"Kabuki is action-packed, scenically thrilling and histrionically flamboyant" --The Guardian

This beautiful book celebrates the Japanese kabuki tradition--presenting fifteen classic tales of tragic love and fatal passion that are frequently performed on the kabuki stage in Japan. These dramatic tales are stunningly illustrated with full-color woodblock prints by master artists including Hiroshige, Hokusai, Utamaro, Kuniyoshi and Kunisada, along with photographs of modern kabuki performances.

The tales in this book include:

• The Love Suicides at Amijima: Jihei, a married merchant and Koharu, a prostitute, fall deeply in love. Jihei cannot afford to buy her out, so the only solution is for them to commit double suicide
• The Tale of Genji: A stage version of Japan's classic Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu, which follows the romantic exploits of Genji, the son of Emperor Kiritsubo
• The Magical Helmet: Princess Yaegaki mourns for her dead husband Katsuyori but one day she notices a new samurai in the household who looks just like him. It is indeed Katsuyori, who has adopted a disguise to prevent himself being killed. Now Yaegaki must struggle to save him!
• Plus 12 other stories!

The translations are by Ornella Civardi, a noted scholar of Japanese literature, who also provides an fascinating introduction to the popular kabuki theater tradition in Japan. The book will be treasured by kabuki aficionados as well anyone with an interest in the theater or Japanese literature.