12. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: JŪGOSEI ICHIMURA UZAEMON BUTAI SHASHIN SHŪ

Kabuki Woogie is devoted to a variety of kabuki-related subjects. It began with a series of essays, including photos and videos, of a research trip to Japan in 2010. I subsequently added my 25-chapter history of the first Kabuki-za, and then began documenting each monthly issue of ENGEKAI, the kabuki magazine of record. Then came this series on Japanese books about kabuki from my collection. The blog will soon add essays by guest contributors based on papers delivered at conferences and symposiums. One can poke around in the archives to find all of these past posts, or contact me for assistance. Samuel L. Leiter, ed.

This slim volume, titled Jūgosei Ichimura Uzaemon Butai Shashin Shū (A Photo Album of Ichimura Uzaemon XV, includes a representative assortment of black and white photos surveying the career of Ichimura Uzaemon XV (1874-1945), one of the most popular romantic role specialists (nimaime) of the 20th century. He also, of course, played other leading male roles. It is widely believed that his father was a French aristocrat. The subtitle at the bottom says "Kimura Ihee Sakuhin wo Chūshin to Toshite" ("Featuring the Work of Kimura Ihee"), a famous photographer.

The book was published six years after his death, in 1951, and contains not only standard photos of his performances in many roles, but, for several characters, sequential photos showing moment to moment poses, with multiple pictures on the same page. Examples shown below include the eponymous scar-faced Yosaburō in Kirare Yosa, and Danshichi in Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami. Several brief articles about him follow the photos, with a list of captions placed at the end.

There is no table of contents.

Cover of Jūgose Ichimura Uzaemon Butain Shashin Shū.

Publication information.

Ichimura Uzaemon XV as Sukeroku in Sukeroku Yukari Edo no Zakura.

Ichimura Uzaemon XV as Kanpei in Act V of Chūshingura.

Uzaemon XV as Takeda Katsuyori in Honchō Nijūshikō .

Uzaemon XV as Seishin and Sawamura Sōjūrō as Izayoi in Izayoi Seishin.

Uzaemon XV as Sukeroku and Ōtani Tomoemon as Ikyū in Sukeroku Yukari Edo no Zakura.

Part of a sequence showing Uzaemon XV as Danshichi in Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami.

Uzaemon XV in a multipage spread as Yosaburō in Kirare Yosa.

Uzaemon XV as Kataoka Naojirō aka Naozamurai in Naozamurai.