Chapter XXIX: Contemporary Kabuki 367

Bibliography 377

Index 379

ILLUSTRATIONS

FACE PAGE
The character of Kamakura Gongoro, a warrior of Old Japan,
as presented in Shibaraku! (lit., Wait-a-Moment). A famous
actor improvisation, or aragoto play, one of the hereditary
eighteen pieces of the Ichikawa Danjuro family. (From a
painting on silk by Torii Kiyotada, the present head of
the Torii School) _Frontispiece, in colour_

Onoe Kikugoro as a brave samurai woman mounted on a white
velvet stage steed 22

Nakamura Matagoro, the leading boy-actor of the Tokyo stage
in the rôle of a girl-pilgrim, O-Tsuru 36

Announcing Ceremony. Kojo, or announcement ceremony, in which
the central figure is Ichikawa Danjuro. The modest actor
whose name is to be changed or rank raised bows low, hiding
his face from view. (Colour print by Hasegawa Kampei, the
fourteenth, and Torii Kiyosada, father of Kiyotada) 40

The last of the Ichikawa family, the granddaughter of
Ichikawa Danjuro, the ninth 42

Theatre Treasures exhibited. At the Nakamura-za, founded by
Saruwaka Kansaburo, the gifts given to him by the Shogun
were considered as treasures of the theatre and exhibited
on certain anniversaries with much respect, the actor
holding the gold sai, or battle signal, and covering his
mouth with a piece of paper lest his breath soil it.
(Colour print by Hasegawa Kampei, the fourteenth, and
Torii Kiyosada, father of Kiyotada) 69

Ichimura Uzaemon, the thirteenth, as Yasuna in a posture
dance descriptive of a man who has become demented because
of the loss of his wife 82

Onoe Matsusuke as Komori Yasu, or Bat Yasu, so called because
of the birth-mark on his cheek which resembles a bat. A
bold, bad man of Yedo 99

Matsumoto Koshiro, of the Imperial Theatre, in the character
of Townsend Harris, the first American Minister to Japan. A
photograph of the intrepid Kentucky Colonel is on the
actor’s dressing-table 111

Nakamura Utayemon, leading actor of the Tokyo stage, in the
rôle of Yayegaki-hime, the young princess in the play
Nijushiko, or Twenty-four Filial Persons 132

Three onnagata of Asia: in the centre Mei Ran-fan of the
Peking stage, to the left Nakamura Utayemon, the leading
onnagata of Japan, and on the right Nakamura Fukusuke, the
son of Utayemon and one of the most fascinating
impersonators of women in Tokyo 136

Nakamura Jakuyemon of Osaka, an onnagata who imitates the
acting of the marionettes 140

Yoshida Bungoro, a doll-handler of the Bunraku-za of Osaka,
who has devoted his life to the management of female
marionettes 144

A scene from Chushingura, as played by the marionettes in the
Bunraku-za of Osaka 148

O-Sato, heroine of a ballad-drama of the Doll-theatre.
Reproduced from an oil painting by an Osaka artist and
shown in a Tokyo art exhibition. The doll-handlers are
grouped behind like shadows 150

Yakusha making a round of New Year calls. In the foreground
a member of the Ichikawa family, with two pupils and his
servants, following behind an onnagata similarly attended.
The kites in the picture show the favourite pastime of
children during the New Year holidays. (Colour print by
Hasegawa Kampei, the fourteenth, and Torii Kiyosada, father
of Kiyotada) 154

Matsumoto Koshiro in the rôle of an otokodate, or chivalrous
commoner, ready to defend the oppressed lower classes from
the blustering two-sworded samurai 160

Nakamura Kichiyemon as Kumagae, a warrior of Old Japan 166

To mark the opening of the theatre season when actors,
playwrights, and musicians were engaged, there was a
gathering called Seeing-for-the-First-Time. (Colour print
by Torii Kiyonaga) 175

Advertising the Play. During the performances two men garbed
in long trailing feminine attire, their heads covered with
cotton towels, attracted the passers-by by their verbal
advertisement. One imitated the lines of the actors, and
the other handed out wooden tickets. (Colour print by
Hasegawa Kampei, the fourteenth, and Torii Kiyosada, father
of Kiyotada) 177

Face Lights for the Actors. When the theatre became dark
it was necessary to illumine the actor’s face with
candle-light. Here property men are holding out candles on
the ends of pliant rods that the face of the dancer may be
seen, and candles form the footlights. The performer is the
serpent princess in the disguise of a beautiful dancer in
the piece Dojo-ji. (Colour print by Hasegawa Kampei, the
fourteenth, and Torii Kiyosada, father of Kiyotada) 181

Ceremony of welcoming an actor. It represents the onnagata,
Segawa Kikunojo, returning to the Nakamura-za in Yedo after
an absence of two years in Osaka. (From colour print by
Utagawa Toyokuni) 182

Nakamura Ganjiro of Osaka as a melancholy lover in a play of
the people 186

Nakamura Fukusuke of Tokyo in an onnagata rôle 215

A Kaomise, or face-showing ceremony at the Nakamura-za in
1772. By this time the roof of the stage had disappeared
and only its symbol remained over the front of the stage,
which now approached the long narrow style in vogue in the
Doll-theatre. (Colour print by Utagawa Toyoharu) 217

Interior of the Nakamura-za in 1798 when Ichikawa Danjuro,
the sixth, was promoted to the head of the theatre. By this
time the roof of the stage had become a decoration
overhead. (Colour print by Utagawa Toyokuni) 218

The largest Nō theatre in Japan, that of Onishi Ryotaro in
Osaka, a modern structure combining architectural features
representing the different periods of Nō theatre
development 220

Kataoka Nizaemon, the eleventh, as Yuranosuke, the leader of
the Forty-seven Ronin, in the play Chushingura 228

Nakamura Ganjiro of Osaka in his favourite rôle, that of
Izaemon, the lover of Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s drama, and
played for two centuries by the Kabuki actors 256

Matsumoto Koshiro, the seventh, as Watonai, the grotesque
hero of Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s drama, Kokusenya Kassen, or
the Battle of Kokusenya. The inner garment is bright red
studded with brass, the lower purple with a design of
twisted white rope 262

Matsumoto Koshiro, the seventh, as Benkei, the warrior-priest
in Kanjincho. He performed in this rôle when the Prince of
Wales visited the Imperial Theatre 264

Sawamura Sojuro, the seventh, of the Imperial Theatre, as
Togashi, the keeper of the barrier, in Kanjincho, Kabuki’s
music-drama masterpiece 266

Morita Kanya, the thirteenth, son of the aggressive theatre
manager of Meiji, as Yoshitsune, the young hero of the
music-drama, Kanjincho 268

Onoe Baiko as the Wistaria Maiden, in a descriptive dance 272

Onoe Kikugoro, the sixth, as the transformation of a maid
into a white fox, in a descriptive dance, Kagami Shishi, or
the Mirror-Lion 274

Nakamura Ganjiro of Osaka as Genzo, the village schoolmaster
in Terakoya, or The Village School, by Takeda Izumo 278

Ichikawa Chusha as Matsuomaru in Terakoya (The Village
School), who sacrifices the life of his son that the
Michizane heir may survive 280

Jitsukawa Enjaku of Osaka as Gonta in the sacrifice play,
Sembonzakura, by Takeda Izumo 282

Ichikawa Sadanji as Sadakura, the highwayman, in the play
Chushingura 284

The Harakiri scene from Chushingura 286

Scene from Yotsuya Kaidan, or The Ghost of Yotsuya, by
Namboku Tsuruya. Onoe Baiko is seen as the disfigured
O-Iwa, and Onoe Matsusuke the kind old masseur who holds up
the mirror that she may learn the truth 294

Banzuiin Chobei, a man of the people, rôle by Matsumoto
Koshiro 300

Nakamura Kichiyemon as Sakura Sogoro, the Village Head who
his life for the good of the people 302

Nakamura Fukusuke of Osaka as a belle of the gay quarters.
Letters are made as long as possible to produce the better
effect 304

Onoe Baiko as the demon woman in Ibaraki, escaping with her
severed arm 306

Matsumoto Koshiro and Onoe Baiko in Seikinoto, the
music-drama piece, in which Baiko appeared as the spirit
of the cherry tree 316

Ritsu-Ko Mori, the leading actress of the Tokyo stage 347

The Imperial Theatre of Tokyo, completed in 1911. The
building withstood the earthquake shocks of the great
disaster of 1923, but the interior was destroyed by fire.
It has now been entirely restored. The Imperial is becoming
an international theatre centre, and has welcomed actors,
musicians, and dancers from England, America, Russia,
Italy, and China 368

Onoe Baiko, leading actor of the Imperial Theatre in an
onnagata rôle 370

(1) The new Kabuki-za. (2) Entrance Hall of the new
Kabuki-za. The new Kabuki-za, with a seating capacity
of 4000, which was opened on January 6, 1925. Under
construction at the time of the earthquake disaster,
September 1, 1923, the concrete structure remained intact.
Japanese architectural features have been used throughout
the Kabuki-za, and, rising out of the ruins of the city,
it is one of the most imposing buildings in Tokyo 374