Kabuki juhachiban: Narukami - Bijo to kairyu

Japan suffers a drought. A Buddhist monk has cast a great spell that has trapped the dragon who brings rain. The peasants plead with their lord, the lord pleads with the shogun, and the shogun pleads with his wisest advisor: read the ancient scroll that will break this terrible spell. Alas, he cannot read the scroll. But perhaps Nobuko Otowa can. On the advice of her advisor, she gets the powers to agree to a great marriage if she does so. Then she goes into the mountains where the monk dwells, throws the scroll down a ravine, and goes to meet the monk.

It's offered as a kabuki show in broad outline. That is we see the actors getting the audience to come in, and start the performance, only for the staging to shift to the Toei studio. In this wise, it resembles Olivier's movie version of Henry V.

The kabuki staging makes it difficult for me to comment with any sense of certainty on what is going on, its staging and performances. But it is fascinating to watch, and quite funny.