ENGEKIKAI #3 (March 2022): Cover and Contents

The late Nakamura Kichiemon II as Ichijō Ōkura Nagashige in Ichijō Ōkura no Monogatari. Photo: Shinoyama Kishin.

     

Here, as promised, is the cover for the penultimate issue of the great monthly kabuki magazine, ENGEKIKAI, which has preserved kabuki history in text and image since early in the 20^th century, when it began as ENGEI GAHŌ. This is vol. 3 (March 2022), recording the productions of January, as seen in the lower right headline covering shows at four kabuki theatres: Tokyo’s Kabuki-za, Kokuritsu Gekijō, and Shinbashi Enbujō, and Ōsaka’s Shōchiku-za. But, as the cover photo signifies, the issue’s major contribution is its memorialization of Nakamura Kichiemon II, one of the greatest modern stars, from the 1960s until his death in November of last year. Designated a Living National Treasure, he was the son of Matsumoto Hakuō (previously Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII), a giant of postwar kabuki, and the brother of the still active star, Matsumoto Hakuō II (previously Kōshirō II). The cover shows him in the role of Ichijō Ōkura Nagashige in Ichijō Ōkura no Monogatari.

Among other items in the issue is the most recent in Matsumoto Kōshirō X’s backstage series, “One Thousand and One Nights.”

Coming soon: the final issue of ENGEKIKAI.