The Kabuki Actor
"Kabuki, as dramatic art, gives expression to the complexities of human nature and society"1, but it is the actor rather than the play itself that is "the absolute focus"2 of the performance and the audience's attention.
1 “Actor, Role, and Character: Their Multiple Interrelationships in Kabuki” by Barbara E. Thornbury appearing in A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance, Samuel L. Leiter, ed., M.E. Sharpe, 2002, p. 236.
2 “Kabuki: Signs, Symbols, and the Hieroglyphic Actor” by Leonard C. Pronko appearing in A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance, Samuel L. Leiter, ed., M.E. Sharpe, 2002. p. 241.
A Tough Act
Source: The Kabuki Theatre of Japan, A.O. Scott, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1955, p. 157.
The kabuki theater "forces the most rigid discipline upon the actor who will face hard work, hard criticism and hard living in the pursuit of his career." The aspiring actor must undergo long years of training and, to succeed, will have "to recreate a stage character in a traditional form, but yet have a subtle enough personality to give it life and spirit and not make it mere flat repetition." If "he attains a mastery of his craft and is accepted by the hierarchy of the profession he must then stand trial before his audience in a way that no other actors do…"
The profession of the kabuki actor is hereditary and, with very few exceptions, kabuki players are connected by blood ties to the theater in some form or another. Most actors are descended either directly or by marriage from acting families with long lineages.
A Tough Audience
"Going to the theatre was [like] going to a ball game except that one rooted for an actor rather than an athlete or team."1 The kabuki audience "knew the rules thoroughly" and focused on the technique of the actor and his interpretation and then applied "a mental criticism to his performance in the light of the masters who have held the name before him."2
1 The Kabuki Theatre of Japan, A.O. Scott, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1955, p. 157.
2 A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance, Samuel L. Leiter, ed., M.E. Sharpe, 2002, p. xxiii
The Naming Convention
The Kabuki Theatre of Japan, A.O. Scott, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1955, p. 157, 159.
"Once an actor has achieved professional standing he is known to the public by a stage name in itself hereditary, which has been passed on from generation to generation, and it is this which condemns him to a test peculiar in its severity before he can hope to attain a minimum of appreciation."
"An actor’s name...consist[s] of three parts, for example Nakamura Utaemon VI. The first name is the theatrical family to which the actor belongs and to which he generally owes his training and professional debut, although sometimes an actor has been adopted into another theatrical family, whose name he assumes, later in his career. The second name, Utaemon, indicates personal status as an actor. Such a title can only be assumed after the death of a previous holder, under a succession system which jealously guards the reputation of actors’ titles. The Roman numeral at the end of the name shows the generation so that the present Nakamura Utaemon is the sixth actor to bear the title since it was initiated."
The Actors in the Collection's Kabuki Theater and Portrait Prints
Arashi Kangorō 嵐冠五郎 (active c. 1863)
Source: website Kabuki 21 https://www.kabuki21.com/akangoro.php
Possibly Arashi Kangorō II. (d. 1868).
Date of birth unknown. Disciple of Arashi Kanjūrō I, he was recorded as a koyaku actor performing at the Moritaza in the 11th lunar month of 1808. His first stage name was Arashi Mankichi II. He took the name of Arashi Kanzō in the 11th lunar month of 1816 at the Nakamuraza. His rank in the 1817 Edo hyōbanki, tachiyaku section, was jō (superior) [visual]. Arashi Kanzō and his master Arashi Kanjūrō I respectively took the names of Arashi Izaburō II and Arashi Kankurō III in the 11th lunar month of 1841 at the Kawarasakiza. Then, he took the name of Arashi Kangorō II in the 8th lunar month of 1842. His rank in the 1860 Edo hyōbanki, jitsuaku section, was jō-jō (superior - superior) [visual]. He was active up to the end of the Edo period. He died in 1868.
Azuma Tōzō 7 東藤蔵 七代目 (1904 to October 1930)
Source: https://www.kabuki21.com/atozo.php#t1
A koshibai actor, who was born in 1903 and died in October 1930, held the name of Azuma Tōzō. Sometimes seen listed as Azuma Tōzō generation "5.7".
Bandō Hikosaburō V 坂東彦三郎 五代目 (1832 ~ 13 October 1877)
Sources: Kabuki 21 website https://www.kabuki21.com/hikosaburo5.php and Global Performing Arts Database http://www.glopad.org/pi/en/record/person/1002011
Stage names: Bandō Hikosaburō V, Bandō Takesaburō I, Bandō Tsurunosuke I
Other name: Bandō Shinsui V
Nickname: Meijin Hikosaburō (Hikosaburō the expert)
Hikosaburō V came from a family of carpenters living in the Asakusa area of Edo. He was adopted by the actor Bandō Hikosaburō IV (1800-1873) in 1840 and took the name Bandō Tsurunosuke.He first appeared on stage at Nakamura-za Theatre in November 1842. He changed his name into Bandō Takesaburō at Kawarazaki-za Theatre in January 1846. Then he took the name Bandō Hikosaburō V at Ichimura-za Theatre in March 1856.
Bandō Hikosaburō V was an outstanding actor, able to play tachiyaku, onnagata or katakiyaku roles, in both jidaimono and sewamono. His forte were the great Gidayū Kyōgen roles. He was a star of the first half of the Meiji era and had a strong artistic influence on Onoe Kikugorō V, the future star of the second half of the Meiji era. He unfortunately died too early, at the age of 45.
His rivalry with Nakamura Shikan IV was one of the hottest in Kabuki history: "So nearly matched in ability were Shikan and Hikosaburō, with but two years' difference in their ages, that they were pitted against each other, and their patrons often indulged in fights over them. During a performance, when these actors were playing together, they came through the audience by way of the two hanamichi, the one to the right of the stage a mere footpath, that to the left a platform that was in reality a continuation of the stage proper. They quarreled as to who should take the main hanamichi, and the dispute waxed so hot that they finally drew lots to settle the matter." (Zoë Kincaid in "Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan")
Bandō Kakitsu I 坂東家橘 初代（ばんどう かきつ）(1847–March 18, 1893)
Source: Kabuki 21 website https://www.kabuki21.com/kakitsu1.php
Stage names: Bandō Kakitsu I, Ichimura Kakitsu V, Ichimura Uzaemon XIV, Ichimura Takematsu III
Bandō Kakitsu I was a Meiji tachiyaku, who excelled in wagotoshi roles. He was also the last zamoto of the Ichimuraza.
Bandō Kamezō I 坂東亀蔵 初代 (1800-1873)
Source: Kabuki 21 website https://www.kabuki21.com/kamezo1.php
Stage names: Bandō Kamezō I, Bandō Hikosaburō IV, Ichimura Kamesaburō, Ichimura Takesaburō
Other name: Bandō Shinsui IV
The actor Bandō Kamezō I's haimyō was Shinsui and, although he never officially held the name of Bandō Shinsui IV, he was considered as the fourth actor of this line.
Bandō Kamezō I was a talented and popular tachiyaku, an outstanding dancer, who excelled in nimaime (at the beginning of his career), budōgoto and jitsugotoshi roles, then in jitsuaku and oyajigata roles in his latter years.
Bandō Kichiya I 坂東吉弥 初代 (1846 ~ 11 September 1873)) (See Bandō Mitsugorō VI)
The actor Bandō Mitsugorō VI held the name of Bandō Kichiya I from the 5th lunar month of 1850 to the 4th lunar month of 1856.
Bandō Mitsugorō IV 坂東三津五郎 四代目 (1802-1863)
Source: Kabuki 21 website https://www.kabuki21.com/mitsugoro.php
Stage names: Morita Kan'ya XI, Bandō Mitsugorō IV, Bandō Minosuke II
Other name: Morita Zekō
The actor Morita Kan'ya XI (1802-1863) held the name of Bandō Mitsugorō IV from March 1832 to October 1850.
Morita Kan'ya XI was both a tachiyaku (actor specialized in male roles) and the zamoto (kabuki performance promoter) of the Moritaza (from 1856 to 1863). He was tall, handsome and, as an actor, excelled in sewamono (domestic dramas dealing with the lives of commoners). He was also a talented jitsuaku (evil villian) and an outstanding dancer.
In his Mitsugorō years, he was both a stage partner and a rival (for the title of Edo's best tachiyaku) of Nakamura Shikan II, imitating the glorious rivalry of Bandô Mitsugorō III and Nakamura Utaemon III.
Bandō Mitsugorō VI 坂東三津五郎 六代目 (1846 ~ 11 September 1873)
Source: Kabuki 21 website https://www.kabuki21.com/mitsugoro6.php
Stage names: Bandō Mitsugorō VI, Bandō Kichiya I
Nicknames: Aba Mitsu ("pockmarked Mitsu"); Kichiya Mitsugorō
Connections: Father: Bandō Shūka I; Adopted son: Bandō Shūka II
In the 5th lunar month of 1850 he makes his first appearance on stage at the Nakamuraza, where he receives the name of Bandō Kichiya I and plays the role of Kuzu-no-Ha's child in the classic "Ashiya Dōman Ôuchi Kagami".
In the 2nd lunar month of 1851 he plays the role of the kamuro (young girl attendant for high-ranking courtesan) Katsumi in the premiere at the Ichimuraza of Sakurada Jisuke III's Kiyomoto-based dance "Akegarasu Hana no Nureginu", commonly called "Urazato Tokijirō".
3rd lunar month of 1855: his father Bandō Shūka I dies.
Bandô Mitsugorō VI was a talented and promising wakaonnagata and the worthy heir of his outstanding father Bandô Shūka I. Unfortunately he died young at the age of 27 in 1873.
Bandō Mitsugorō VI was in fact Bandō Mitsugorō V during his career but the Kabuki world decided to give posthumously this prestigious name to his father, who became the fifth of the line and his son the sixth.
Bandō Sanpachi V 坂東三八 五代目 (1838-1891)
Source: https://www.kabuki21.com/sampachi.php and wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9D%82%E6%9D%B1%E4%B8%89%E5%85%AB
The actor Bandō Kitsujūrō II held the name of Bandō Sanpachi V from the 3rd lunar month of 1860 to July 1879.
Bandō Shinsui IV 坂東薪水 四代目 (1800-1873) (See Bandō Kamezō I)
The actor Bandō Kamezō I's haimyō was Shinsui and, although he never officially held the name of Bandō Shinsui IV, he was considered as the fourth actor of this line.
Bandō Shūchō II 坂東秀調 二代目 (1848-1901)
Source: Kabuki 21 website https://www.kabuki21.com/shucho2.php
The actor Bandō Shūchō II held this name from February 1884 to September 1901.
Stage names: Bandō Shūchō II, Bandō Shūchō, Ichikawa Yonejūrō III, Ichikawa Yonemaru