Here is a list of the characters in the story and pronunciation is indicated where it might not be self evident.

Chûbei – (chew bay) a 24 year old clerk in the courier business owned by his adoptive mother.  He is talented in many of the Japanese arts.

Umegawa – (Oo me ga wa) a prostitute at Shimaya.  She is called to entertain at other tea houses such as Ito (ee toe) and Echigo (ei chi go).

Hachiemon – (Ha chi e mon) Chûbei’s friend, client and rival for Umegawa’s love.

Magoemon – (Ma go e mon)  Chûbei’s natural father. (His natural mother is dead which is one of the reasons why his father put him up for adoption.)  

Myokan – (Mi yo kan) Chûbei’s adoptive mother and owner of the Kameya Courier business (which is a service like Brink’s today).  She is not Magoemon’s wife.

Chusaburo – (chew sa bu ro) tenant of Magoemon.  Chûbei and Umegawa rest there when they go to the village.

Ninokuchi mura – (ni no ku chi mu ra)  village where Chûbei grew up and where Magoemon lives.  Last scene of the play.

Naniwa – (na ni wa) the town where Myokan has her business and where Chûbei lives as her adopted son. (Old name for Osaka)

Yamato – (ya ma toe) the oldest settled region of Japan.  Today it includes the area around Nara to Ise, the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kumano and Mie.

Story

Chubei is a young man who had been adopted by Myokan as her son because she has no children and needs someone to take over her business when she dies. He is from a small farming village outside of Naniwa (Osaka) where his father, Magoemon, still lives. His mother died when he was young. His job is to be a courier of cash. There were no banks in Tokugawa Japan so companies were formed to transport funds from one place to another for businesses (like Brinks or Pinkerton). Chubei has done well and he has taken to visiting the geisha quarter.

During the Tokugawa period there were many types of tea houses and restaurants and many of them had geisha perform. Chubei has fallen in love with Umegawa and wants to buy out her contract and marry her but he does not have enough money or permission from Myokan to do this. His friend Hachiemon is also in love with Umegawa but she is not interested in him. Chubei has secretly been borrowing money entrusted to him to pay his expenses at the tea house. Hachiemon is one of the clients he has taken money from. Hachiemon agrees not to tell Myokan but when he realizes they are rivals, he taughts Chubei into spending other funds entrusted to him to buy her contract. When he breaks the seal on the money, he has irrevocably become a thief and will be caught and killed for embezzlement. Umegawa does not know this at first but when she finds out realizes they have no future. They decide to visit Chubei's father to say good bye before they commit suicide.

This story is based on a true case. The action of the puppets attempt to duplicate that of real actors and the skill of the puppet master is in showing emotion through the puppets.

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