Benten Kozō

Aoto Zōshi Hana no Nishiki-e 青砥稿花紅彩画
Woodblock printed playbill image from the March 1862 premiere at the Ichimura-za theatre in Edo, featuring actors Ichimura Uzaemon XIII (top/left), Nakamura Shikan IV (bottom/left), Seki Sanjūrō III (center), Iwai Kumesaburō III (top/right) and Kawarazaki Gonjūrō I (bottom/right).
Written by	Kawatake Mokuami
Characters	Benten Kozō Kikunosuke Nippon Daemon Princess Senju Hamamatsuya Kōbei
Date premiered	March 1862
Original language	Japanese
Genre	shiranamimono, kizewamono
Setting	Kamakura, Japan

"Aoto Zōshi Hana no Nishiki-e" (青砥稿花紅彩画^?), as the original and fullest version of this play is known, is a tale in five acts of the shiranamimono (tales of thieves) sub-category of the kizewamono (rough contemporary piece) genre of kabuki plays. Written by Kawatake Mokuami, it first premiered at the Ichimura-za in Edo in March 1862.

The play is frequently known by a number of other names. The name "Benten Kozō" (弁天小僧^?) actually refers to the main character of the play, a gizoku (honorable thief), one of a band of five such men. Another common name for this play is "Shiranami Gonin Otoko" (白浪五人男^?, lit. "Five Men of the White Waves"), "shiranami" (white waves) being a term used to refer to thieves. Like most traditional Japanese dramas, the play originally had five acts, following particular conventions as to the dramatic pattern and themes of each act. However, today, it is very common to perform only one or two acts, each combination of acts represented by a different play title. For example, the title Benten Musume Meo no Shiranami refers to the performance of Acts III and/or IV without the other three.

The play centers on a band of five thieves, based on real thieves and criminals of Edo period Osaka: Karigane Bunshichi, An no Heibei, Gokuin Sen'emon, Kaminari Shōkurō and Hotei Ichiemon. The name of Nippon Daemon, the leader of the band, is taken from that of Nippon Saemon, who was captured and executed in 1747. The character of Benten Kozō, meanwhile, is said to have been based upon a servant at the Iwamoto-in temple on Enoshima, an island dedicated to the goddess Benten.