Heike nyogo no shima平家女護島 was written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon for the puppet theater and was quickly adapted to kabuki. The play dramatizes an imaginary incident during the exile of the monk Shunkan俊寛 (c. 1143–1179) and for this reason the play is sometimes called Suunkan.
See the Kabuki 21 web site for a plot summary of Act II Scene 1 Kikai-ga-shima, which is the scene that is most commonly staged in kabuki.
女護島 is sometimes read nyogo ga shima; nyogō no shima; or nyogō ga shima.
<nowiki>Heike Nyogo no Shima; 平家女護島; Heike njogo no šima; 近松門左衛門作の人形浄瑠璃; 平家女護嶋</nowiki>
Diptych print (BM 2008,3037.18212 1).jpg 1,084 × 1,600; 371 KB
Diptych print (BM 2008,3037.18212).jpg 1,093 × 1,600; 390 KB
Heike Nyōgo-ga-shima by Shibakuni and Hokushū.jpg 3,629 × 1,328; 3.71 MB
Danzō Ichikawa V as Shunkan.jpg 909 × 1,328; 1,023 KB
Ebijūrō Ichikawa I as Tanzaemon Motoyasu.jpg 892 × 1,328; 938 KB
Tomokichi Fujikawa II as Ama no Chidori.jpg 904 × 1,328; 1.06 MB
Utaemon Nakamura III as Seno-o no Tarō.jpg 902 × 1,328; 897 KB.jpg)
.jpg)
