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Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees | Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (1748)

May 08, 2023 (Kabuki In-Depth) - In this video, we take a look at the eleven scenes most often performed from the epic jidaimono play Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura ("Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees").

Written in 1747 for the bunraku puppet theatre by the playwrights Takeda Izumo II, Miyoshi Shōraku and Namiki Senryū I, the same team that produced Kanadehon Chūshingura and Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami, the other two classical masterpieces of the kabuki repertoire.

This covers four of the five acts of the original play. The missing first one, including the scenes Ōuchi, Kitasaga, Kawagoe Jōshi and Heisoto, is very rarely performed nowadays. You can read the plot of this act here: https://www.kabuki21.com/ysz.php There is also a wonderful English translation of the complete bunraku script by Stanleigh H. Jones Jr., in his book "Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees: A Masterpiece of the Eighteenth-Century Japanese Puppet Theater".

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[updated 04:35 a.m.] Typhoon No. 6 is expected to make landfall in southern Wakayama Prefecture during the early hours of June 3rd before crossing the Kii Peninsula and moving toward eastern Japan, with forecasters warning that cumulative rainfall could approach 600 millimeters in parts of Mie Prefecture and that dangerous conditions may spread to the Kanto region during the morning commute.

[updated 04:45 a.m.] Typhoon No. 6 is expected to cause major disruption across Japan's transport network on June 3rd, with railway operators announcing planned suspensions on conventional lines, expressway companies warning of possible closures on key routes between Tokyo and western Japan, and airlines canceling flights at major airports including Haneda, Narita, Chubu and Kansai. The storm is forecast to pass near the Pacific side of western and eastern Japan on June 3rd, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to a wide area.

[updated 03:30 a.m.] Authorities issued a Level 5 Flood Occurrence Information alert for the Kuwano River and the Naka River tributary in Tokushima Prefecture, warning that flooding may already be underway and urging residents to take immediate action to protect their lives.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on June 1st, urging Iran to demonstrate maximum flexibility in its ongoing discussions with the United States and expressing hope that an agreement on the nuclear issue can be reached as soon as possible.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi strongly rejected accusations that Japan is embracing "new militarism," describing such claims as false while delivering a speech at a major regional security conference in Singapore on May 31st.

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