Oh no∼ It's the Satanic Charm of Nobunaga Once Again! "Honganji" stage-play!

This is yet another pamphlet that I have in my collection of Nobunaga-related thinglets: Yes, I realize that it's a bit awkward to own a pamphlet of a stage-play that I never watched, but I'm always so intrigued about the depictions of Nobunaga in the various media that I can't help bulk-buying when I find a few-- And obviously babble about 'em!

Honganji is indeed an intriguing stage-play, too, as it shows the Honganji conflict in a novel way, introducing vengeful spirits and the conflict between "movement and stillness" by portraying the shodown between two opposite bigger-than-life existences, the "hot" Nobunaga and the "cold" Kennyo.

The screenplay is by Eisaku Saito and is directed by Worry Kinoshita.
The show toured the cities of Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo during the winter of 2016. The play was performed again in Tokyo in the August of the same year by the title Honganji 〜Returns〜 (Honganji〜リターンズ〜).

Deus ex machina of the whole story is the vengeful spirit of Taira no Masakado, whose curse still haunt the Sengoku Era. He's portrayed by Ichikawa Kudanji IV, a disciple of our Ichikawa Ebizo XI.

Masakato made a pact with Oda Nobunaga and now he possesses his body, a la Onimusha.
Nobunaga is portrayed by actor Takanori Jinnai. Well, he's quite the popular actor and pretty much the star of the show. Among his most recent roles is that of Sokyu in Kirin ga kuru.

The nemesis of Nobunaga is the calm and collected Kennyo, the head of the Ishiyama Honganji, in a vivid rendition of actress Mizu Nazuki: She was a star of the Snow Troupe of Takarazuka-- So charming!
--Also, this is the first time that I witness such a pure and "divine" rendition of Kennyo 😅

The mise en scene of the stage-play was quite peculiar and involved the use of light mappings and other special effects that seemed to impress the audience back then.
Among the special features of the work were the costumes, created by designer and stylist Yuma Koshino.

She said that she designed the clothes for Nobunaga and Kennyo by keeping the concept of "contrast" in mind, and applying it to haute couture. ^{Source: Omoshii.com}
Nobu's clothes seem to come straight out of a videogame, but I guess that's it-- This imagery is just too strong∼!