My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 620: Chapter 1: ”Niō” Tachibana Aoto and ”Asura” Ogata Isseki

From another perspective... the reason this talk book became so popular is not unrelated to the overly cool fight scenes in it.

Tachibana Aoto and Chokata, who were staying unnoticed in an inconspicuous corner, listened to Mengle’s storytelling for a while.

Chokata, somewhat tired of listening, drank the iced water he had just bought in one gulp.

”Mr. Tachibana, let’s go somewhere else and take a look.”

Tachibana Aoto, who also felt a bit tired of the storytelling, nodded.

The moment they walked side by side out of the storytelling venue, noise and heat burst out.

Because there was a cool canopy set up at Mengle’s storytelling venue, it was relatively cool inside. As Aoto walked from the storytelling venue to the street outside, it reminded his skin of that feeling when leaving an air-conditioned room.

”It’s so hot...”

Chokata silently tied his slender ponytail higher and tighter.

”If it’s too hot, why don’t we go back to Shiwei Hall now?”

Aoto squinted his eyes, glanced up at the sun, which still needed an hour to reach its zenith in the sky.

”Hmm... let’s stroll a bit longer.” Chokata barely thought for less than two breaths before he looked up, smiling at Aoto, who was a head taller than him, ”It’s been a while since we’ve been to Ryogoku-dori. It would feel like such a pity to just head back like this.”

Due to the boredom of recuperating at home, Aoto often found various things to do to pass the time.

Such as accompanying Chokata and the others for an outing stroll.

The gold flat sugar that Chokata stored at Shiwei Hall was eaten up yesterday evening.

To maintain life necessities, Chokata had to go out this morning to replenish the gold flat sugar.

Anyways, having nothing much to do, Aoto accompanied Chokata out.

Originally, their plan was to return to Shiwei Hall after buying the gold flat sugar.

But Chokata suddenly got excited, suggesting, ”Since we’re already out, why don’t we go somewhere for a stroll? I’ve been staying mostly at Shiwei Hall lately and haven’t been out much; suddenly, I really want to wander around lively areas to see and be seen.”

Aoto, with so much time on his hands that he didn’t know how to spend it, readily agreed to Chokata’s suggestion without thinking twice.

Thus, the two came to Ryogoku-dori.

Since Chokata wanted to stroll a bit longer and Aoto wasn’t in a particular hurry to head back to Shiwei Hall, he nodded and continued to accompany Chokata on a leisurely walk down Ryogoku-dori.

Even though he had crossed into this era for nearly eight months, Aoto had rarely visited this famous street of joy, so everything on Ryogoku-dori looked incredibly fresh to him.

The street performers were merely an embellishment of this street of joy.

The real highlight of Ryogoku-dori was the theaters lined up on both sides of the street.

During the Edo Era, there were four major stage arts: Kabuki, Jingliu Puppetry, Noh theater, and Kyogen.

Kabuki is similar to traditional Chinese opera.

Jingliu Puppetry, as the name implies, is performed by puppeteers holding puppets, accompanied by music and narration to tell stories.

Noh theater has the longest history, a tragic musical drama featuring music, singing, and dance.

Kyogen is a comedic dialogue drama that often uses humor to satirize samurai and other noble classes, as well as certain social disorder.

These four distinctive stage arts thrived in the relatively peaceful Edo Era, and have become beloved artistic performances, cherished by both nobles and samurai, as well as the common folk.

Numerous theatres were scattered throughout Ryogoku-dori.

To attract as many audience members as possible, theaters often planted many brightly colored banners outside.

These banners either announced the upcoming plays or the troupes or families coming to perform there.

The artistic world in the Edo Era also had solidified social classes.

In terms of solidification, it was even more pronounced than in the Martial Arts World.

Take Kabuki, for example. Kabuki adopts a hereditary system, passing down solely to males, with the ”brand name,” ”stage name,” performance style, etc., of the previous generation inherited by the next.

The ”brand name” is a characteristic title of the Kabuki family, akin to brand trademarks like Sony and Nintendo.

Household names like the ”Narita House” of Ichikawa Danjuro’s family and the ”Otowaya” of Ogami Kikugoro’s household dominate the Kabuki scene, and their performances are always sold out.

Chokata was initially enjoying the performances of the street artists. But gradually, his attention was attracted to those vibrant advertising banners for the theaters by the roadside.

”Oh, wow.”

At this moment, Chokata suddenly exclaimed with surprise.

”That Shibai Little House is going to perform ’Yodogiri Jizai’...”

Shibai Little House: A term used for theaters that specialize in Kabuki performances.

Aoto followed Chokata’s line of sight and saw a Shibai Little House not far ahead, hanging high with light-blue flags.

This set of flags had two different inscriptions.

The first read the large red characters ”Qingjiang House.” This should be the family name of the Kabuki family performing at this Shibai Little House, although Aoto hadn’t really heard of this name much.

The second set of flags also had three large characters — Yodogiri Jizai.

These three characters were all golden yellow, standing out conspicuously against the light blue background.

”From today until August 20th, Qingjiang House will be performing Ogata Isseki’s ’Yodogiri Jizai’ here! Don’t miss it if you pass by!”