Aotozōshi Hana no Nishikie
The Five Thieves (Aotozōshi Hana no Nishikie)
Japanese title: 青砥稿花紅彩画(あおとぞうしはなのにしきえ)
Also written as: Shiranami Gonin Otoko / Aotozoshi Hana no Nishikie
The Story in Three Lines
Kabuki loses nothing when you know the story in advance. Start with just three lines.
- 01
Under their chief Nippon Daemon, five thieves—Benten Kozō Kikunosuke, Tadanobu Rihei, Akaboshi Jūzaburō and Nangō Rikimaru—prey on Edo.
- 02
Benten Kozō enters the draper's shop Hamamatsuya disguised as a samurai's daughter—until the tattoo on his arm gives him away.
- 03
Cornered at last, the five line up at the Inase River, each announcing his name in turn beneath an oiled-paper umbrella, before they scatter.
Three Things to Watch For
These three points are all the preparation you need. On the day, simply give yourself to the stage.
“Since you don't know me, let me tell you”
Exposed, Benten Kozō slips his kimono from his shoulder to show the tattoo and names himself. Voice and bearing turn from girl to man in a single beat.
The five at the river
Five men in matching robes, five umbrellas, one line across the stage, and five names spoken in turn—a woodblock print come to life.
The flower of the thief plays
Thieves as heroes, and the beauty of the wrong side displayed without apology—a gorgeous inversion of values, born in the last years of Edo.
Characters
- Benten Kozō Kikunosuke
- A young thief who turns from girl to man before your eyes—one role that asks for both onnagata and male technique, and one of kabuki's great parts.
- Nippon Daemon
- The chief of the five, holding the group together by sheer presence. The role is written for scale.
- Nangō Rikimaru
- Benten Kozō's partner, posing as the samurai escort at the draper's shop. The part lives on its brazen humour.
Stagecraft and Highlights
By Kawatake Shinshichi II (Mokuami), said to have premiered at the Ichimura-za in Edo in 1862. Popularly known as Shiranami Gonin Otoko, it stands with Sannin Kichisa among the finest of the thief plays.
Its pleasures are the music of the names spoken in 7-5 meter and the pictorial precision of the line-up. This is a play to be tasted in its cadence and its poses rather than followed for its plot.
Related terms
Sources
This page is compiled by the D-13 editorial team from established, widely shared knowledge of kabuki. Where details such as premiere dates are debated, we avoid definitive statements.
- Author
- D-13 Editorial
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026