- Bunraku: 鶊山姫捨松, 阿古屋琴責 (The Pine of the Abandoned Princess on Mt. Hibari, Akoya)
2/4/19 (Mon), Tokyo
Both shows this month were torture pieces (if such a genre exists) showing the heroines under intense interrogation; both also unusually featured a Chinese kokyu. I was surprised to see empty seats in the theater, not a typical sight for Tokyo Bunraku. I had expected more of a crowd at least for the popular Akoya, especially as the Kabuki version had just played in December. They missed a great combination.