Yokozen Kabuki History
April 27, 1966

August 30, 1969
March 31, 1976
November 5, 1989
1996
April 11, 1999
2000
September 30, 2000

Received Miki Memorial Award
Death of Genichi Takamori
Yokozen Kabuki designated as Okayama
Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property
1st Higashi Sakushu Nouson Kabuki Performance
Kabuki Specialist Employee hiredChildren’s Kabuki Class started
Start of regular “Shiki no Kouen” seasonal
performances
Kabuki Specialist Employee hired

March 9, 2001
May 20, 2001

Received 1st Okayama Prefecture Cultural Award
Acknowledged by Minister of Culture forCultural Property Protection Act 50th Anniversary
Mainichi Chihou Jichi Prize Encouragement Award
Nihon Zenkoukai Award (Children’s Kabuki Class)

January 9, 2004

Received Sanyo Shimbun Award

March 8, 2009

Received Sanyo Shimbun Momotaro Award(Children’s Kabuki Class)
Okayama Cultural Property Protection Award

October 30, 2000

May 10, 2012
May 29, 2012

Okayama Yumezukuri Suishin Grand Prize(East Mimasaka Kabuki Preservation Committee)

April 26, 2013

Okayama Art and Culture Award Runner-up(East Mimasaka Kabuki Preservation Committee)

May 28, 2014

Nakamura Award (Children’s Kabuki Class)August 7, 2014
November 5, 2015

Marusen Cultural AwardFukutake Cultural Encouragement Award

Yearly PerformancesNagi, Okayama

English VersionYokozen Kabuki Preservation Society

December 6, 1974

Genichi Takamori designated as Okayama
Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property
Yokozen Kabuki Preservation Society founded

East Mimasaka Local Kabuki
Preservation Committee

Late January

Yokozen Kabuki Winter Performance

April 29thYokozen Kabuki Spring Performance at Matsugami Shrine

Early October

Awai Kasuga Kabuki Performance

Late November Yokozen Kabuki Grand Performance*Summer Performance held at other locations by request.

In the past, there were countless jige-shibai performances in the Mimasaka
Area of northern Okayama Prefecture, but only 4 groups in Nagi Town andMimasaka City remain active today. As such, Okayama Prefecture took charge tocoordinate various people and things, holding various training courses andstarting the “East Mimasaka Local Kabuki Preservation Committee” with the goalof mutual improvement among the remaining groups.
The committee has the unique “Learn Kabuki from the Pros” training course, towhich they invite professional kabuki actors and stagehands who handle
makeup and costumes. Many people have gained an interest in local kabuki and even participated in performances - through this course, making it a good
opportunity to deepen understanding and share the appeals of kabuki.

Matsugami Shrine Kabuki Stage

Additionally, since there are few areas with a tradition of jige-shibai in WesternJapan, the committee performs together with other preservation groups from
Hyogo and Kagawa Prefectures in each of their local areas. They also compete incontests and share equipment to encourage interaction between their groups.

Built in 1846 at the end of the Edo period, Matsugami Shrine Kabuki Stage isused exclusively for kabuki performances. In the past, there were over a dozen
kabuki stages in Nagi Town, but Matsugami Shrine is the only one that still
remains. The stage features an elaborate rotating stage with a 5-meter diameter,a 2-story tayuza room for the gidayu music players on the left stage, a sectional
hanamichi walkway and more. All of these have been preserved just as they wereat the time of construction yet are still used for performances today. Such a
stage is hard to find, even throughout the country; this stage was designated asan Okayama Prefectural Important Tangible Cultural Property in 1963.

Contact Information and Directions

Office: Nagi Town Board of Education
Nagi Town Culture Center, Toyosawa 327-1,Nagi-cho, Katsuta-gun, Okayama-ken

Why has the Matsugami Shrine Stage survived while all other stages havedisappeared? First, the stage was moved to its current location in 1921, at which
point large-scale repairs and reconstruction were performed to greatly extend
the life of the stage. Additionally, the stage is only about 9 meters across - small
compared to other stages at the time - making it easier to repair and take careof. Most importantly, the stage has been loved by locals in the Nakashimahigashi Area who continue to perform and prevent this jige-shibai - undergroundtheater - from disappearing.
Even now, “Nakashima-higashi Kabukiza,” formed by members of theNakashima-higashi Area, holds regular performances every April in addition tospecial performances once every few years. These jige-shibai performances on astage from the Edo Period make the many visitors - who have come fromthroughout Okayama and Japan - feel like they’ve traveled back in time.

Nagi Town Culture Center

Nagi Town Museumof Contemporary Art

Nagi Town Office
To Tottori
Toyosawa
Ground Self
Defense ForceCamp Nihonbara

Nagi Vicarya
MuseumKaki

To Nishiawakura“Higashi Sakushu” (in the Japanese name of the committee) refers to the eastern half of theformer Mimasaka Province. This committee consists of Yokozen Kabuki Preservation Society
in Nagi Town, Nakashima-higashi Kabukiza, Awai Kasuga Kabuki Preservation Society inMimasaka City and Katsuta Kabuki Preservation Society. The four groups share information
about kabuki and hold trainings.

Tsuyama ICIshuuMakabe
Mimasaka IC

To Osaka
To Himeji

By CarFrom Tsuyama Interchange

Head toward Tottori on National
Route 53, turn left at traffic light
before Nagi Post Office, thenproceed for 200 m.

From Mimasaka Interchange
Take Pref. Road 51 Mimasaka-Nagi
and turn left in Makabe Area (nearKannon-do bus stop). Go north for
5 km, then turn left at Toyosawa
intersection and proceed for 400 m.

Continuing for the Next 50 Years

Jige-shibai (Underground Theater)“Yokozen“ means “beside the mountain” and was used widely to refer to this area.
In this area, the mountain was referred to as ”仙 (sen)” at the time, combining theIn Nagi Town on the border of northern Okayama and Tottori prefectures, thecharacters for “person” and “mountain,” likely arising from the familiarity andEdo Period performance art of jige-shibai - also called jishibai or jikabuki - lives on.
The jige-shibai in this area is said to have started in the late Edo Period. It is said

reverence felt by personifying the mountain.
According to records, celebrations and commemorative performances in honor ofto have originated from locals trying to mimic semi-professional Banshu kabuki
performances from present-day Kasai City and Nishiwaki City in Hyogo

the Preservation Society’s founding were held on May 15, 1966 at Takimoto

Prefecture.

Community Center. The celebrations were held in the morning, followed by a totalof six performances including “Meiboku Sendaihagi“ in the afternoon.

Professional performances were referred to as kaishibai, while those
performed by local amateurs were called jige-shibai. “Jige“ means “local” in theregional dialect.

One story from Takamori’s life involves the novelist Sawako Ariyoshi (1931-1984).

Nouson kabuki (farming village kabuki) was not limited to Okayama Prefecture;

As part of her information collecting for her novel Izumo no Okuni (published overrather, it spread as a trend through the entire country and served an importantfour years in the magazine Funin Kouron from 1966), Ariyoshi visited Nagi Town inrole as one of the few forms of recreation for farmers from the end of the Edo

autumn of 1966.

Period to the early Showa Period. These shows were repeatedly performed by

When Ariyoshi visited Takamori’s house to ask about the local jige-shibai, shevillagers during local festival at kabuki stages built on shrine grounds.

found that many people who heard that “a famous novelist from Tokyo had come”
gathered there. These people put on makeup and costumes then suddenly started
Late Mr. Genichi Takamori
Although it saw great prosperity from the late Edo Period to the early Showa
Period, jige-shibai practice suddenly declined during the period of economic growth
post-WWII. This was due to the creation and spread of new form of entertainment
such as film and television, as well as the flow of young people from farming

performing in the small room. Ariyoshi was surprised and delighted by this andwrote many scenes taking place in Nagi Town in the finish Izumo no Okuni.
Through Yokozen Kabuki, Ms. Ariyoshi likely felt the same enjoyment andfamiliarity that people in the Edo Period felt towards theater.

villages to cities.
Having lost their purpose, the aging kabuki stages at shrines were torn down
without a second thought.
Despite this, Genichi Takamori and other kabuki-loving people in the Mimasaka

Beginning in 1999, four regular performances are held each year under the title of“Shiki no Kouen” (Performances of the Four Seasons). The main performance is the“Yokozen Kabuki Grand Performance,” held every November over two days.
Spring is held at Matsugami Shrine Kabuki Stage; Summer is performed as atraveling troupe; Winter is held at Nagi Town Culture Center in collaboration withother groups as a mini cultural festival. As an official means of promoting thecontinuation of this culture, Nagi Town hired “Kabuki Specialist Employees” in 1996
and 2000. The specialists undertook specialized training for two years undervarious professional performers then joined as a member of the Preservation
Society.
The “Children’s Kabuki Class” also began in 1996, with enrollment open forelementary and middle school students ever year. One of the highlights of Yokozen
Kabuki, the Children’s Kabuki Class consists of the Yokozen Kabuki Preservation
Society instructing in all areas, with students then performing in the Yokozen
Kabuki Grand Performance and visiting performances at senior care facilities.
Additionally, third grade students at Nagi Elementary School learn about “kabuki”
as part of their “integrated studies.” After learning about the history of kabuki andgetting to see and touch instruments, costumes, wigs and other instruments
themselves, all the students then get to try out acting in the play “Shiranami Gonin
Otoko“ themselves. On class observation day, the students spin around umbrellas
and perform in from of their parents or guardians. Every year, many children
become interested in kabuki through this class and go on to participate in theChildren’s Kabuki Class.
The greatest appeal of jige-shibai is its familiarity: someone that you know is up
there acting, making you want to go onto the stage too.
For the many people waiting in anticipation, and for the next 50 years, we will takethe next step forward, protecting the tradition the must be protected and changing
aspects the must be changed.

Area worked as a community to keep this tradition alive.
Born on July 12, 1896, Genichi Takamori first stepped onto the stage and fell inlove with kabuki at age 11. He worked as a police officer in Tokyo, but his
personality can be understood by the following:“Everyday he came and went from the playhouse, took off his uniform, put away hisKoyagake Stage

Temporary stages - or koyagake - like this were set up at places without anactual stage. The stage in the picture is from around 1975, but the location isunknown.

saber and often stepped onto the stage. Anyway, he was an oddball; he didn’t get
any money, but he got love from the people.”
Ninomiya, Sakuzan. Mimasaka no Kabuki Shibai. Okayama Bunko, 1976.

He worked as a prison guard and other roles after that but left his job in 1929 toreturn to his hometown of Nagi. From the following year, Takamori began
performing amateur kabuki in earnest under the tutelage of Umenosuke Yamashitaof Osaka. He had taken on the stage name of “Baichou Yamashita” at this time andtaught from his hometown to as far as Hiroshima Prefecture and Shodoshima.
Takamori bought costumes and wigs with his own money, then kindly lent theseMr. Takamori and Ms. Sawako Ariyoshi

out. He also occasionally performed as an actor, gidayu performer and shamisen
player, also forming a troupe and traveling around Okayama and the country toTakamori left behind nehon - kabuki scripts - which continue to serve as the mostperform urishibai - performances to grow the industry.
Then, on April 27, 1966, Takamori’s efforts to preserve and nurture traditional

important foundation for carrying on Yokozen Kabuki today. While the outline ofculture were recognized when he was designated as an “Okayama Prefecturaljige-shibai, they are filled with completely unique performances.

Important Intangible Cultural Asset” as a Yokozen Kabuki Skilled Expert. On thisoccasion, 107 volunteers founded the “Yokozen Kabuki Preservation Society.”the skilled Takamori’s many scripts are the same as professional kabuki and other
These scripts are recreations of jige-shibai that Takamori saw as a child and may,perhaps, remain the same as they were in the Edo Period. They form the very
identity of Yokozen Kabuki and continue to be treated with importance into thepresent day through Yokozen Kabuki performances.
Takamori is quoted to have often said, “Yokozen Kabuki is not about theJige-shibai Shows

individual, but the community.” By this, he means that jige-shibai is not only to be

Jige-shibai performances started in the evening and were held late into thenight. During festival season, kabuki was performed somewhere everyday. Jigeshibai shows areas also served as social gathering places: every area had its staractors; people would bring their own snacks and alcohol; and young people
looking for love would travel from town to town.

enjoyed by a few fans; rather, its true importance comes from being protected andcarried on as a local treasure.

Loved by many and highly regarded as the “Father of the Yokozen Kabuki Revival,”

Yokozen Kabuki Grand Performance

Genichi Takamori passed away on December 6, 1974, at the age of 78 after a long
battle with rectal cancer.
After Takamori’s death, Yokozen Kabuki Preservation Society was designated as
an “Okayama Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property” on March 31,1976.

Pillars of the Preservation Society
Even after Takamori’s passing, the torch of Yokozen Kabuki has been passed down thanks to the tireless efforts ofPreservation Society members. Among them, the following people held outstanding skill and worked hard to train
successor, earning them designation as Important Intangible Cultural Property (Skilled Expert) by Nagi Town(termination upon passing).
Mr. Torao Kaneda

Takimoto Community Center
The Takimoto Area Public Hall in Nagi Town previously featured a stage.

Yokozen Kabuki Gidayu Expert

Ms. Kimiko Takamori Yokozen Kabuki Tokoyama Expert

Designated July 27, 1999; Terminated August 14, 1999
Designated July 27, 1999; Terminated April 2, 2009

Mr. Sukeyasu Ashida Yokozen Kabuki Choreography Expert Designated October 27, 2009; Terminated November 18, 2014

Children’s Kabuki Class