The Five Chivalrous Thieves EXPLAINED・Shiranami Gonin Otoko (1862)

In our first in-depth look into a sewamono play by Kawatake Mokuami, we cover the play Shiranami Gonin Otoko ("The Five Chivalrous Thieves"), also known by the formal title Aoto Zōshi Hana no Nishikie, or by the more common ones Benten Musume Meo no Shiranami or, simply, Benten Kozō.

We cover here the most often seen acts, III through V, including the famous Hamamatsuya and Inasegawa Seizoroi scenes. I hope to cover, at the very least, the acting traditions for the role of Benten in the future, mainly developed by Kikugorō V, Kikugorō VI and Uzaemon XV.

Special thanks to Samuel L. Leiter, for his invaluable translation of the main scenes in his book "The Art of Kabuki", to Paul M. Griffith for his detailed commentary on the english DVDs of this play, and to Shōriya Aragorō for his inspiring, monumental work on the website kabuki21.

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:54 Act III (Hamamatsuya)
07:25 Remaks about the Hamamatsuya scene
08:16 Act III (Kuramae)
10:02 Remaks about the Kuramae scene
10:30 Act IV
11:50 Act V
15:03 Remarks about acts IV and V
15:42 Ending