Sukeroku's Double Identity: The Dramatic Structure Of Edo Kabuki by Barbara E. Thornbury

Author:Barbara E. Thornbury
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studiesxs
Published: 2020-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

SUKEROKU, FLOWER OF EDO: THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOGA GORO INTO SUKEROKU

Sukeroku is set at the Miura-ya,1 in the Yoshiwara gay quarters in Edo. There Sukeroku confronts Ikyū when both arrive expecting to meet Agemaki, a grand courtesan of the quarters. Although Ikyū is a powerful, albeit blustery, samurai with a retinue of underlings to do his bidding, Agemaki is enamoured of the townsman Sukeroku. In one of the most famous speeches of the play, she says of the two men: “Compare Sukeroku and Ikyū, side by side. Here is the one, a young stag, here is the other, an old crab. White and black, like snow and ink. One the broad ocean, one a mire of mud; one deep, one shallow, as the courtesan’s beloved and the prostitute’s customer.”2

The confrontation between Sukeroku and Ikyū could be seen simply as the rivalry of two men from different classes of society over the affections of the same woman, if it were not for the revelation that Sukeroku is really the samurai Soga Gorō. The play, in fact, is not about class rivalry as much as it is about matters of identity and revenge. Gorō has come into the gay quarters in the identity of Sukeroku to search for the stolen sword that he must have to carry out the revenge. The sword he is looking for is Tomokirimaru, which was a gift from Yoshitsune. Gorō’s aim is to provoke samurai passing through the quarters to draw their weapons so that he can check to see whether they have the one he is looking for. As Sukeroku he can do this without raising suspicion about the revenge. Ikyū, who has the sword, is actually the Heike general Iga Heinai Zaemon.

Once Agemaki, her friend Shiratama, and the other courtesans of the Miura-ya, and Ikyū and his men have been introduced, Sukeroku enters by performing his famous dance on the hanamichi. The chorus sings in accompaniment:

Hear the shamisen sounding bright Sugagaki;

Arousing our memories in the gay quarter . . .

Impregnated kimono crest of Five Seasons;

Symbol of year’s waiting, steeped deeply in love . . .

Do not hurry, do not rush;

The world is transient, a wheel that turns;

Time passes day by day as expected . . .

You are charming! You are marvellous!3

Sukeroku’s coming had been eagerly awaited by all the courtesans. Each welcomes him by offering him a pipe to smoke. In contrast, Ikyū, who is sitting nearby, receives nothing. And when he protests, Sukeroku insults him by “handing” him a pipe stuck between his toes.

The pipe scene is followed by a scene involving a noodle vendor, Sukeroku, Kampera Mombei (a samurai retainer of Ikyū), and Mombei’s servant Asagao Sembei. When Mombei comes out of the Miura-ya drunk and out of sorts because no courtesan came to serve him in the bath, a noodle vendor accidentally bumps into him. Mombei reacts by preparing to strike him. It is a classic case of samurai versus commoner. Sukeroku, however, steps in on behalf of the vendor and tells Mombei to forgive him.

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