Kumagai Jin’ya: The Shikan kata [Kabuki Acting Traditions]

Let’s have a look at the Shikan acting tradition for the role of Kumagai Jirō Naozane in the 1752 jidaimono drama Ichi-no-Tani Futaba Gunki (“Chronicle of the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani“). This kata was developed in the Edo period by Nakamura Utaemon III, and revived recently by Nakamura Shikan VIII in full form. Special thanks to Samuel L. Leiter for his wonderfully detailed article “Kumagai’s Battle Camp: Form and Tradition in Kabuki“, and to the late James R. Brandon for his brilliant english translation of the play in “Kabuki: Five Classic Plays“. More information of kata for the role of Kumagai can be found in Leiter’s article and in Tamotsu Watanabe’s book “歌舞伎 型の魅力“. If you have any question, correction or suggestion you can contact me at: @ #kabuki #歌舞伎 #japan Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:27 History 02:00 Shikan and Danjūrō kata 02:19 Costume and makeup 03:17 Entrance 05:28 Tobacco pipe 06:31 Monogatari 11:42 Head inspection 14:24 Sagami & Kumagai 15:29 Finale 19:07 Conclusions