Kabuki
The National Theatre, dedicated to the performance of classical Japanese performing art was opened in 1966 in Tokyo. The stamps show the building (Y15) a scene from the 1746 play Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy (Y25) and Yaeki Princess a character from a 1766 play on filial piety that is mostly performed in the bunraku puppet theatre (Y50).
This 2003 series commemorates the first Kabuki performance in 1603. It was held held in Kyoto by the temple dancer Okuni who is shown in the left stamp. The authorities soon banned women from holding such performances, but kabuki survived with young men playing the female roles. The other stamp shows characters from the plays Shibaraku (Wait a minute), and The Ground Spider. The play Shibaraku (c1697) was written for the Ichikawa acting Guild that specialised in 'arogoto' rough acting. A scion of this Guild, Ichikawa Danjyuurou IX represented the performing arts in the 1950 Men of Culture series. The Ground Spider is a play adapted from the Noh theatre.
Kabuki was the first art form to be featured in the 4-part Classic (Performing) Arts series of 1970-72, followed by issues for Gagaku, Bunraku and Noh. Scenes are shown from The Maiden at Doujyouji Temple (Y15), The Flower of Edo (Y15) and The Subscription List (Y50). The Maiden at Doujyouji Temple, written in the 15th C for the Noh theatre, deals with the surreptitious violation of the ban on women attending the dedication ceremony for a new temple bell. The Flower of Edo is another play associated with the Ichikawa Guild telling the story of Sukeroka, a samurai looking to pick a fight in order to provoke his adversaries to draw their swords, which will allow him to identify his father's murderer. This play is a staple of the kabuki theatre, and Sukeroka is one of the characters in the Kabuki Warriors Xbox game. The Subscription List is a play associated with the wave of social realism in the late 18th C that was the trademark of the Namiki Gohei authors' guild. The famous warrior Yoshitsune of the Minamoto and his servant pretend to be monks in order to flee the capital. The guard meant to stop them is so taken in by their artifice that he waves them through, at the cost of his own life. This play was adapted from the Noh play Ataka.
A 6-part series dedicated to Kabuki only was issued in 1991-92. Below is a summary of plays and actors featured. More background information can be found on the website of the National Theatre.
- Series I - 28 Jun 1991
- Y62 - Onoekikugorou VI in the Lion Mask (Kagamijishi)
- Y100 - Nakamura Kanzaburou VI as Princess Yaegaki in the 24 Exemplars of Filial Piety
- Series II - 27 Sep 1991
- Y62 - Matsumoto Koshiro as Benkei in The Subscription List (Kanshinchou)
- Y100 - Ishikawa Danjyuurou XI as Kumedera in The Tweezers (Kenuki)
- Series III - 20 Nov 1991
- Y62 - Nakamura Baigyoku III as Ougiya Yuugiri in Yoshidaya
- Y100 - Nakamura Ganjirou II as Kamiya Jihei in The Love Suicides at Amijima (Shinjyuutennoamijima)
- Series IV - 20 Feb 1992
- Y62 - Nakamura Kichiemon I as Kumagai no Jiro Naozane in The Chronicle of the Battle of Ichitani (Ichinotanifutabagunki)
- Y100 - Kataoka Nizaemon XIII as Okina in The Third Ceremony for Long Life (Kotobukishiki Sanbasou)
- Series V - 10 Apr 1992
- Y62 - Jitsukawa Enjaku II as Ishikawa Goemon in The Golden Gate and the Paulownia Crest (Sakuramongosankiri)
- Y100 - Hakuo Matsumoto I as Oishi Kuranosuka in (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers - Original) (Genroku Chuushingura)
- Series VI - 30 Jun 1992
- Y62 - Onoe Baiko VII playing the title role in The Wisteria Maiden (Fuji Musume)
- Y100 - Nakamura Kanzaburou XVII as Soga V-X in The Revenge of the Soga Brothers (kotobuki Soga no Taimen)