BAND� TAMASABUR� V (original) (raw)
Stage names:
Band� Tamasabur� V
Band� Kinoji
Real name: Morita Shin'ichi
Guild: Yamatoya
Line number: GODAIME (V)
Birthday: 25 April 1950
Connections:
Adoptive father: Morita Kan'ya XIV
Career:
December 1957: he makes his first appearance on stage, at the T�yoko Hall, where he receives the name of Band� Kinoji and plays the role of Kotar� in the drama "Terakoya".
June 1964: Band� Kinoji takes the name of Band� Tamasabur� V at the Kabukiza, playing the roles of Otama and Omiyo in the dramas "Shinj� Yai ha K�ri no Tsuitachi" and "Hachidaime Ichikawa Danj�r�".
January 1967: revival at the National Theatre of "Narukami Fud� Kitayama Zakura"; Tamasabur� plays the role of Harukaze's sister Nishiki-no-Mae [casting].
March 1967: revival at the National Theatre of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's masterpiece "Sakura Hime Azuma Bunsh�", which is supervised by Gunji Masakatsu; Tamasabur� plays the role of Shiragikumaru [casting].
May 1968: revival at the National Theatre of "Ura Omote Sendai Hagi"; Tamasabur� plays the role of Matsushima [casting].
November 1969: premiere at the National Theatre of Mishima Yukio's drama "Chinsetsu Yumihari-zuki"; Tamasabur� plays the role of Princess Shiranui [more details].
September 1970: the duo Ebiz�/Tamasabur� plays together for the first time the roles of the wicked priest and Princess Taema in the classic "Narukami", which is performed at the Kabukiza.
April 1971: revival at the National Theatre of Nagawa Shimesuke I's drama "Sumidagawa Gonichi no Omokage"; Tamasabur� plays the role of Princess Nowake [casting].
June 1971: revival at the Shinbashi Enbuj� of the drama "Bansh� Sarayashiki"; Tamasabur� plays the role of Okiku [more details].
28 march 1975: his adoptive father Morita Kan'ya XIV dies.
June 1975: Tamasabur� plays for the first time the great role of princess Sakura in Tsuruya Nambok IV's masterpiece "Sakura Hime Azuma Bunsh�", which is performed at the Shinbashi Enbuj�. His stage partners in the roles of Seigen and Gonsuke are Ichikawa Ebiz� X and Kataoka Takao.
October 1977: Tamasabur� plays for the first time the difficult role of princess Yuki in the play "Kinkakuji", which is performed at the Shinbashi Enbuj�. His stage partners are Nakamura Tomij�r� V (Daizen) and Ichikawa Ebiz� X (T�kichi).
December 1977: Tamasabur� plays for the first time the role of Princess Tomi in Izumi Ky�ka's drama "Tenshu Monogatari", which is staged at the Nissay Theatre; the role of Zushonosuke is played by Misawa Shingo.
February 1979: revision by Uno Nobuo at the Shinbashi Enbuj� of Sakurada Jisuke III's drama "Sanzes� Nishiki Bunsh�"; Tamasabur� plays the role of Osono [casting].
January 1980: Tamasabur� takes part in the first Kabuki performances at the Asakusa K�kaid� [more details].
Summer 1985: tour in the USA; Tamasabur� plays the roles of Teruha, Kasane and Princess Sakura in "Shibaraku", "Kasane" and "Sakurahime Azuma Bunsh�", which celebrate the sh�mei in the USA of Ichikawa Danj�r� XII [more details].
January 1986: revival at the National Theatre of the rarely-staged drama "Uwanari", which belongs to the Kabuki J�hachiban; Tamasabur� plays the roles of Sabur�'s first wife Kasuga and the mekake Kuretake (in reality the jealous ghost of Sabur�'s wife Kasuga) [more details].
June 1986: Tamasabur� and Kataoka Takao, a very popular and successful duo, play together in Paris (France) in the classic "Narukami"; Kataoka Takao plays the role of Narukami and Tamasabur� the one of princess Taema.
June 1989: the drama "Kaidan Botan D�r�" using �nishi Nobuyuki's script is staged for the first time with a full Kabuki casting, at the Shinbashi Enbuj�; Tamasabur� plays the roles of Otsuyu, Otsuyu's ghost and Tomoz�'s wife Omine [casting].
September 1995: release in Japan of the movie version of Izumi Ky�ka's drama "Tenshu Monogatari", which was directed by Tamasabur� and in which he plays the role of Princess Tomi.
October 1996: Yo-Yo Ma and Tamasabur� combine talents to create an emotionally charged dance to J.S. Bach's "Suite No. 5 for Unaccompanied Cello", which is performed at the Suntory Hall in T�ky�. The performance has been filmed and released in video/DVD.
January 1997: Tamasabur� plays for the first time the prestigious role of the courtesan Akoya in the play "Dan no Ura Kabuto Gunki", which is revived in its full length at the National Theatre [casting].
June 2000: first edition of a special show in Ky�to at the Minamiza for the duo made of Band� Tamasabur� and Ichikawa Shinnosuke. The two populars actors play together in the dance "Iro Moy� Chotto Karimame".
February 2001: Tamasabur� plays for the first time the bombastic role of Tomoe Gozen in the parody "Onna Shibaraku".
October 2001: Tamasabur� plays the roles of the courtesan Y�giri and the nurse Masaoka in the plays "Yoshidaya" and "Meiboku Sendai Hagi", which are performed at the Kabukiza. He also takes part in the BESETO special show, traditional performances from China, Korea and Japan, by dancing "Kane no Misaki" (BESETO means Beijing-Seoul-T�ky�).
May 2006: premiere at the Setagaya Public Theatre of "Amaterasu", a project gathering Tamasabur� and the Kod� taiko drummers [more details].
July 2012: Tamasabur� receives the prestigious title of Living National Treasure (Ningen Kokuh� in Japanese).
October 2014: the October Grand Kabuki at the Kabukiza commemorates the 26th anniversary (27th memorial service) and the 2nd anniversary (3rd memorial service) of late Nakamura Kanzabur� XVII and late Nakamura Kanzabur� XVIII [more details].
Comments:
Band� Tamasabur� V is the most popular onnagata actor!
"The onnagata is the flower of Kabuki, and although the great elders are essential in this field, if there were none of these flowers in bud, Kabuki would not survive. Nowadays, even though we would like to cultivate such flowers, there is no soil for this purpose and we can only impatiently wait for a miracle. Tamasabur�, who was born to come up to our expectations, is a young onnagata, whose elegance and delicacy call to mind the working of ivory, and is the living proof of the vitality of Kabuki" (Mishima Yukio, August 1970)
Band� Tamasabur� would be allowed to take the name of Morita Kan'ya XV but he said several times that he won't do it. We hope that he may change his mind because it would give his fans the opportunity to attend an amazing sh�mei!
Official website: http://www.tamasaburo.co.jp/