If you are seeing Kanjinchō

Five ways into Kanjinchō

The most frequently staged of the eighteen. You need not know the whole plot: three moments are enough. About twelve minutes.

5 steps · about 12 min

Kanjinchō for absolute beginners

The blank scroll, Togashi's silence, the leaping exit. Three doorways into the story.

The play itself

First staged in 1840, in the matsubamemono style — the Noh play Ataka carried onto the kabuki stage.

Roppō — how Benkei leaves

The bounding exit down the hanamichi that closes the play. This is the peak.

Ōmukō — the calls from the gallery

Where 'Naritaya!' comes from, and why. The audience is part of the performance.

Seeing it at the Minamiza

One of the oldest theatres in Japan. Details of the October 2026 special performances.

When you have finished

See upcoming performances Go deeper in the glossary Watch on film

Other routes