What is the story behind Karatachi Nikki, the popular kayōkyoku song made famous by SHIMAKURA Chiyoko?

A tragic love story told by kōshakushi storytellers, inspired by the double suicide of a noblewoman from a prominent family and her chauffeur during the Taishō period. The untold story behind the popular Karatachi Nikki, brought to life through the voices of three characters, reveals the passion and sorrow of a woman who lived for love. The melancholic sounds of the chindon drum and clarinet fill the air with a deep sense of sadness.

A Note on The Origin of the Song “Karatachi Nikki”

An old, weathered house is home to a family of three. In the past, they made their living as chindon performers, but now the mother has lost her sanity, and her son and uncle spend their days caring for her. The mother cannot forget the days when she performed as a chindon musician, playing music and telling audiences the story behind The Origin of the Song “Karatachi Nikki” Once a day, as if possessed, she sings the popular song Karatachi Nikki (Diary of Bitter Oranges) and continues to tell the story of its origins.

In the original play, however, there is only a single kōshakushi storyteller, who tells the story of how the lyrics of the Shōwa-era hit song Karatachi Nikki came to be written. The situation and relationships described above are my own directorial invention, created specifically for the stage.

The song Karatachi Nikki, sung by the protagonist of this play, is a love song of unspoken longing: a heart crying out, "I love you," yet unable to put those feelings into words; a rainy-day walk beneath a small umbrella with the one she loves; and the faint white blossoms of the karatachi (bitter orange) along the rain-soaked path.

According to the playwright, these lyrics were originally written during the Taishō period by a real woman. She is said to have been YOSHIKAWA Kamako, the daughter of Count YOSHIKAWA Akimasa, Vice-President of the Privy Council, an advisory body to the Emperor composed largely of members of the nobility that existed until the end of the Second World War. Kamako was married and had a child. Dissatisfied with her married life, however, she entered into a relationship with the family’s chauffeur. The two attempted to take their own lives by throwing themselves in front of a train, but Kamako survived. It is said that she later became a nun and wrote the lyrics of Karatachi Nikki.

The double suicide involving YOSHIKAWA Kamako was a real event. However, she did not become a nun; after the incident, she married again and died of illness at the young age of 29. Furthermore, the historical background depicted in this play contains many inconsistencies when compared with the actual events. For this reason, one might say that the play is almost a record of one person’s imagination, inspired by the real-life Kamako.

Of course, Greek tragedies and Shakespeare’s plays could also be described as imaginative creations built upon actual events. Compared with these Western works, the world of imagination expressed in The Origin of the Song “Karatachi Nikki” may seem modest in scale. Yet this play beautifully captures why kayōkyoku, a genre of popular music that has sometimes been looked down upon, has long been loved by the public: it gives voice to the sorrows and unfulfilled wishes of Japanese women. I felt that this play reveals the emotions of people who had nowhere else to entrust their feelings to but these songs, and this led me to stage the production with the theatrical framework described above.

- From the Director’s note for the 2014 premiere of The Origin of the Song “Karatachi Nikki”