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Prologue
Amagasaki People
Hometown of Chikamatsu
Places of Interest/City Tour
My Hometown's Specialties
Events in Four Seasons
Ekimae Watching
Access to Amagasaki
Amagasaki Data

Hometown of Chikamatsu
The Edo-period playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon left numerous masterpieces, such as The Love Suicide at Sonezaki (Sonezaki Shinju) and The Courier for Hell (Meido-no Hikyaku), which continue to be staged today as Bunraku (traditional puppet play), Kabuki and modern drama performances and appreciated by many.
 Photograph of Sonezaki Shinju
A scene from The Love Suicide at Sonezaki (photo: Seisuke Miyake)
Chikamatsu's Symbol Mark Chikamatsu's Symbol Mark
The "topknot" (Edo-period hairstyle for men) symbolizes the era Chikamatsu lived and his works, while a designed letter "a" is placed to represent Amagasaki. This symbol mark was selected in an open competition in 1989, in which entries were sent from all over Japan.

Chikamatsu and Amagasaki

 Photograph of Chikamatsu's tomb stone On the tomb stone, the posthumous Buddhist names of Chikamatsu and his wife are engraved.

Chikamatsu Monzaemon, an Edo-period playwright whom Japan takes pride in presenting to the whole world.

Photograph of Chikamatsu's writing desk Chikamatsu's writing desk, now kept at Chikamatsu Memorial Hall.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Amagasaki's municipality in 1986, the city decided to promote its cultural life centering on Chikamatsu-related themes. In every autumn,Amagasaki organizes the event "Chikamatsu Now" featuring exhibitions, Bunraku performances and Chikamatsu Festival. Various civic groups interested in the playwright, such as Chikamatsu Ouendan and Chikamatsu Kataribe Kai, also play an active role in this promotion.

Chikamatsu as Amagasaki's key promoter
Photograph of Puppet play
Puppet play by Chikamatsu Ouendan

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Amagasaki's municipality in 1986, the city decided to promote its cultural life centering on Chikamatsu-related themes. In every autumn, Amagasaki organizes the event "Chikamatsu Now" featuring exhibitions, Bunraku performances and Chikamatsu Festival. Various civic groups interested in the playwright, such as Chikamatsu Ouendan and Chikamatsu Kataribe Kai, also play an active role in this promotion.

Chikamatsu's Village (Chikamatsu-no-sato),
a historic and cultural area
Photograph of Seated statue of Chikamatsu
Seated statue of Chikamatsu in Chikamatsu Park

An area surrounding Kosai-ji Temple is being developed as “Chikamatsu’s Village” (Chikamatsu-no-sato). This area has a historically and culturally rich ambience, encompassing Chikamatsu Park, a Japanese garden-style park with a seated statue of Chikamatsu; Chikamatsu Memorial Hall with some 100 Chikamatsu-related exhibits on display; a monument inspired by Chikamatsu’s works, as well as Ikota Tumulus and Isagu Shrine.

Map of Chikamatsu Park