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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