The armor-pulling scene from a Soga play

1615-1868

In this famous scene that appeared in many kabuki versions of the Soga brothers' vendetta to avenge their father's death, Soga no Goro (1174-1193) struggles with Asahina Saburo, who tries to restrain Goro from intervening in a confrontation between his brother Juro (1172-1193) and their uncle. The scene evolved into a dance piece from an enactment of a struggle over the armor that Goro has carried to the scene. This dance was performed in the bravado aragoto style that became a specialty of Edo actors, especially of the Ichikawa Danjuro family line. The actor playing Soga no Goro is likely to be Ichikawa Danjuro II (1689-1758).