Ichikawa DanjūrŠVII
Ichikawa DanjÅ«rÅ VII 七代目市å·åœ˜å郎 | |
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Ichikawa EbizÅ V as the Benkei in the 1852 production of KanjinchÅ | |
Born |
1791 Edo, Japan |
Died |
23 March 1859 Edo, Japan |
Other names | Ichikawa Hakuen II, Ichikawa EbizÅ V, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I |
Ichikawa DanjÅ«rÅ VII (七代目 å¸‚å· åœ˜å郎 Shichidaime Ichikawa DanjÅ«rÅ, 1791-23 March 1859) was a Japanese kabuki actor who specialized in male hero (tachiyaku) roles, said to be the greatest of the 19th century. He was responsible for the establishment of the Kabuki JÅ«hachiban, a collection of the eighteen greatest plays in the repertoire.
Names
Like most kabuki actors, and many artists, of his time, DanjÅ«rÅ VII had a number of names, including Ichikawa EbizÅ V, Ichikawa Hakuen II and Ichikawa Shinnosuke I. In poetry circles, he often used the names Jukai (I), SanshÅ, and Hakuen. EbizÅ was also referred to in various circumstances as Ichikawa Jukai I, Matsumoto KÅshirÅ, Hatagaya JÅ«zÅ and Naritaya Shichizaemon II, though he did not formally use these names onstage. He was a member of the guild Naritaya, and could be referred to by this name (see yagÅ)
Lineage
The son of Ichikawa DanjÅ«rÅ V's daughter, he was formally adopted into the kabuki lineages by Ichikawa DanjÅ«rÅ VI. Through these connections, he could trace his lineage back to the first DanjÅ«rÅ.
DanjÅ«rÅ VII had a number of sons who became actors, under the names Ichikawa DanjÅ«rÅ VIII, Ichikawa DanjÅ«rÅ IX, Ichikawa EbizÅ VII, Ichikawa EbizÅ VIII, Ichikawa KomazÅ VI, Ichikawa SaruzÅ I, and Ichikawa KÅzÅ. He also had a great many disciples.
Life and career
He was born in Edo in 1791, to the daughter of the famous Ichikawa DanjūrŠV; his father owned a shibai jaya (a teashop inside the theatre), and is said to have been a musician and low-ranking samurai. He appeared onstage for the first time at the age of 3, as Ichikawa Shinnosuke, and took the name EbizŠV at the age of six.
The following year, he played the famous child roles of Emperor Antoku and Rokudai in Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura at the Nakamura-za, where he had made his premiere. His adopted father died in 1799, and EbizÅ was officially designated to become the next DanjÅ«rÅ, one of the greatest honors an actor could receive. After his grandfather died in 1806, EbizÅ became DanjÅ«rÅ VII the following year.
In the early 1810s, DanjÅ«rÅ performed at the Ichimura-za in a number of new plays by the great playwright Tsuruya Nanboku IV, and played the titular role of Sukeroku in Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura for the first time in 1811, alongside Iwai HanshirÅ V and Matsumoto KÅshirÅ V. Upon its reopening in 1815, he moved to the Kawarazaki-za, along with HanshirÅ, KÅshirÅ, and Seki SanjÅ«rÅ II. He performed primarily there, and at the Ichimura-za, for the next several decades, until 1840. HanshirÅ, KÅshirÅ, and the famous onnagata Segawa KikunojÅ V remained his chief partners onstage throughout this period.
DanjūrŠretook the name EbizŠat a grand shūmei naming ceremony in 1832, passing on the name to his nine-year-old son, who now became Ichikawa DanjūrŠVIII. He played the role of Benkei in the 1840 premiere of KanjinchŠat the Kawarazaki-za. Two years later, he was arrested for violating the sumptuary regulations, and banished from Edo, his home destroyed.
EbizÅ then performed in Kyoto and Osaka for the next eight years or so, alongside the likes of Ichikawa KÅdanji IV and Arashi Rikan III. After returning to Edo and to the Kawarazaki-za in 1850, EbizÅ went on tour to Kamigata again in 1854, performing in Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka. That same year, upon EbizÅ's arrival in Osaka, his son DanjÅ«rÅ VIII committed suicide in the inn they were staying at.
EbizÅ remained in the Kamigata area for several years, and then returned to Edo once more. At a performance at the Nakamura-za in January 1859, he began to feel ill, and left the stage for several weeks. That March, he was scheduled to perform as Soga no Iruka in Imoseyama Onna Teikin, but fell ill once more and died on the 23rd.
See also
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