Onoe Kikugorō V
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese Kabuki
actor, one of the three most famous and celebrated of the Meiji period
, along with Ichikawa Danjūrō IX
and Ichikawa Sadanji I. Unlike most kabuki actors, who specialize in a particular type of role, Kikugorō, as a kaneru yakusha, played both tachiyaku
(male heroes) and onnagata (women) roles and was best known for his roles in plays by Kawatake Mokuami
. Kikugorō was also known as one of the chief actors in the "modern" sub-genre of kabuki plays known as zangirimono ("cropped hair plays"), featuring Western-style clothes and hairstyle.
Kikugorō was a popular figure in ukiyo-e
woodblock prints
, especially in those by Toyohara Kunichika. He was also featured on Japanese postage stamps
, and performed in one of the first motion pictures ever made in Japan, "Momijigari", as the demon princess.
The associated with the Onoe family were chosen by Kikugorō V and his son Onoe Kikugorō VI, and include many of the plays for which Kikugorō V was himself most famous.
, was Otowaya. He was at various times, and in different contexts, also known as Ichimura Kakitsu IV, Ichimura Uzaemon XIII, Ichimura Kurōemon, Onoe Baikō V, and Onoe Kurōemon I, and used Baikō and Kakitsu as his poetry names (haimyō).
The fifth actor in kabuki to bear the name Onoe Kikugorō, he was the son of Ichimura Takenojō V and the grandson of Ichimura Uzaemon XI
and Onoe Kikugorō III
. His brother was Bandō Kakitsu I. Kikugorō V had two biological sons, Onoe Kikugorō VI and Bandō Hikosaburō VI, and adopted Onoe Kikunosuke II and Onoe Baikō VI.
A number of actors active today are descended from Kikugorō V, including his great-grandson Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, one of the leading actors today, and Kanzaburō's sons (Kikugorō's great-great-grandsons) Nakamura Shichinosuke II and Nakamura Kantarō II
.
(head & manager) of the Ichimura-za
theater.
Uzaemon XIII performed in the premieres of a number of plays by Kawatake Mokuami, the leading playwright of the bakumatsu period. These included the premiere of "Aoto Zōshi Hana no Nishiki-e
" in March 1862, in which he played the lead role of Benten Kozō, and, many years later, the premieres of Tsuchigumo and Ibaraki, among many others. He took the name Ichimura Kakitsu in 1863 before becoming the fifth Onoe Kikugorō in 1868, and zagashira (stage manager, troupe leader) of the Nakamura-za the year following.
Kikugorō was among the actors who took part in a special performance at the Shintomi-za on July 16, 1879, in honor of Ulysses S. Grant
. The play Gosannen Ōshū Gunki, metaphorically relating aspects of the American Civil War
through the story of the Japanese 11th century Gosannen War
, was written and performed especially for this occasion. He also performed at the grand opening of the Chitose-za theater in 1885, and before the Meiji Emperor two years later alongside Ichikawa Danjūrō IX
and Ichikawa Sadanji I; this was the first time an emperor had deigned to watch a kabuki performance.
Kikugorō was very devoted to his craft, and even visited the battlefield of the 1868 battle of Ueno
, during the battle, to see for himself what war was like, how soldiers behaved, so as to be able to better portray them on stage.
He performed countless times at the Ichimura-za and Kabuki-za
(which opened in 1889) over the course of his career. Kikugorō made his final stage appearance at the latter, in November 1902, playing the roles of Benten Kozō, Shizue, and Kinai in a play entitled "Chūshin Kanagaki Kōshaku"; he died a few months later, on February 18, 1903, at the age of 58.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
actor, one of the three most famous and celebrated of the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
, along with Ichikawa Danjūrō IX
Ichikawa Danjuro IX
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX was one of the most successful and famous Kabuki actors of the Meiji period ....
and Ichikawa Sadanji I. Unlike most kabuki actors, who specialize in a particular type of role, Kikugorō, as a kaneru yakusha, played both tachiyaku
Tachiyaku
' is a term used in the Japanese theatrical form kabuki to refer to young adult male roles, and to the actors who play those roles. Though not all tachiyaku roles are heroes, the term does not encompass roles such as villains or comic figures, which form their own separate categories...
(male heroes) and onnagata (women) roles and was best known for his roles in plays by Kawatake Mokuami
Kawatake Mokuami
' was a Japanese dramatist of Kabuki. It has been said that "as a writer of plays of Kabuki origin, he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Japan has ever known." He wrote 150 or so plays over the course of his fifty year career, covering a wide variety of themes, styles, and forms,...
. Kikugorō was also known as one of the chief actors in the "modern" sub-genre of kabuki plays known as zangirimono ("cropped hair plays"), featuring Western-style clothes and hairstyle.
Kikugorō was a popular figure in ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
woodblock prints
Woodblock printing in Japan
Woodblock printing in Japan is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre; however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only...
, especially in those by Toyohara Kunichika. He was also featured on Japanese postage stamps
Postage stamps and postal history of Japan
The story of the postage stamps and postal history of Japan begins with official government posts, which had existed for some time prior to 1630, when they were reformed.- Foreign post offices :...
, and performed in one of the first motion pictures ever made in Japan, "Momijigari", as the demon princess.
The associated with the Onoe family were chosen by Kikugorō V and his son Onoe Kikugorō VI, and include many of the plays for which Kikugorō V was himself most famous.
Names and lineage
Like most kabuki actors, and many artists of his time, Kikugorō had a number of names over the course of his career. His guild name, or yagōYAGO
YAGO was an early LAN startup acquired by Cabletron Systems in the mid-1990s, fueling its growth into Gigabit Ethernet switching and ultimately being re-spun off into the entity Riverstone Networks....
, was Otowaya. He was at various times, and in different contexts, also known as Ichimura Kakitsu IV, Ichimura Uzaemon XIII, Ichimura Kurōemon, Onoe Baikō V, and Onoe Kurōemon I, and used Baikō and Kakitsu as his poetry names (haimyō).
The fifth actor in kabuki to bear the name Onoe Kikugorō, he was the son of Ichimura Takenojō V and the grandson of Ichimura Uzaemon XI
Ichimura Uzaemon XI
was a zamoto of the Ichimura-za kabuki theatre in Edo, Japan. Like many zamoto, he was raised in a kabuki family and trained to be an actor, but rarely actually appeared on stage.-Names and lineage:...
and Onoe Kikugorō III
Onoe Kikugoro III
was a Japanese kabuki actor, the first and among the most famous kaneru yakusha, a type of actor who performs a wide variety of roles. This is in contrast to the vast majority of kabuki actors, who specialize in only playing women, heroes, villains, or other particular types of roles...
. His brother was Bandō Kakitsu I. Kikugorō V had two biological sons, Onoe Kikugorō VI and Bandō Hikosaburō VI, and adopted Onoe Kikunosuke II and Onoe Baikō VI.
A number of actors active today are descended from Kikugorō V, including his great-grandson Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, one of the leading actors today, and Kanzaburō's sons (Kikugorō's great-great-grandsons) Nakamura Shichinosuke II and Nakamura Kantarō II
Nakamura Kantaro II
is a Japanese kabuki, television, and film actor. Born , he is the eldest son of actor Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, and brother to Nakamura Shichinosuke II.-Names and Lineage:...
.
Life and career
The actor who would later be known as Kikugorō V first appeared on stage at the age of four, in 1848, as Ichimura Kurōemon. Three years later, he succeeded his father to the name Uzaemon, as his father became Takenojō V and zamotoZamoto
A zamoto is a manager of a kabuki theatre. Historically, the zamoto owned the theatre and was responsible for obtaining performance rights from the shogun....
(head & manager) of the Ichimura-za
Ichimura-za
The ' was a major kabuki theatre in the Japanese capital of Edo , for much of the Edo period, and into the 20th century. It was first opened in 1634 and was run by members of the Ichimura family for much of the following nearly three centuries before being destroyed by fire in 1932 and not...
theater.
Uzaemon XIII performed in the premieres of a number of plays by Kawatake Mokuami, the leading playwright of the bakumatsu period. These included the premiere of "Aoto Zōshi Hana no Nishiki-e
Benten Kozo
', as the original and fullest version of this play is known, is a tale in five acts of the shiranamimono sub-category of the kizewamono genre of kabuki plays. Written by Kawatake Mokuami, it first premiered at the Ichimura-za in Edo in March 1862.The play is frequently known by a number of other...
" in March 1862, in which he played the lead role of Benten Kozō, and, many years later, the premieres of Tsuchigumo and Ibaraki, among many others. He took the name Ichimura Kakitsu in 1863 before becoming the fifth Onoe Kikugorō in 1868, and zagashira (stage manager, troupe leader) of the Nakamura-za the year following.
Kikugorō was among the actors who took part in a special performance at the Shintomi-za on July 16, 1879, in honor of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. The play Gosannen Ōshū Gunki, metaphorically relating aspects of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
through the story of the Japanese 11th century Gosannen War
Gosannen War
The Gosannen War , also known by the English translation Later Three-Year War, was fought during Japan's Heian period in the province of Mutsu at the far north of Japan's main island of Honshū. Though some scholars date the war to the period of 1086 to 1089, others place it a few years earlier,...
, was written and performed especially for this occasion. He also performed at the grand opening of the Chitose-za theater in 1885, and before the Meiji Emperor two years later alongside Ichikawa Danjūrō IX
Ichikawa Danjuro IX
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX was one of the most successful and famous Kabuki actors of the Meiji period ....
and Ichikawa Sadanji I; this was the first time an emperor had deigned to watch a kabuki performance.
Kikugorō was very devoted to his craft, and even visited the battlefield of the 1868 battle of Ueno
Battle of Ueno
The Battle of Ueno was a battle of the Boshin War, which occurred on July 4, 1868 , between the troops of the Shōgitai under Shibusawa Seiichirō and Amano Hachirō, and Imperial "Kangun" troops....
, during the battle, to see for himself what war was like, how soldiers behaved, so as to be able to better portray them on stage.
He performed countless times at the Ichimura-za and Kabuki-za
Kabuki-za
' in Ginza was the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional kabuki drama form.-Architecture:The original Kabuki-za was a wooden structure, built in 1889 on land which had been either the Tokyo residence of the Hosokawa clan of Kumamoto, or that of Matsudaira clan of Izu.The building was...
(which opened in 1889) over the course of his career. Kikugorō made his final stage appearance at the latter, in November 1902, playing the roles of Benten Kozō, Shizue, and Kinai in a play entitled "Chūshin Kanagaki Kōshaku"; he died a few months later, on February 18, 1903, at the age of 58.