We continue our exploration of 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.
In this fourth and final video, we cover the full acts IV and V, with the Yoshinoyama michiyuki, the Shi no Kiri scene at Kawatsura Hōgen’s mansion in Yoshino, and the Okuniwa and Zaōdō final scenes.
“Love or Loyalty, Which is the Heavier Burden?” – Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura EXPLAINED・Part 4 (1748)
Kabuki In-Depth – Apr 23
We continue our exploration of 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.
Things OK in Japan but ILLEGAL in AMERICA!
Mrs Eats – Apr 22
There are some things that are illegal in America, but totally okay in Japan! This might surprise you to hear, since Japan is home to so many strict rules!
With more travelers to Japan, testing burden on airports increasing
Japan Times – Apr 22
With the government relaxing entry restrictions and bumping up the cap on daily arrivals to 10,000 earlier this month, more passengers are crowding the immigration and quarantine areas at airports, raising concerns about whether authorities have the necessary staff to deal with them.
Calling all disrupters: Japan’s Rakuten bets big on virtual networks
Nikkei – Apr 22
In early March, Rakuten executives Hiroshi Mikitani and Tareq Amin returned to Barcelona, the site of their fateful first meeting. On the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in 2018, Amin, then an executive at Indian telecom Reliance Jio, had sold Rakuten founder Mikitani on the idea of building Japan’s fourth mobile network and using a then-untested technology to do it.
Tokyo eases some COVID dining restrictions but extends alert
NHK – Apr 22
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has decided to ease its requested limit on the number of people permitted at each table in some bars and restaurants, while continuing to call on the public to stay vigilant against the spread of the coronavirus.
