Hana Saku Minato (The Flowering Port) is the first in the series
presented with “laughter,” the broad, deep and mysterious
sentiment of human beings, as its theme. This is a famous work
written by Kikuta Kazuo, a popular playwright and stage director
of the Showa period, and his most important works, together with
the stage drama Gametsui Yatsu, as well as the radio dramas, Kane
no Naru Oka and Kimi no Nawa. It was first staged by the Furukawa
Roppa Theatre Company in 1943 and was also adapted to film, gaining
public favor. Set on an isolated island that actually exists in
the Kyushu region, the play depicts the loftiness of living with
hope and the depth of human feelings while looking hard at the
state of affairs in the world as it plunges into a dark age ?
the outbreak of the Pacific war. The story unfolds in the energetic
lives of the islanders. Two swindlers, who plot to cheat islanders
out of their money, are set up against their will as the benefactors
of the islanders, creating a great disturbance. In addition to
the humor of the disturbance, the play warmly and sincerely inquires
into the good and evil inherent in any person. It is indeed a
theatrical gem that has both glamour and substance.The roles of
the pair of swindlers, which have turned out many famous combinations
of actors, will be played by Watanabe Toru and Takahashi Kazuya,
who appear at the NNTT for the first time. Yuki, a mysterious
woman who has returned from abroad, is played by Fuji Sumiko.
Other talented actors and actresses, as well as the direor Uyama
Hitoshi, who creates delicate yet dramatic harmony, will turn
the work into a heartwarming drama replete with laughter and excitement.
Synopsis
Two swindlers arrive at Koshikijima, an isolated island south of Kyushu, and call themselves the children of a late local man of prominence. They tell the islanders that they want to revive the shipbuilding business, which once flourished on the island, and start to raise funds with the island’s Japanese inn Kamomekan as their base. They had planned to run away with the money, but are unable to do so because of their innately good and weak nature. While they are desperate to escape, the world soon changes as the war breaks out. Because of the enthusiasm of the islanders who do not know that they are being deceived, the shipbuilding business advances steadily, and the two fraudsters become the spiritual support of the islanders, leading them to a situation in which they work hard for the business. At that time, a woman named Yuki who has returned from overseas comes to the island accompanied by her mentally retarded daughter. Okano, the landlord of Kamomekan, apparently knows Yuki’s identity. Through the good offices of Okano, Yuki starts to make a living while working for the inn, but…one stormy night, the respective fates of the people on the island begin to roll out.
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