Kika Fujiwara in a corner of the theater… Devotion to her husband Ainosuke Kataoka in kimono and bowing to his patrons on the first day of his return to the stage.

Bowing politely.

On March 4, “March Grand Kabuki” opened at the Kabuki-za Theater in Ginza (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo). Before the performance began, a woman standing alone in kimono a short distance away from the theater entrance was …… Kika Fujiwara (53).

She is dressed in a calmly-colored kimono and carries a small bag in her hand as well as a large paper bag. Soon one or two people who look like spectators come up to her. Each time, Kika bowed politely and took out a small envelope from her paper bag and handed it to them.

Last November, her husband, kabuki actor Kataoka Ainosuke (53), suffered a serious injury during rehearsals, fracturing his maxilla and nasal bone. At a press conference held at Sengakuji Temple in Minato Ward, Tokyo, on February 19, when asked about Kataoka, Ainosuke said, ‘I was grateful to have Kataoka by my side, and it was reassuring.

In an appearance on “The World’s Top Gourmet” (NTV) broadcast in January of this year, Norika mentioned for the first time that her entertainment agency had declared bankruptcy at the time and that her husband had been injured.

She said, “When something like this happens, I think, ‘It won’t happen again until I die. I think, ‘Let’s work hard, just the two of us,'” she said.

She also sent out a positive message. And on this day, Norika was showing her husband that she was doing her best for him.