Okita had eaten all of the daily necessities of Jinping candy stored in the test hall last night.

In order to maintain his life needs, Okita had to go out this morning to replenish Jinpei sugar.

Anyway, I had nothing to do, so Qingto went out with Okita.

Originally, the original plan of the two of them was to go back to the Trial Guard Hall after buying Jinping Candy.

But Okita suddenly got excited and said, "It's rare to go out, why don't we go somewhere for a walk together? I've been staying in the training hall recently and haven't gone out much, but I suddenly wanted to go shopping in a lively place and take a look.

of."

Aoto, who had too much time to spend, readily agreed to Okita's proposal without hesitation.

In this way, the two of them arrived at Ryogoku Hirokoji.

Since Okita wanted to stroll around for a while, Aoto, who was not in a hurry to go back to the Imperial Guard Hall, nodded and continued to accompany Okita on the Ryogokuhiro path.

Although it has been almost 8 months since he traveled to this era, Qingto has never been to this famous Happy Street, so everything on Ryogoku Hirokoji is very new to Qingto.

The street performers on the street are actually just embellishments of this happy street.

The real attraction of Ryogoku Hirokoji is the theaters lined up on both sides of the street.

There were four major stage arts in the Edo period: Kabuki, Joruri Bunraku puppet show, Noh drama, and Kyogen.

Kabuki is similar to Chinese opera.

As the name of Joruri Bunraku Puppet Show suggests, the puppeteers hold puppets and perform stories with music and narration.

Noh drama has the longest history and is a tragic musical based on music, singing and dancing.

Kyogen is a comedy-type drama that often uses humor to satirize samurai and other aristocratic classes, as well as some social chaos.

These four stage arts with their own characteristics flourished in the Edo period, when the social environment was generally peaceful. Today, they have become very popular theatrical performances, ranging from noble samurai to common people.

Numerous theaters dot Ryogoku Hirokoji.

In order to attract as many spectators as possible, theaters often plant a large number of brightly colored flags outside the theater.

These flags either indicate the name of a play that will be performed soon, or indicate which family or troupe will perform here in the future.

The literary and artistic circles of the Edo period also had class solidification.

Moreover, in terms of the degree of solidification, the literary and artistic circles are even better than the martial arts circles.

Take Kabuki as an example. Kabuki adopts a completely hereditary system, which is passed down only to men and not to women. The "house number", "stage name", performance style, etc. of the previous generation of Kabuki must be inherited by the next generation.

"Yaha" is the characteristic title of a kabuki family, similar to brand trademarks such as Sony and Nintendo.

For example, Ichikawa Danjuro's family's "Narita-ya" and Onoe Kikugoro's family's "Otowa-ya" are now well-known wealthy families in the kabuki world. Tickets for their performances are sold out.

Okita was enjoying the performance of the street performers. But gradually, his attention was attracted by the bright flags on the street used to advertise the theater.

"oops."

At this time, Okita suddenly screamed in surprise.

"That Shibaju hut is going to play "Ittōsai"..."

Shibaju House: a nickname for a theater that specializes in kabuki.

Qingden followed Okita's line of sight and saw light green flags hanging high in a Shibaju hut not far ahead.

This pile of flags has two words written on them.

The first type has three large Chinese characters for "Aoeya" written in bright red. This should be the house name of the Kabuki family that will perform in this Shibaju hut, but Aoto has never heard of this name.

The second type of flag also has three large Chinese characters written on it - Ittosai.

These three Chinese characters are all golden yellow and stand out against the light green background.

"From today until August 20th, Aoeya will perform Ogata Issei's "Ittōsai" at our place! Don't miss it if you pass by!"

""Ittōsai"! "Ittōsai"! Anyone want to watch "Ittōsai"!"

Several young people wearing light green haori stood in front of the door of this Shibaju hut, waving light green flags with the words "Ittosai" and "Aoeya" respectively, trying hard to attract customers and promote it.

""Ittōsai""

Okita had a smile on his face.

"It's been a long time since I watched "Ittōsai"."

Aoto noticed Okita's expression and asked softly:

"Okita-kun, do you like watching "Ittosai"?"

Okita nodded vigorously several times without hesitation, raised his head, and showed a big smile to Qingden.

"The legend of the 'Eternal Sword Master' Ogata Issei is really exciting. "Ittōsai" is the only kabuki play I can watch."

"Are you feeling excited..." Qingden softly recited the adjective Okita just revealed and chuckled a few times, "Ogata Issei's life is indeed very hard not to make people feel excited."

Ogata Issei——In this era, everyone knows this name.

Using the word "legend" to describe the life of this two-sword swordsman seems a bit too insulting.

Watching his life history can give you the feeling that you are reading a fantasy novel.

This man was active during the Kansei period 70 years ago, and his name first appeared in the public eye with a battle of "killing a tyrant with one against a hundred".

Ogata Issei was born in the Hirose Domain of the Western Kingdom. During the Kansei period, the then lord of the Hirose Domain was a cruel tyrant with no humanity.

In order to get rid of this great harm, Ogata Yoshi went to assassinate the tyrant alone. After defeating hundreds of guards around the tyrant by himself, he successfully took off the tyrant's head.

At that time, Ogata Issei was only 20 years old.

Committing such a serious crime as lord slaying, the Hirose Domain would no longer have a place where Ogata could establish his power.

Therefore, after taking the life of the tyrant, Ogata Yishei resolutely left the feudal clan and became a ronin.

Ogata Yoshi's departure from the feudal clan is like a fish entering the sea.

From then on his legend officially began.

"Beheading a Hundred Men" is just one of his most inconspicuous achievements.

Single-handedly conquered Nijo Castle in Kyoto.

Destroy the "last ninja village": Shiranui.

In Ezo, he personally led dozens of cavalry companies to break through seven formations of the shogunate's army and repel the 10,000-strong army of the shogunate.

Travel alone to Mount Koya, the “Holy Land of Buddhism”.

Ogata Issei achieved all the above-mentioned achievements and escaped unscathed!

He has achieved so many achievements that ordinary people can't even imagine. In this country where "if you don't give celebrities a chuuni nickname, they will be disobedient", Ogata Issei certainly has quite a few, each one more prestigious than the last.

title.

The person cuts with his own strength, the executioner kills with his sword, Shura...

It's a pity that after his solo trip to Mount Koya, the "Holy Land of Buddhism", Ogata disappeared. Not to mention making any new big noise, he didn't know where he went.

Only rumors that are not true or false, such as "Ogata Issei once went to a certain place and did something," occasionally leak out.

Some people say that Ogata Issei died after venturing into Mount Koya alone.

Some people say that Ogata moved overseas.

Of course, some people say that this legendary figure is still alive and has lived to this day. He is living in seclusion somewhere and sneaks out to the streets to bask in the sun every day like an ordinary old man.

Because Ogata Issei was so awesome in his life, the original titles such as Shura, Renzhan Issei, and Executioner Ittosai were no longer worthy of him.

Therefore, after Ogata Issei disappeared from the world, people gave Ogata Issei, who had outstanding swordsmanship and almost reached a level that no one had ever seen before, a holy title and respected him as the "Sword Master".

Prior to this, only two people had won the title of "Sword Master": Ueizumi Nobutsuna and Tsukahara Fuden.

Although Ogata Issei is not like the two people mentioned above, he has not established any groundbreaking new schools or made any outstanding contributions to the theory of kendo, but Ogata Issei's record is too dazzling, relying on

The two knives have achieved the same performance as driving exoskeleton armor or driving Gundam.

Therefore, in order to show how powerful Ogata Issei was, and to show that Kamizumi Nobutsuna and Tsukahara Fuden were not as good as Ogata Issei, people gave Ogata Issei the title of "Sword Master".

Earned the title of "Eternal Life".

That is, the "Eternal Sword Master".

To this day, Ogata Issei's title of "Eternal Sword Master" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

For a legendary figure like Ogata Issei, there are naturally a large number of creators who use his stories as raw materials and adapt them into various types of literary and artistic works.

"Ittōsai" is one of the representatives.

"Ittousai" is a kabuki play that was adapted 70 years ago by a playwright named Nishino Jiro, based on Ogata's debut battle: "Kill the master with one against a hundred"

Repertoire.

"Punish evil, promote good, and kill tyrants" is one of the most talked about themes among the people in the market. In addition, Ogata Yoshi has always been very popular among the people. This play "Ittosai" has been extremely popular since its inception.

Fast speed brings fame.

After 70 years of development, "Ittosai" has become a famous kabuki play like "Tadauchizo" spread all over the country.
To be continued...