6. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: KABUKI; DENTŌ NO BI (Kabuki: The Beauty of Tradition), edited by Kawatake Toshio

6. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: KABUKI; DENTŌ NO BI (Kabuki: The Beauty of Tradition), edited by Kawatake Toshio

The sixth entry in Kabuki Woogie’s coverage of Japanese books on kabuki from my private collection is this very well-illustrated overview (n.d.; ca. 1985) edited by the late, prolific scholar, Kawatake Toshio. I’ve provided the Japanese table of contents but the contents are standard for such books, which are legion. The chapters, each by someone else, include “The Beauty of Form,” “Actors and Role Types,” “Playwrights and Plays,” “Production and Techniques,” “The Hanamichi and Other Stage Devices,” descriptions of a couple of plays, and so on. The cover is of the late Ichikawa Danjūrō XII.

I’ll be happy to answer any questions about the book you may have.

Ichikawa Danjūrō XII as Kumedera Danjō in Kenuki.

Rear cover. Bandō Tamasaburō V as the Wisteria Maiden in Fuji Musume.

Table of contents (1)

Table of Contents (2).

Ichikawa Ennosuke III (now En'o II) as Tomomori in Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura.

Top: Gandogaeshi scene change technique in Benten Kozō. Lower left: tech rehearsal to check that all scenic devices are working. Lower right. actors' run through without costumes.

Kumadori (painted face makeup).

5. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: ONOE KIKUGORŌ (Vol. 6 in GENDAI WAKATE KABUKI HAIYŪ SHŪ)

The fifth entry in Kabuki Woogie’s coverage of Japanese books on kabuki from my private collection is volume 6 of the Gendai Wakate Kabuki Haiyú Shū collection. The title is ONOE KIKUGORŌ, and the subject is Kikugorō VII, son of Onoe Baikō VII. He, too, is a major leader of today’s kabuki. The book’s editor is Hagiwara Yukio.

Like the others in this series, the book is part photo album and part overview of the actor’s career to the year of publication, 1973.

Onoe Kikugorō VII as the lion in Kagami Jishi.

Publication page.

Onoe Kikugorō VII as Kasane in Iromoyo Chotto Karimame.

Onoe Kikugorō VII as Kanpei in Act VI of Kanadehon Chūshingura.

ENGEKIKAI (#4) April 2019: Cover and Contents

The cover for ENGEKIKAI, the kabuki magazine of record, for April (#4) 2019, shows Onoe Shōroku III as Igami no Gonta, in the Sushi-ya scene of Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura, as produced in February at the Kabuki-za, on a program honoring his father, the late Onoe Tatsunosuke. The issue’s principal contribution, headlined on the cover, is a gorgeously illustrated (with woodblock prints) section on “Great Actors of 100 Years Ago,” tying today’s theatre to the kabuki world of a century earlier. Other contents include memorials to Tatsunosuke, with commentary from actors Ichikawa Danzō, in particular, and Onoe Senroku, Onoe Matsutarō, and Onoe Tatsuroku. There also are interviews with Kataoka Kōtarō, Nakamura Senjaku, and Onoe Kikunosuke about their March performances, the first at the Kabuki-za, the latter two at the National Theatre. An extensive interview with Kataoka Ainosuke is another feature, as is the next entry in Matsumoto Kōshirō’s monthly series, “Kōshirō’s Thousand and One Nights.”

Onoe Shōroku III as Igami no Gonta. Photo: Sasayama Kishin. 

4. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: NAKAMURA KICHIEMON (Vol. 5 in GENDAI WAKATE KABUKI HAIYŪ SHŪ)

The fourth entry in Kabuki Woogie’s coverage of Japanese books on kabuki from my private collection is volume 5 of the Gendai Wakate Kabuki Haiyú Shū collection. The title is NAKAMURA KICHIEMON, and the subject is the Kichiemon II, son of Matsumoto Hakuō (formerly known as Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII). He and his brother, Hakuō II (formerly Kōshirō IX), are among the supreme senior actors in today’s kabuki. The book’s editor is Hagiwara Yukio.

Like the others in this series, the book is part photo album and part overview of the actor’s career to the year of publication, 1973.

Nakamura Kichiemon II as Matsuō in Terakoya.

Publication page.

Kichiemon II as Higuchi Jirō Kanemitsu in the "Sakaro" scene of Hirakana Seisuiki.

L. Kichiemon as Kochiyama in Kumo ni Magō Ueno no Hatsuhana. R. As Nippon Daemon in the "Seizoroi" scene of Benten Musume Meoto Shiranami. 

3. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: ONOE TATSUNOSUKE (Vol. 4 in GENDAI WAKATE KABUKI HAIYŪ SHŪ)

The third entry in Kabuki Woogie’s coverage of Japanese books on kabuki from my private collection is volume 4 of the Gendai Wakate Kabuki Haiyú Shū collection, published in 1973. The title ONOE SHŌROKU, and the subject is the promising star who died at the tragically young age of 41 in 1987. Tatsunosuke was the son of the great Onoe Shōroku II, one of my favorite actors, and his own son is Shōroku III. The book’s editor is Hagiwara Yukio.

The book is contains an extensive photo section in color and b/w and lots of biographical information, including a detailed chronology of performances.

Onoe Tatsunosuke as the Fox/Genkurō in Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura.

Publication page.

Onoe Tatsunosuke as Ranpei in Ranpei Monogururi.

Onoe Tatsunosuke as Hayano Kanpei in Act VI of Kanadehon Chūshingura.

2. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: KATAOKA TAKAO (Vol. 3 in GENDAI WAKATE KABUKI HAIYŪ SHŪ)

The second entry in Kabuki Woogie’s coverage of Japanese books on kabuki from my private collection is volume 3 of the Gendai Wakate Kabuki Haiyú Shū collection. The title is KATAOKA TAKAO, the great Kamigata actor now known as Kataoka Nizaemon XV. The editor is Hagiwara Yukio.

The book is contains an extensive photo section in color and b/w and lots of biographical information, including a detailed chronology of performances.

KATAOKA TAKAO as  Saitō Bettō Sanemori from the play Sanemori Monogatari.

Publication page.

The actor then known as Kataoka Takao as Kimon no Kihei in Osome Hisamatsu Ukina Yomiuri.

The actor then known as Kataoka Takao as Izaemon in Kuruwa Bunshō.

1. Kabuki Book Covers: ICHIKAWA ENNOSUKE (Vol. 2 in GENDAI WAKATE KABUKI HAIYŪ SHŪ)

Kabuki Woogie hereby introduces a new feature, the covers of Japanese books about kabuki from my private collection. The series begins with books that are heavily illustrated and, hopefully, will one day include covers of books that are mainly text-oriented. I’ll also include a couple of sample pages when possible.

We begin with volume 2 from a six-volume set of which I have only volumes 2-6. The one I don’t have is about the actor then known as Ichikawa Ebizō X and later as Ichikawa Danjūrō XII. The set is called Gendai Wakate Kabuki Haiyú Shū (Collection of Contemporary Young Kabuki Actors) and features the most popular young stars of the day. This book, published in 1972, is called ICHIKAWA ENNOSUKE III, now Ichikawa En’o II.

The book is contains an extensive photo section in color and b/w and lots of biographical information, including a detailed chronology of performances.

Publication page.

Ennosuke as Kumagain in Ichinotani Futaba Gunki.

Ennosuke as Sansuke Masakichi in Ukiyo Furo.