatre from 29th April 1884

Title: Nakamura Nakazō III, Suketakaya Takasuke IV, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Nakamura Fukusuke IV & Nakamura Shikan IV in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged at the Shintomi-za theatre from 29th April 1884

Print Date: Meiji12 (1884) / month 4; Carver: Horikō Gin 彫工銀; Publisher: Matsushita Heibē 松下平兵エ (after a print of the same design by Kunichika in 1879)

Nakamura Nakazō III [中村仲蔵] as Fukuyama (delivery boy) [福山]
Suketakaya Takasuke IV [助高屋高助] as Agemaki [揚巻]
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎] as Sukeroku [助六]
Nakamura Fukusuke IV [中村福助] as Shiratama [志ら玉]
Nakamura Shikan IV [中村芝翫] as Ikyū [意休]

Waseda: Waseda University Cultural Resource Databases[SubDB-search]

Chikanobu: Bandō Kakitsu I, Suketakaya Takasuke IV, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Ichikawa Sadanji I, Nakamura Fukusuke IV & Nakamura Shikan IV in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged at the Shintomi-za theatre from 29th April 1884

Title: Bandō Kakitsu I, Suketakaya Takasuke IV, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Ichikawa Sadanji I, Nakamura Fukusuke IV & Nakamura Shikan IV in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged at the Shintomi-za theatre from 29th April 1884

Signed: 楊洲周延||筆; Publisher: 綱島亀吉; Print Date: 明治17 (1884) / month 4 明治十七年四月

Cast:

Bandō Kakitsu I [坂東家橘] as ‘shirozake seller’ [白酒新兵エ]
Suketakaya Takasuke IV [助高屋高助] as Agemaki [揚巻]
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎] as Sukeroku [助六]
Ichikawa Sadanji I [市川左団次] as Asagao Senbei [朝顔千兵衛]
Nakamura Fukusuke IV [中村福助] as Shiradama [しら玉]
Nakamura Shikan IV [中村芝翫] as Hige Ikyū [髭意休]

Theatre: 新富; Performed: 明治17 (1884) / month 4 / day 29

Tokyo Metro Library: https://archive.library.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/da/detail?tilcod=0000000003-00052341

Chikanobu: Bandō Kakitsu I, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Suketakaya Takasuke IV & Nakamura Shikan IV in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged at the Shintomi-za theatre from 29th April 1884

Title: Bandō Kakitsu I, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Suketakaya Takasuke IV & Nakamura Shikan IV in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged at the Shintomi-za theatre from 29th April 1884

Signed: 楊洲周延||画; Carver: 彫弥太; Publisher: 井沢菊太郎; Print Date: 明治17 (1884) / month 4 明治十七年四月

Cast:

Bandō Kakitsu I [坂東家橘] as ‘shirozake seller’ [白酒うり]
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎] as Hanakawado no Sukeroku [花川戸ノ助六]
Suketakaya Takasuke IV [助高屋高助] as Agemaki [揚まき]
Nakamura Shikan IV [中村芝翫] as Hige no Ikyū [髭の意休]

Theatre: 新富; Performed: 明治17 (1884) / month 4 / day 29

Tokyo Metro Library: https://archive.library.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/da/detail?tilcod=0000000003-00052340

Other Sukeroku prints

Here by contrast is an uncontroversial print from an 1872 performance of a slight variant of the play called “Sukeroku Yukari no Yaezakura”

Nakamura Kanjaku III as “shirozake uri”, Kawarasaki Sanshō VII as Hanakawado no Sukeroku & Iwai Hanshirō VIII as the courtesan Miuraya Agemaki in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Yaezakura”, staged at the Morita-za theatre from 25th of the 2nd month 1872

Title: Nakamura Kanjaku III as “shirozake uri”, Kawarasaki Sanshō VII as Hanakawado no Sukeroku & Iwai Hanshirō VIII as the courtesan Miuraya Agemaki in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Yaezakura”, staged at the Morita-za theatre from 25th of the 2nd month 1872.

Signed: Toyohara Kunichika hitsu; Date: 1872 (seal unreadable but rounded); Carver: Hori Cho – Katada Chojirō (片田彫長); Publisher: Dobashi Masadaya han 土橋政田屋版; trade name Masadaya Heikichi

Actors:

Left: Nakamura Kanjaku III [中村翫雀] as “shirozake uri” (Senbei) [白酒売]
Middle: Kawarasaki Sanshō [河原崎三升] as Hanakawado no Sukeroku [花川戸の助六]
Right: Iwai Hanshirō VIII [紫若改岩井半四郎] as the courtesan Miuraya Agemaki [三浦や揚巻紫若改]

Also found at the Tokyo Metro Library: https://archive.library.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/da/detail?tilcod=0000000003-00052139

Kunichika: Ichikawa Sadanji I, Iwai Matsunosuke IV, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Nakamura Fukusuke IV & Nakamura Shikan IV in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged from May 1879 [CMTR collection]

Title: Ichikawa Sadanji I, Iwai Matsunosuke IV, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, Iwai Komurasaki III & Nakamura Nakazō III in the play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura” (助六由縁江戸桜), staged from May 1879

Signed: 豊原国周筆; Print Date: 明治12 (1879) / month 5 / day 1; Carver: Horikō Gin 彫工銀; Publisher: Matsushita Heibē 松下平兵エ

Ichikawa Sadanji I [市川左団次] as the Fukuyama delivery boy [福山]
Iwai Matsunosuke IV [岩井松之助] as Agemaki [揚巻]
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎] as Sukeroku [助六]
Iwai Komurasaki III [岩井小紫] as Shiratama [白玉]
Nakamura Nakazō III [中村仲蔵] as Ikyū [意休]