13. KABUKI BOOK COVERS: PASSION: ENNOSUKE TO NIJŪICHI SEIKI KABUKI GUMI

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 of covers of and selected photos from Japanese books about kabuki from my collection. The current posting continues that series.

Kabuki Woogie also posts monthly covers of the kabuki magazine ENGEKIKAI, with details on their contents, and, when available, essays by guest contributors, including papers delivered at conferences and the like.

One can poke around in its archives to find past posts.

The present posting shows the English-titled Passion, a soft-cover, coffee-table book, published in 1997 by NHK, devoted mainly to photos of Ichikawa Ennosuke III (later Ichikawa En’ō II) during his heyday, when he was the artistic director of the pathbreaking troupe, Nijūichiseiki Kabuki Gumi (Twenty-First Century Kabuki Group), which is famous for producing spectacular productions called Super Kabuki. Ennosuke suffered a stroke in 2003 and his stage appearances since have been very limited. Ennosuke III took the name En’ō II in 2012, and his nephew, Ichikawa Kamejirō II, became Ennosuke IV. The captions refer to the star as Ennosuke III, his former name.

Table of Contents

Ennosuke III as the Emperor in Kaguya, 1996, at the Shinbashi Enbujō, Tokyo.

哀国林, one of several Chinese actors who appeared with Ennosuke in his Super Kabuki,
Ryūō (The Dragon King), at the Shinbashi Enbujō, March 1989. Ennosuke was very interested in combining the conventions of kabuki with those of jingju.

Ennosuke III as the earth spider in Shitennō Momiji no Edo Guma, at the Kokuritsu Gekijō, March 1995.

Publication page for Passion.

ENGEKIKAI (#9) September 2019: Cover and Contents (erroneous listing)

Apologies. I posted this before realizing I'd already described the #9 September 2019 cover and contents of ENGEKIKAI, although in slightly different words. So it's not belated; just more or less a repeat of what I already posted. I'm leaving it up for the time being but will eventually take it down.

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. When possible, it will offer 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 issue, which arrived late, was not previously recorded in Kabuki Woogie. It fills in what was, until now, a gap in the chronological entries for ENGEKIKAI covers of the recent past.

The cover of ENGEKIKAI, the kabuki magazine of record, for September 2019 shows Ichikawa Ebizō in the role of the medicine seller in UIRŌ-URI, one of the plays in the Ichikawa Danjūrō family line’s Kabuki Jūhachiban (The Kabuki Eighteen) collection. The issue’s chief section, headlined at the upper left, includes illustrated essays about “The Young Warriors of Reiwa,” meaning the boy actors of the new Reiwa era who are being groomed for stardom. These are listed as Ichikawa Danko, Ichikawa Somegorō, Onoe Sakon, Ōtani Tatsuo, and Ichikawa Sakon. Contents listed along the bottom include an interview with Nakamura Shichinosuke, another with Onoe Ukon, a piece about Sawamura Kunio and the Superkabuki production this past August at Kyoto’s Minami-za in honor of its reopening following renovation, reviews of October’s kabuki productions, the latest entry in Matsumoto Kōshirō’s monthly “Kōshirō’s 1,001 Nights” series, and, most interestingly, a section of archival photos of ghost play (kaidan kyōgen) productions.

This issue celebrates the 12^th anniversary of ENGEKIKAI’s revising its format. Accordingly, the cover announces that the magazine is providing the gift of an actor-signed hand towel (tenugui), although I don’t ever seem to have received mine.

Ichikawa Ebizō as the medicine seller in UIRŌ-URI. Photo: Sasayama Kishin.

ENGEKIKAI (#12) December 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 also may 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.

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The cover of ENGEKIKAI, the monthly kabuki magazine of record, shows Onoe Kikugorō VII as Sashichi, the title role in Edo Sodachi Omatsuri Sashichi, performed at the Kabuki-za in October. The issue’s chief section is called “An Invitation to the Kaomise Performances, East and West,” which covers the annual kaomise (“face-showing”) productions. These recall the tradition of November being the kick-off month for a new theatrical season, and the coverage looks at this year’s relevant productions in Tokyo and elsewhere. Related to this are interviews with two veteran stars, Sakata Tōjūrō and Onoe Kikugorō. Other contents outlined on the cover (more are inside) include an interview with actor Nakamura Senjaku; and another with the actor formerly known as Nakamura Umemaru, who took the name Nakamura Kangyaku in November. There’s also an illustrated report on a “study group” (benkyōkai) performance by Nakamura Takanosuke, son of the late Nakamura Tomijūrō V, celebrating the birth of Tomijūrō I, 300 years ago. The issue also contains the latest entry in “Kōshirō’s 1,001 Nights” series, and a well-illustrated piece on the new kabuki play based on the famous Hayao Miyazaki anime, NAUSICAÄ of THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (Kaze no Tani no Naushika). It includes a discussion among actors Onoe Kikunosuke and Nakamura Shichinosuke, and Suzuki Toshio, co-founder and producer of Ghibli Studio, which created the original movie. Here’s an article about the project, which is currently on stage at Tokyo’s Shinbashi Enbujō. 

Engekikai (#12), December 2019. Photo: Sasayama Kishin.