Cherry trees bloom on the Kabukiza stage all year round, but this month, as befits hanami season, they're particularly spectacular. That's not surprising, because "Shiranami Gonin Otoko (The Five Shiranami Men)" by Kawatake Mokuami (1816-93), was inspired by ukiyo-e prints by the renowned Utagawa Toyokuni III.

Shira-nami, meaning white waves, is the Japanese reading of two Chinese characters bai-bo. After the Chronicle of the Latter Han Dynasty (25-220) gave the label "baibo" to a group of bandits living in the Baibo Gorge, Shanxi Province, the term came to be used for men who made their living by theft or extortion. In this sense it was transferred to Japan.

Usually, only two scenes of "Shiranami Gonin Otoko" are performed as highlights, but at the Kabukiza this month, the play is presented in its entirety. It is blessed with a splendid cast: Kataoka Nizaemon, 60, as leader Nippon Daemon; Nakamura Kankuro, 48, as Benten Kozo; Bando Mitsugoro, 48, as Nango Rikimaru; Nakamura Shinjiro, 44, as Tadanobu Rihei; and Nakamura Fukusuke, 43, an onnagata specializing in female roles, here in a male role as Akaboshi Juzaburo.