Selected Pages from Engei shashinchō 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 第一號
cover art (lithograph):
Nakamura Ganjirō [I] as Kumagai Naozane
中村鴈治郎の熊谷直実
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**
大正十四年一月一日 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)
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)
中村魁車丈
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.