Engei shashinchō

Volume 4, 1924

Selected Pages from Engei shashinch Volume 4, Number 1, January 1, 1925

IHL Cat. #2774

click on image to enlarge

Engei shashinchō* Volume 4, Number 1

演藝寫真帖 第四卷 第一


cover art (lithograph):

Nakamura Ganjirō [I] as Kumagai Naozane

中村鴈治郎熊谷直実

artist: Natori Shunsen 名取春仙 (1886-1960)

signed: 春仙画 Shunsen ga; sealed: no seal

名取春仙筆

published: January 1, Taishō 14 (1925)

publishing company: Engei shunjūsha, Osaka branch**

大正十年一月一日 發行

發賣所 演藝春秋社大阪支

* Note revised name

** Note new publisher

overall size: approx. 8 9/16 x 11 7/8 in. (21.8 x 30.1 cm)

謹賀新年

大正十四年元旦

演藝春秋社 同人

編輯部 一同

印刷部 一同

支局 一同

New Year's Greetings

New Year's Day, Taishō 14 (1925)

From all of us at Engei shunjūsha 

Editorial department

Printing department

Branch Offices

口繪 三十六家選 (その一)

尾上菊五郞の曽我五郎時致

Frontispiece (color lithograph)

Thirty-Six Selected Actors (No. 1)

Onoe Kikugorō [VI] as Soga Gorō Tokimune 

artist: Natori Shunsen 名取春仙 (1886-1960), signed 春仙 Shunsen with 名 na seal

邦樂座十二月興行

(お七吉三) 

吉祥寺本堂の塲

Hōgakuzā [Asakusa, Tokyo] December performance

(Oshichi and Kichiza)
Scene at the main hall of Kichijō-ji Temple

長田秀雄氏新作

A new play by Hideo Nagata [1885-1949]

 尾上榮三郎八百屋娘お七

Onoe Eizaburō [VII] as Oshichi, the greengrocer’s daughter

市川男女藏  — 寺小姓吉三
Ichikawa Omezō [IV] as Kichiza, the temple page

當世人氣俳優 (そ の 八)

中村魁車

Contemporary Popular Actors (No. 8) - 

Mr. Nakamura Kaisha [1876-1945]

The brief biography below the photo tells us that he made his stage debut at the age of six and that as he matured he performed a wide range of roles, from elderly characters to prominent female roles, demonstrating his versatility and skill.

[Kaisha was to meet a tragic death during the Osaka air raids on March 13-14, 1945, perishing in the air raid shelter at his home while holding his grandson.]

浪花座十二月狂言

December performance at the Naniwa-za

(廓文章)

(Kuruwa bunshō - Love letters from the pleasure quarters)

常盤津連中

長唄連中

竹本連中

Tokiwazu Company*, Nagauta Company*, Takemoto Company*

*musical ensembles that accompany the performance

片岡我童 藤屋伊左衛門

Kataoka Gadō [IV] as Fujiya Izaemon

中村扇雀 扇屋夕霧

Nakamura Senjaku [I] as Ogiya Yūgiri

Left margin commentary: Kuruwa bunshō

At the Naniwa-za, the Yoshidaya [Osaka geisha house] takes the spotlight. This piece features the . . . traditional year-end mochi-pounding festivities. In it, Izaemon, dressed in a paper coat, meets [the famed courtesan] Yūgiri, who is suffering due to the affection of Yoshidaya’s proprietor, Kizaemon (Mitsugorō). Their flirtations set the stage for a joyous celebration of the coming spring.

帝劇師走狂言

(賢き馬鹿 [かしこきばか])

December performance at the Imperial Theater (Kashikoki baka - The wise fool)

太郎冠者氏作

A work by Tarōkaja

[Masuda Tarōkaja 益田太郎冠 1875-1953]

from left to right:

友右衛門 春野文雄

Tomoemon as Haruno Fumio?

[Ōtani Tomoemon VI 大谷友右衛門]

律子 夫人喜美代  

Ritsuko as Mrs. Kimiyo

[Mori Ritsuko 森律子 (1890-1961)]

幸四郎 實業家加藤

Kōshirō as  the industrialist Katō

[Matsumoto Kōshirō VII 松本幸四郎]

升藏 伯〓中井

Masuzō as Count ? Nakai 

[Ichikawa Masuzō IV 市川升蔵 (1897-1985)]

Right margin summary: Kashikoki baka

(edited partial translation)

A typical lighthearted Tarō Kaja-style skit billed as "farcical comedy," [ァーシカル・コメディー] originally scheduled to debut on the night of the Great Earthquake but instead revived a year after the reconstruction as a kind of commemorative performance. They spared no expense on Western music to make it as lively and vibrant as possible, with one highlight being a parody of Madame Pavlova’s Dying Swan, featuring a comically clumsy domesticated duck.

邦樂座十二月興行

(棒しばり) (文七元結)

 Hōgaku-za December performance
([right] shibari) ([left] Bunshichi mottoi)

岡村柿紅氏作 所作事 長唄囃子連中

Dance play (choreography) by

Mr. Okamura Shikō [1881-1925]

Accompanied by Nagauta Hayashi musicians

菊五郎 次郎冠者

[right] Kikugorō as Jirō Kaja