The Mikado

Act One

As act one opens, residents of the fictitious Japanese town of Tipitu gather together (“If you want to know who we are”). Nanki-Poo, the son of the royal mikado, arrives in Titipu disguised as a peasant and introduces himself (“A Wandering Minstrel, I”). Without telling the truth about who he is, Nanki-Poo explains that several months earlier he had fallen in love with school-girl Yum-Yum. However he discovered that she was already betrothed to Ko-Ko, a cheap tailor, and he realized their situation was hopeless. He has since learned that Ko-Ko has been condemned to death for flirting and he has come to find Yum-Yum once more. To his dismay, one of the town’s gentlemen, Pish-Tush, tells Nanki-Poo that Ko-Ko was reprieved at the last moment and made Lord High Executioner instead (“Our great Mikado, virtuous man”). As the criminals must be executed in order, the town authorities reasoned that he could "not cut off another's head until he cut his own off". Seeing as