Ebizo’s “reason for the fountain of youth” for Teruyuki Kagawa’s “comeback” in December.

Teruyuki Kagawa, 56, who has completely disappeared from the stage due to reports of “sexual assault,” may return to the Kabuki-za theater in December as Kabuki actor Ichikawa Chuguruma. According to “Bunshun Online,” the performance will be held in November and December.

According to Bunshun Online, Kagawa was originally scheduled to appear as Senpei Asagao in the December performance of “Sukeroku Yuren Edo Sakura. However, Ebizo asked Shochiku if he could appear in the play, and Shochiku is now moving forward with that plan. Kagawa’s Omodakaya is a disciple of the Ichikawa Soke, and although Ebizo is younger than him, he feels as if he is Kagawa’s guardian. So it is said that Ebizo showed his Han spirit and extended his hand for Kagawa, but in fact, it seems that this is not the only reason.

As one Kabuki insider said in Bunshun, “Ebizo has given priority to his own independent shows that generate income rather than the Kabuki-za,” and that is what Ebizo is really thinking.

A person related to the nashien who knows Ebizo well said, “It’s been less than a month before the performance.

It is less than a month before the performance, but there are still tickets left over. The reason for this is that Ebizo’s fans are not leaving the theater. Like Mr. Kagawa, Mr. Ebizo has been criticized for his financial trouble with Maya Kobayashi (43), the sister of his late wife Mao Kobayashi, and for a four-timing, multi-timing relationship reported on SNS pick-up in May of this year, and his loyalists have left him at once.

As expected, Ebizo, feeling a sense of crisis, tried all sorts of measures to attract more customers, including selecting his eldest son Kangen Horikoshi (9) to play the difficult role of Danjo Kumedera in “Kemenuki,” one of the eighteen Kabuki plays handed down in the Ichikawa family, and also bringing his eldest daughter Botan Ichikawa (11) on stage at the Kabuki-za. Still, tickets were not selling. So, if ‘Kagawa is going to appear at the Kabuki-za,’ it would be a good topic of conversation. Naturally, we are prepared for a backlash. Even so, we can expect an audience of people who have never been interested in kabuki before, or people who come to see a performance just for the fun of it. In other words, this is, in a sense, a last-ditch effort, and Ebizo is being pushed to that point.

For Kagawa, this would be a unique opportunity to apologize to the people involved in the nashien. If she were on stage, it would not be unnatural for her to improvise, such as getting down on her knees to the audience, and it would also provide an opportunity for her to hold another press conference to make an explanation.

Mr. Kagawa’s return to terrestrial broadcasting will be difficult for a year, let alone within a year. Mr. Kagawa himself knows this, and he also knows that in the meantime he has no choice but to devote himself to Kabuki training as Ichikawa Chuguruma. If this story is true, Ebizo, who is his mentor, has extended his hand to him, so naturally he will accept the role, but I am sure he did not expect that the December performance to announce his succession would be his comeback. It would be too much responsibility, and the public would be focused on him, which could adversely affect the reputation of the show. It is impossible that Mr. Kagawa, who is a smart man, would not have thought of this, and I think he is probably embarrassed by the situation.

A Shochiku official also commented.

A Shochiku official said, “I don’t think it will be good for the box office for Mr. Kagawa to appear in the movie. At present, there is no indication that Shochiku is making any moves. Mr. Ebizo may have said so, but I think it is just an action to ingratiate himself with Mr. Kagawa.

The show is only a few days away, but we will keep an eye on the future developments.