12. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: ICHIKAWA SADANJI GEIDAN KIKIGAKI

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 posts monthly covers of the kabuki magazine ENGEKIKAI, with details on their contents, and recently began adding 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 commemorative volume, published in 1969 in a boxed edition, celebrating the career of the popular actor of male roles, Ichikawa Sadanji III (1898-1969), who died that year. It has a decent, if not extraordinary, number of black and white photos, both off and onstage, chronicling his career. The title means “Ichikawa Sadanji’s Thoughts on Kabuki Acting,” and its text is primarily a record of Sadanji’s theatrical reminiscences as written by Hōjō Makoto, covering the years 1952 to 1968, as published serially in the Yomiuri Shinbun. A chronology closes the book, which is published in a boxed edition. This volume is #1,418 of 1,500.

Front cover.

Limited edition page with ccpy number in red.

Frontispiece, decorated with the Sadanji crest (mon) of three boxed sake measures in the center of which is the character for "Sa" or "left." It is based on the famous mon of the Ichikawa Danjūrō line, which heads the Ichikawa acting family.

Portrait by Hasegawa Noboru of Ichikawa Sadanji III as Nagoya Sanza in Saya-ate.

Book's credits, noting the instiutions responsible for the materials and stating that Yoshida Chiaki and Umemura Yutaka are the photographers, 

Top: Sannin Kichiza with Sadanji III, right, as OBō Kichiza, Onoe Baiko VII, left, as Ojō Kichiza, and Onoe Shoroku II, cener as Oshō Kichiza. Bottom left: Sadanji III as Tsuribune Sabu in Natsu Matsuri. Bottom right:  Sadanji III as Tadanobu Rihei in Shiranami Gonin Otoko.

Sadanji III as Munesada in Seki no To.

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Above: Sadanji III celebrating his son's taking the name Ichikawa Omezō; he is presently Sadanji IV. Bottom: With Omezō in a dressing room.

Sadanji III relaxing at home.

Sadanjir performing the formal nirami mie pose associated with the Danjūrō

line. The actor then known as Ichikawa Ebizō ,who became Danjūrō XII, is at the right.

Sadanji III as Tokubei in Natsu Matsuri.

Publication information page.

ENGEKIKAI (#6) June 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 recently began adding occasional essays by guest contributors based on papers delivered at conferences and symposiums. One can poke around in its archives to find all of these past posts.

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The cover for ENGEKIKAI, the kabuki magazine of record, for June (#6) 2019, shows Ichikawa Ennosuke IV in the role of the old lady Iwate (in actuality, the demon of Adachigahara) in the dance-drama Kurozuka, a major work in which his family line—known as Omodakaya—specializes. The chief material in this issue is included in part two of the magazine’s overview of kabuki during the Heisei era (1989-2019), which was just succeeded by the Reiwa era. Other articles listed on the cover—which offers only partial contents—include an interview with actor Onoe Kikunosuke, reviews of April’s productions, a piece on a training school for child kabuki actors, and the latest installment in the long-running series, “Kōshirō’s Thousand and One Nights,” by star actor Matsumoto Kōshirō. There is also an illustrated, two-page interview with Tel Aviv University professor Zvika Serper, a kabuki specialist who studied kabuki, kyōgen, and nō performance with Japanese masters.

Ichikawa Ennosuke IV as the old lady Iwate (actually, the demon of Adachigahara) in Kurozuka. Photo: Sasayama Kishin.

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.