English subtitles are available on YouTube in the ’Settings’ of the video!

Rōkyoku is genre of Japanese narrative singing (katarimono). Its roots are said to go back to elements of ancient Japanese religious music; as a form of performing arts it was established in the Meiji-period. A piece is presented by two people: the musician (kyokushi) accompanies the performer (rōkyokushi) on shamisen, whose performance alternates between singing and prose parts. Our Youtube channel now features an iconic performance of rōkyoku-piece „The iron couple” (Japanese title: Sendai no Onifūfu) by highly acclaimed and award winning perfomer, TAMAGAWA Nanafuku. Her presentation is accompanied on shamisen by kyokushi master SAWAMURA Toyoko.

This classical piece tells the story of a young samurai couple living in the Edo-period. The stage is Sendai; the main characters are Ii Senzaburō, a samurai without rank, and Osada, the daughter of advisor Sunago Sajūrō. The girl is not only beautiful, but also well-versed in martial arts, however, love is blind and she falls for the good-for-nothing Senzaburō. They wed, and in the beginning Osada puts up with the meaningless lifestyle of her husband; even supports it. But she is no saint and the day comes when her patience runs out…

TAMAGAWA Nanafuku is a kyokushi-turned- rōkyokushi. From traditional to modern, the rōkyoku pieces performed by her are very diverse; moreover she also creates new pieces. She has been producing various events, engaging in exchanges with traditional Japanese performing arts (e.g. noh, gidayu) and music in other genres – like opera or pansori (Korean folk opera) – in a variety of ways. Since 2012 she is a director of the ’Japanese Naniwa-bushi Reciting Association’. In 2018, she travelled to seven countries in Europe and Central Asia as ’Japan Cultural Envoy’ appointed by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. She is a highly acclaimed and award winning perfomer, and now you can watch online her rōkyoku adaptaion of Cinderella, basen on the tale of Charles Perrault. Accompanied on shamisen by kyokushi master SAWAMURA Toyoko.

English subtitles are available on YouTube in the ’Settings’ of the video!

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