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Kunisada, 1856 |
The
Soga Monogatari, or Tale of Soga, is a warrior tale based on the
story of Kudo Saemon Suketsune who, on order to get the
inheritance of his uncle Ito Sukechika, had his cousin Kozu
Saburo Sukemichi murdered in 1175. Eighteen years later, on the 18th
day of the Fifth month of 1193, Sukemichi's two sons, Juro
Sukenari (1172-93) and Goro Tokimune (1174-93), killed Suketsune
during a hunting party on Mt. Fuji. Juro was killed in the ambush
but Goro was captured. Although Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo
(1147-99), applauding the brothers' bravery and loyalty, wanted to
pardon Goro, Suketsune's son demanded and got his
execution. The
tale focus on the conflict between the shogunal authority and the
brothers loyalty to their father, highlighting the clash between the
brothers' heroic vendetta and the feudal system which condemns them. The
story was extremely popular in the Edo era and it was adapted for Nô,
Bunraku and Kabuki, where several hundreds plays based on the Soga world
were written and performed in Edo for centuries. It is still a custom in
Kabuki to perform at least one sogamono every New Year. |
| Of all these play the Soga no Taimen (The Soga Brothers' Audience with their Enemy or Confrontation), from an anonymous playwriter and first performed in 1676, became the most popular. |
Kunisada, c.1849/53 |
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