It has been revealed that the cinema kabuki play "Karanashiya: The Young Master of Wonderland," written and directed by Kankuro Kudo and released in theaters in 2024, will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW in January 2026.
"Kara Nasuya: Wakadanna of Wonderland" is a new kabuki play that was performed in 2022 at the Heisei Nakamuraza, a modern-day revival of an Edo-period theater. Miyato, known for works such as "Oedo Living Dead," in which zombies take over the Kabukiza, teamed up with Nakamura Kankuro, with whom he worked on the 2019 taiga drama "Idaten," to create the first kabuki play at the Heisei Nakamuraza. The play was released in theaters in January 2024.
The story weaves elements of "Alice in Wonderland" into the classic rakugo story "Karanashiya Seidan," and is a fantastical tale featuring a narcissistic young master played by Kankuro, a Yoshiwara courtesan who can transform into a second form, and even a talking frog. The young master gets lost in a parallel world called "Second Yoshiwara," where his body grows and shrinks... and the surprising plot twists have become a hot topic.
In addition to Kankuro, Nakamura Shichinosuke and other members of the Nakamura family will also appear, as well as Nakamura Shido, Arakawa Ryoyoshi, Kataoka Kamezo, Bando Yajuro, and Nakamura Senjaku.
◇Story
Tokusaburo (Nakamura Kankuro), a young man who has been disowned for spending too much time in Yoshiwara, is about to throw himself off a bridge when he is saved by his uncle (Arakawa Ryoyoshi) who happens to be passing by. At his uncle's suggestion, he sets up a business selling eggplants (pumpkins), but when he stumbles and spills the eggplants on the side of the road, a carpenter named Kuma (Nakamura Shido) appears and starts helping him with his business. Sales of the eggplants increase immediately, and Tokusaburo is in high spirits.
However, when he hears that Sakurazaka (Nakamura Shichinosuke), a courtesan of Yoshiwara whom he has a crush on, has been bought, he cannot help but head to Yoshiwara. However, Tokusaburo finds himself lost in a strange and mysterious parallel world called "Second Yoshiwara"...
