ICHIKAWA DANJ�R� VIII (original) (raw)

Stage names:

Other name:

Ichikawa Hakuen III

Guild: Naritaya

Line number: HACHIDAIME (VIII)

Poetry name: Sansh�

Existence: 5th day of the 10th lunar month of 1823 [1] ~ 6th day of the 8th lunar month of 1854 [2]

Connection:

Great-great-great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Danj�r� I

Great-great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Ebiz� II (Danj�r� II)

Great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Ebiz� III (Danj�r� IV)

Great-Grandfather: Ichikawa Hakuen I (Danj�r� V)

Father: Ichikawa Danj�r� VII

Brothers: Ichikawa Danj�r� IX, Ichikawa Ebiz� VII, Ichikawa Ebiz� VIII, Ichikawa Komaz� VI, Ichikawa Saruz� I, Ichikawa K�z�

Career:

5th day of the 10th lunar month of 1823 [1]: born in Edo in the district of Kiba in Fukagawa. He was the first son of Ichikawa Danj�r� VII. His mother was Sumi, the daughter of Fukuchi Zenb�, the owner of the Ichimuraza shibai jaya Kikuya.

11th lunar month of 1823: he appeared on stage for the first time, at the Ichimuraza, where he received the name of Ichikawa Shinnosuke II during the kaomise performance.

3rd lunar month of 1825: Ichikawa Shinnosuke II took the name of Ichikawa Ebiz� VI.

3rd lunar month of 1832: great sh�mei at the Ichimuraza for the Naritaya guild. His father Ichikawa Danj�r� VII took back the name of Ichikawa Ebiz� V and Ichikawa Ebiz� VI, who was only 9 years old, became Ichikawa Danj�r� VIII. Danj�r� played the role of Hidari no Jingor� in Tsuruya Nanboku IV's drama "Sumidagawa Hana no Goshozome". He also played the role of the uir� peddler Toraya T�kichi in a "Uir� Uri" scene (Kabuki J�hachiban) which was included in the drama "Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura".

11th lunar month of 1832: Danj�r� played the role of Nose Tar�, the leading role of the "Shibaraku" scene, in the Kawarasakiza kaomise program "Tanomiaru Gohiiki no Tsuna".

1st lunar month of 1833: Danj�r�'s rank in the Edo hy�banki, s�kant� section ("global leader"), was j�-j�-kichi (superior - superior - excellent) [visual].

5th lunar month of 1833: Danj�r� played at the Ichimuraza the role of Irie Tanz� in the classic "Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura".

7th lunar month of 1835: Danj�r� played at the Ichimuraza the role of Ranmaru in the drama "Konoshita Kage Hazama Gassen".

4th lunar month of 1836: premiere at the Moritaza of the drama "Hakkenden Uwasa no Takadono"; Danj�r� played the roles of Inue Shinb� and the monk Shakuunb� [casting].

7th lunar month of 1837: premiere at the Ichimuraza of "Sansh�-day� Kogane no Toridoshi", a revised and expanded version of the giday� ky�gen "Yura no Minato Sengen Ch�ja"; Danj�r� played the role of Hashidate no Gor� [casting].

1st lunar month of 1838: Danj�r� became zagashira at the Kawarasakiza. He played 4 roles in the new year drama "Fude Hajime Mazebari Soga", including the roles of Kojir� and Atsumori in the classic "Genpei Nunobiki no Taki".

3rd lunar month of 1838: Danj�r� played at the Kawarasakiza the 2 minor roles, including Sugi�maru, in the classic "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami".

3rd lunar month of 1839: premiere at the Kawarasakiza of the dance program "Shiki no Nagame Maru-ni-I no Toshi", which was made up of four dances dedicated to the four seasons and starred the actor Sawamura Tossh� I, supported by Ichikawa Ebiz� V and Danj�r� [more details].

3rd lunar month of 1840: premi�re of the dance-drama "Kanjinch�" at Kawarasakiza; the main role (Benkei) was played by Ichikawa Ebiz� V; his stage partners were Ichikawa Kuz� II (Togashi) and Danj�r� (Yoshitsune).

8th lunar month of 1841: Danj�r� played at the Kawarasakiza the role of Kat� Masakiyo in the drama "Ehon Taik�ki".

6th lunar month of 1843: Danj�r� played for the first and last time the role of the wicked priest Narukami in the drama "Mayoi no Kumoiro ni Narukami", which was staged at the Kawarasakiza; his stage partner in the role of Princess Taema was Onoe Eizabur� III.

3rd lunar month of 1844: Danj�r� played at the Nakamuraza the prestigious role of Sukeroku in the drama "Sukeroku Kuruwa no Momosakura"; the roles of the courtesan Agemaki, the villain Iky� and the shirozake seller Shinb� were played by Iwai Hanshir� VII, Matsumoto K�shir� VI and Onoe Kikugor� III. This performance, which celebrated the sh�mei of both Iwai Hanshir� VII and Matsumoto K�shir� VI, was a huge success and a long run

11th lunar month of 1845: Danj�r� played at the Kawarasakiza the roles of Matsunaga Daizen and the sum� wrestler Tetsugadake in the dramas "Ehon Tait�ki" and "Sekitori Senry� Nobori".

8th lunar month of 1848: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Nishizawa Ipp�'s drama "Eiri Sh�setsu Asagao Monogatari"; Danj�r� played the role of Miyagi Asojir�/Komazawa Jirozaemon [casting].

3rd lunar month of 1849: Danj�r� plays for the first time the role of Musashib� Benkei in the dance-drama "Kanjinch�", which was performed at the Kawarasakiza; his stage partners were Ichikawa Kodanji IV (Togashi) and Band� Takesabur� I (Yoshitsune).

8th lunar month of 1849: Danj�r� played at the Kawarasakiza the eponymous role of the drama "Kagekiyo"; his stage partners were Onoe Kikujir� II (Akoya) and Band� Hikosabur� IV (Shigetada).

11th lunar month of 1849: Danj�r� played at the Kawarasakiza the role of Hiranoya Tokub� in the drama "Sonezaki Shinj�"; the role of the courtesan Ohatsu was played by Onoe Kikujir� II.

9th lunar month of 1850: premiere at the Nakamuraza of the drama "Minoriyoshi Kogane no Kikuzuki"; Danj�r� played the roles of Asayama Tetsuzan and Funase Sanpei [more details].

2nd lunar month of 1851: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Sakurada Jisuke III's Kiyomoto-based dance "Akegarasu Hana no Nureginu", commonly called "Urazato Tokijir�"; Danj�r� played the role of Kasugaya Tokijir� [casting].

5th lunar month of 1851: Danj�r� played at the Ichimuraza the role of the wicked priest Narukami in the drama "Narukami"; the role of Princess Taema was played by Band� Sh�ka I.

7th lunar month of 1852: premiere at the Kawarasakiza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Jiraiya G�ketsu Monogatari"; Danj�r� played the role of Jiraiya [casting].

3rd lunar month of 1853: premiere of Segawa Jok� III's drama "Yowa Nasake Ukina no Yokogushi" (commonly called "Kirare Yosa"), which was staged at the Nakamuraza and in which Danj�r� played the role of Yosabur� [casting]. This performance was a huge success.

5th lunar month of 1853: Danj�r� played at the Nakamuraza for the second and last time the role of Yosabur� in Segawa Jok� III's drama "Yowa Nasake Ukina no Yokogushi"; the role of Otomi was played by Onoe Baik� IV.

8th lunar month of 1854 [2]: a few days after his triumphant arrival in �saka, where he was supposed to perform together with his father, Danj�r� committed suicide in his inn.

Comments:

Ichikawa Danj�r� VIII was a popular and talented tachiyaku actor, who was active from the 1st half of the 1820s to the first half of the 1840s. The pressure of popularity and fame was too heavy for this actor, who preferred to terminate himself both his life and a career which was outstanding. "He gave every sign of great promise, but because of family and professional troubles committed suicide in �saka." (Zo� Kincaid in "Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan")

"Like his father, Ichikawa Danj�r� VIII excelled in the aragoto ('rough-stuff') roles for which the Ichikawa lineage was famous. But as well as audacious young heroes, he was also extremely successful in the various roles of young lover (nimaime). Together with his good looks, this made him especially popular with female fans. When he played Sukeroku, in which he had to immerse himself in a barrel of water, the water was subsequently sold at exorbitant cost to avid admirers. Even when he had to appear as Yosabur� with a scarred face, pastry shops sold beanpaste buns with cracked outer skins called 'Yosabur� buns, which were devoured by the actor's fans. Despite his success, or even because of it, he was plagued by personal problems, perhaps exacerbated by his early achievements and the jealousy this caused among older actors. In 1854, during a tour of performances in �saka with his father, he was found in his inn with his wrists slashed. He was suffering from massive debts, caused by his lifestyle, which emulated the excesses of his father." (from the The Fitzwilliam Museum Website)

[1] The 5th day of the 10th lunar month of the 6th year of the Bunsei era was the 7th of November 1823 in the western calendar.

[2] The 6th day of the 8th lunar month of the 7th year of the Kaei era was the 27th of September 1854 in the western calendar.