11. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: EBIZŌ KARA DANJŪRŌ E

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, subsequently added my 25-chapter history of the first Kabuki-za, and then began a series on Japanese books about kabuki from my collection. It will soon add occasional essays by guest contributors based on papers they delivered at conferences and symposiums. One can poke around in its archives to find all of these past posts.

This is a slender volume of artsy color photos of the late Ichikawa Ebizō X (1946-2013) in a handful of roles during 1985, the year he changed his name to Ichikawa Danjūrō XII. its title means From Ebizō to Danjūrō. It has no table of contents, and includes just a brief introduction to the actor and a closing essay on the relative significance of his name-taking announcement/ceremony. The latter half of the book is of black and white family and other personal photos. No chronology is provided. Of course, in May 2020, the late actor's son, Ichikawa Ebizō XI will become Danjūrō XIII.  

Front cover of Ebizō kara Danjūrō e showing as Kagekiyo in Kagekiyo.

Rear cover of Ebizō kara Danjūrō e, showing Danjūrō XII as Naozamurai in Naozamurai.

Publication page.

Danjūrō XII as Yoemon in Kasane,.

Danjūrō as Narukami in Narukami.

 Danjūrō XII as Naozamurai and Bando Tamasaburo V as Michitose in Naozamurai.

Danjūrō XII as Kagekiyo in Kagekiyo.

Danjūrō XII.

10. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: NAKAMURA TOKIZŌ

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, subsequently added my 25-chapter history of the first Kabuki-za, and then began a series on Japanese books about kabuki from my collection. It will soon add occasional essays by guest contributors based on papers they delivered at conferences and symposiums. One can poke around in its archives to find all of these past posts.

This is a photographic tribute volume, edited by Rikura Kōichi, and published in 1961, devoted to the life and career of Nakamura Tokizō III (1895-1959), one of the great onnagata and -nimaime actors of the mid-20^th century. Almost every photo—both in performance and from his private life, is in b/w format, and the essays are both biographical and celebratory. A career chronology is provided, as usual.

Cover box for Nakamura Tokizō.

Cover for Nakamura Tokizō.

Publication page for Nakamura Tokizō.

Table of contents page.

Nakamura Tokizō III in his dressing room.

Nakamura Tokizō III (r.) in a dressing room with Nakamura Kichiemon I and Nakamura  Kanzaburō XVII.

Nakamura Tokizō III as Chiyo and Onoe Kikugorō VI as Matsuō in Terakoya.

Matsumoto Hakuō I (Matsumoto Kōshirō  VIII) as Yuranosuke and Nakamura Tokizō III as Enya Hangan in Chūshingura.

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Nakamura Tokizō III as Tonase and Tokizō IV as Konami in Chūshingura

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ENGEKIKAI (#5) May 2019: Cover and Contents

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, subsequently added my 25-chapter history of the first Kabuki-za, and then began a series on Japanese books about kabuki from my collection. It also posts the monthly covers of Engekikai, the kabuki magazine of record. It will soon add occasional essays by guest contributors based on papers they delivered at conferences and symposiums. One can poke around in its archives to find all of these past posts.

The cover for ENGEKIKAI, the kabuki magazine of record, for May (#5) 2019, shows Kataoka Nizaemon XV as Sasaki Kisaburō Moritsuna in the “Moritsuna Jinya” scene of Ōmi Genji Senjin Yakata, as performed at the Kabuki-za in March 2019. The issue’s main article headlined on the cover is “Heisei Kabuki, Part 1,” the first half of an overview of kabuki during the recently ended Heisei period (1989-2019). Another headline notes an interview with Ichikawa Ennosuke IV, reviews of kabuki at various theatres, including at the art museum housing a reproduction of the Sistine Chapel, and the latest in the “Kōshirō’s Thousand and One Nights” series. Although not mentioned on the cover, the issue's other contents include an obituary for the late Donald Keene.

Kataoka Nizaemon XV as Moritsuna in "Moritsuna Jinya." Photo: Sasayama Kishin.