The Maiden at Dōjō-ji Temple, Part 2: The Ranbyōshi Dance & Noh Theatre 

Ichijo Ōkura is a fascinating role! In the past there were several different kata, including the Hinasuke traditional of the Arashi family, and the Danjūrō and Chūsa kata. And then, there were many important variations, such as the kata of Ganjirō I and Nizaemon XI (based, I believe, on Danjūrō's), Kanya XIII, Kikugorō VI.... But my impression is that all actors today follow mostly the kata of Kichiemon I, which was based on that of Chūsa. The "pure" Kichiemon kata can be identified by the fan that Ōkura uses during the monogatari, with a pattern of crashing waves. They also sometimes use an almost completely white costume, instead of orange. The Kanzaburō family uses a fan with a pattern of pine trees. Kanzaburō XVII was Kichiemon I's brother, but also Kikugorō VI's student, so his approach seems to be slightly different. I don't know much about Nizaemon XV's kata, but I've read that he learned the role from his father. I don't think that Nizaemon XIII used Nizaemon XI's kata, but I don't know the details. There are also some variations for the Higaki Jaya scene, and for the extremely rarely performed Kusemai. I hope to study the scene in more depth in the future and make a video, but I need a few key materials to do it.

@@KabukiInDepth Speaking of the Harimaya and Nakamuraya houses, could you tell me the exact relationship between Kichiemon II, Kanzaburō XVIII, Kankurō VI and Shichinosuke II? It seems that genealogy is a complicated thing in Kabuki and as Kichiemon II is the grandson and at the same time adopted son of Kichiemon I, trying to understand the family tree of both the Harimaya house and the Nakamuraya house (and consequently the Yorozuya house) is quite complicated...

Mmmm, Kichiemon II and Kankurō VI (and Shichinosuke II) are great-grandsons of Karoku III, so I think the word for it in English is 2nd cousins. That would make Kichiemon II and Kanzaburō XVIII, I believe, 1st cousins once removed. The Kanzaburō genealogy in particular in quite something. Kankurō is great-great-grandson of Karoku III, Kikugorō V and Utaemon V!

Hopefully late October or early November. It should've been out soon after part 1, but I had to skip it to cover the news of En'ō II's passing. I'm surprised and happy of the first video's success, it is also one of my favorite plays.