In a hospital room in the city, Hikaru’s young wife Aoi lies stricken with an illness of unknown origin. Hikaru rushes back from a business trip to be by her side. According to the nurse, this hospital treats all forms of mental illness through sleep therapy, eliminating patients’ sexual drives. Though puzzled by this unusual treatment, Hikaru remains beside his wife. Then, his former lover, the older ROKUJŌ Yasuko appears silently before him. Her unfulfilled longing for Hikaru has brought her here as an ikiryō spirit.

We have been performing this production for nearly 20 years, and it has remained almost unchanged since its premiere. In The Tale of Genji, the ikiryō spirit is ultimately appeased, but that was never an option for MISHIMA Yukio. One might ask where the two characters end up, but such a question misses the whole point. MISHIMA consistently maintained that, under certain circumstances, the human psyche can reach extraordinary extremes. Whatever we may call it—even if we consider it immoral—that is where the possibilities of the human psyche lie. In this production, Yasuko, the ikiryō spirit, will once again be played by ABE Kazunori. We have always had a male actor play the role because we see something masculine in Yasuko’s overwhelming desire to possess Hikaru completely.

— NAKASHIMA Makoto