The Confrontation at the Golden Gate EXPLAINED・Sanmon Gosan no Kiri (1778)

We take a look at one of the most spectacular scenes in kabuki, the encounter at the Nanzen-ji temple in Kyoto between Ishikawa Goemon and Mashiba Hisayoshi in the 1778 drama Sanmon Gosan no Kiri ("The Golden Gate and the Paulownia Crest").
You can read an english translation of this play in the book "Kabuki Plays on Stage Vol 2: Villainy and Vengeance", and find more information in kabuki21: www.kabuki21.c...
If you have any question, correction or suggestion you can contact me at: [e-mail]
#kabuki #theatre #japan

[@KabukiInDepth]

You can watch an old performance of this play and get some context on the Kamigata tradition for Sanmon here: ua-cam.com/video/bxWelFEt0zw/v-deo.html

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

Sadly, that video is gone.

[@tomdekler9280]

He throws a knife?! How the heck did they get that into the ladle?

[@KabukiInDepth]

Good question! It is a really nice stage trick: the actor playing Goemon pretends to throw the blade but hides it in his sleeve, while the one playing Hisayoshi raises the water dipper and activates a mechanism that launches a blade hidden inside into a 90-degree angle, making it look as if he had caught it in the air.

[@tomdekler9280]

@@KabukiInDepth the knife ACTUALLY launches into the water dipper???

[@KabukiInDepth]

Oh, no, I must have explained it wrong! The blade is already attached to the water dipper, the mechanism only makes it rotate 90º. I'll see if I can find a picture or video demostrating it.

[@tomdekler9280]

@@KabukiInDepth Oh I see it now, it twists out of the handle. Quite clever!

[@kagamisan9952]

Thanks I like this but also shiranami
Is a good play (yes yes indeed)
References for fun
I paint a pine tree to talk to like mandarin ducks pining away
Hitting a cloth hammer
At least I have a yellow rose as preforms the plays of the time and actors as presents the lies of clowns on new years shihi still tells us stories while collecting leafs to warm my whine imizu could be unfaithful as dew falls so do tears as robes are put over are heads every day with selves behind grinding sesame seeds in buddha's footprints
While shishi collect butterfly's and flowers religious debates between the Lotus as all buddha's have many heads but only 1 cart not 3
I prefer the native gods over buddha

[@user-dg4hw5cr5k]

萬之助もダイコだったけど、染五郎が歌舞伎に向かないからだんだんと評価されるようになったな。