Seikei University's Bilingual Kabuki Workshop, one of our most popular programs for educating the public, features The Three Kichisas this year! Penned by Kawatake Mokuami in 1860, this famous kabuki play has lots of modern angles that appeal to contemporary audiences, as many recent revivals have proved.

Participants will learn some of the basic techniques of kabuki acting, including sword fighting (tate) and female impersonation (onnagata), by acting out the scene where the three thieves meet through the strange working of karma.

Three actors from the Zenshin-za theatre company, the oldest kabuki troupe, will instruct you, step by step, in kabuki acting! The program is free and, with tickets limited to 35, promises to sell out quickly. Be sure to make your reservation right away!

(The picture is a part of Utagawa Toyokuni III (1786-1865)'s Obō Kichisa [played by Kawarazaki Gonjūrō I](1860), colored woodblock print, by courtesy of The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum,Waseda University)