"Shintomi-za Children's kabuki" in Edo

Chuo-ku is the birthplace of Edo kabuki, and there are many playhouses since the Edo period. Kabuki has been widely loved by the common people. In Shintomi-cho, Shintomi-za Theater was opened in 1875 and it was crowded as an entertainment town. Today, there is no trace of it in the town, but there are still many companies such as costumes and sceneries which support kabuki.
In the spring of 2007, "Shintomi-za Children's kabuki" party was established in this town.
The origin of this event was the encounter with children kabuki at Hikiyama Festival in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture. We were excited about the lovely children kabuki and the enthusiasm of the town's people who supported it, and we thought "We can do it in Shintomi-cho!".

Like Nagahama's children's kabuki, there are regional performing arts that are nurtured and passed down in the history and climate of the people living in the area in various parts of Japan. In the town where we live, there is kabuki that our ancestors loved for 300 years.
From kabuki which is watched to kabuki which is performed by children, we can experience it and enjoy it with the five senses together with a wide range of generations in the area. Motivated by the sense of mission to have to connect it to the future as a local traditional culture, we came to unveil performance in November with calling for by neighboring elementary schools, towns associations and shrines, kabuki related people and approval from many people.
We hold performances with the help of about 70 people: Performers are by elementary school students in Chuo-ku, and such as Shamisen, musical accompaniment and dressing are by the performers' parents and the local people. More than 90 children have experienced kabuki so far.

The stage is held in Kaguraden at Teppozu Inari Shrine for dedicating to Setsubun-sai in February and Reitai-sai in May, Ginza performance of "Autumn Ginza" (organized by Ginza Town Council) in November and other is "Asakusa Okuyama Children's Kabuki Festival" in March.
We enjoy making the stage together with thoughts that "Kabuki is fun and deep!" We are doing the activity with a dream that someday, "Shintomi-za Children's kabuki" will be "our hometown entertainment"

"Shintomi-za Children's kabuki" Association
Representative Fumiko Morokawa