The Onnagata Actor Nakamura Rikö I as Agemaki with Two Attendants

Catalog note / 解説

Nakamura Rikö (I), in his role of the leading yüjo (courtesan) Agemaki, is accompanied by two young kamuro (attendants). A famous courtesan, Agemaki figured prominently in the many Sukeroku dramas written for Kabuki. The basic storyline is as follows: In the disguise of a gallant townsman, Sukeroku seeks to recover a precious sword stolen from his stepfather. Sukeroku finds the sword in the possession of Hige no Ikyü, lover of Agemaki, the famous beauty, who, in the meantime, has renounced her lover in favor of Sukeroku. Ikyü is finally slain by Sukeroku, who recovers the lost weapon. Agemaki is one of the great heroines of Edo period Japan, and Sukeroku one of the three most famous otokoda…