Note: it has come to my belated attention that the last posting in this series was listed as May (#5) 2021. However, that was my careless mistake, as it should have said June (#6) 2021, while the actual May issue is described below. The June issue has been corrected as well.
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| Kataoka Nizaemon XV as Kumagai Naojirō. (Photo: Shinoyama Kishin,) |
The cover for the May (#5) 2021 issue of ENGEKIKAI, the kabuki magazine of record, shows Kataoka Nizaemon XV as Kumagai Naojirō in Kumagai Jinya, as performed in March 2021 at Tokyo’s Kabuki-za. The selective list of contents headlined on the cover is led by the titles on the lower left, announcing a series of exquisitely illustrated sections about “The Children of Kabuki.” As indicated by the four section titles shown, there are presentations about “Twelve Selected Plays” featuring children’s roles, “Child Actors Currently Active,” “Memories of Productions,” and “Famous Actor When They Played Children’s Roles.”
On the lower right, the titles point to a discussion between
father and son stars Matsumoto Hakuō II and Matsumoto Kōshirō X regarding their
then upcoming April production, and reviews of March productions at several theatres.
