Shinpan Utazaimon: Nozakimura

📝 Work Info

Author	Chikamatsu Hanji and others
Premiere	September 1780 (An'ei 9), Ōsaka Takemoto-za (puppet theater) / May 1785 (Tenmei 5), Ōsaka Nakamura Kumetarō-za (kabuki)
Genre	Sewamono (domestic play)
Duration	Approximately 70 minutes
Original work	Shinpan Utazaimon

📖 Synopsis

A happy bride willingly steps aside so that two lovers may be together. This play paints a poignant portrait of a woman's selfless heart.

In Nozaki Village, preparations are underway for the wedding of Omitsu, the daughter of the farmer Kyūsaku, and the young man Hisamatsu. Kyūsaku has rushed the wedding to put his bedridden wife's mind at ease.

Then Osome arrives at the village, having followed Hisamatsu. When Kyūsaku learns of the relationship between Osome and Hisamatsu, he tries to dissuade them from their reckless plans.

At the wedding ceremony, Omitsu reveals her decision to step aside. Hisamatsu and Osome depart by separate paths, and Omitsu alone is left behind in the village.

🌟 Highlights

Omitsu's joyful anticipation and subsequent emotional transformation are the play's greatest highlight. She had been happily preparing for her wedding, but upon learning the true feelings between Osome and Hisamatsu, she quietly resolves to step aside. The delicate portrayal of her heart shifting from joy to resignation is exquisitely rendered.

The scene where the fates of Omitsu, Osome, and Hisamatsu intersect is also deeply memorable. Two women love the same man, and the man is caught between them. Because no one is truly at fault, the situation becomes all the more heartrending.

The finale, using both hanamichi (runways), is a staging technique unique to kabuki. Hisamatsu and Osome exit along separate hanamichi, while Omitsu remains alone on stage. The three characters' diverging destinies are expressed in a single, unforgettable visual tableau.

🎭 Characters

Omitsu

お光

The daughter of Kyūsaku, a farmer in Nozaki Village, and the tragic heroine of this story. Raised in the countryside, she is a bit unpolished but hardworking, devoted to her parents, and genuinely sweet.

She had been overjoyed about her upcoming wedding to Hisamatsu, but then she discovers that he truly loves Osome — and that the two are planning to die together. Rather than giving in to jealousy or trying to stand in their way, she chooses the ultimate act of love: cutting her own hair to become a nun and removing herself from the picture.

The contrast between her adorable excitement while preparing for the wedding and her almost saintly nobility in the latter half will bring tears to your eyes.

Hisamatsu

久松

An apprentice at the Abura-ya oil shop in Ōsaka, though he is actually of samurai lineage. His family fell into ruin, and he was raised by Kyūsaku, his wet nurse's brother.

He fell in love with Osome, the daughter of his employer, and was driven out of the shop under false accusations. Returning to the village, he finds his betrothed Omitsu waiting for him — leaving him torn between two women. He is the quintessential kabuki "nimaime" — a handsome but indecisive man beloved by women.

In the end, when Omitsu steps aside, he returns to the Abura-ya with Osome.

Osome

お染

The daughter of the Abura-ya, a prosperous shop in Ōsaka. Raised in luxury in the city, she is the polar opposite of the country girl Omitsu — elegant in her fine kimono, sophisticated, and passionate in temperament.

She has resolved that if she cannot be with Hisamatsu, she would rather die, and she has chased him all the way to Nozaki Village. In some productions, she is portrayed as carrying his child.

Kyūsaku

久作

A farmer in Nozaki Village, father to Omitsu and foster father to Hisamatsu. An elderly man who wants nothing more than his family's happiness.

He rushes to arrange the wedding of Hisamatsu and Omitsu to ease the mind of his ailing wife, but this haste only deepens the tragedy. He pleads with the young lovers not to take their own lives, and weeps at his daughter's decision to take the tonsure. Despite wanting only the best for his family, nothing goes as he hopes — his plight is truly painful to witness.

Otsune

お常

The proprietress of the Abura-ya and Osome's mother. She had been planning to marry Osome off to another family (the Yamaga-ya) to settle the shop's debts, but she comes to the village to announce that the suspicions against Hisamatsu have been cleared.

In the finale, as she departs with Osome by boat along the main hanamichi, her exit serves to underscore the loneliness of Omitsu, who remains behind on stage.

✍️ Written by: けらのすけ

Supervised by：Kera Kabuki Preservation Society (Gujo, Gifu)

A group dedicated to preserving jikabuki (regional kabuki) traditions since the Edo period. Content accuracy is reviewed based on their knowledge and experience.

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