This magazine-style book contains numerous photos
of the actor Ichikawa Ebizō XI, who is scheduled to attain kabuki’s most
renowned name, Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, this year. It was published by Shōgakukan
in 2010 and, as explained to me by Prof. Kei Hibino, was compiled for a bimonthly cultural publication called Waraku Mook. Waraku means "peace and harmony" and "mook" is a neologism for a combination of "book" and "magazine." I see no author's name.
The book also contains a rather thorough English-language
essay on the actor, and even an English-language title. Whereas the Japanese
title could be rendered Ichikawa Ebizō: The Style and Luster of Naritaya
(the last word being the family’s guild name or yagō), the English title
given is Ichikawa Ebizō: “Ichikawa Ebizō XI, a young leader of kabuki for
the 21st Century: Ebizō and the Ichikawa Danjūrō family.”
The photos are credited to Sasayama Kishin, the
chief photographer of Engekikai, the kabuki magazine of record whose
monthly issues are chronicled in this blog.
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