also known as , was a Japanese Kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

 actor, and the first in the lineage to hold each of the stage-names

Art-name

An art-name is a pseudonym, or penname, used by an East Asian artist, which they sometimes change. The word and the idea to use a pseudonym originated from China, then became popular in other East Asian countries ....

 Shūka and Tamasaburō.

Names

Like most Kabuki actors, and many artists of the time, Shūka had a number of other names. He first appeared on stage as Bandō Tamanosuke, took the name Bandō Tamasaburō early in his career, and then Shūka later on. He was posthumously given the name , and as a member of the Yamatoya guild throughout his life, would have been called by that name as well (see yagō

YAGO

YAGO was an early LAN startup acquired by Cabletron Systems in the mid-1990s, fueling its growth into Gigabit Ethernet switching and ultimately being re-spun off into the entity Riverstone Networks....

).

Lineage

As was the case with many Kabuki actors, Shūka was not biologically related to the Bandō family of actors, but rather was adopted into it. His biological father, Tachibanaya Jisuke, was an accounting manager of the Ichimura-za

Ichimura-za

The ' was a major kabuki theatre in the Japanese capital of Edo , for much of the Edo period, and into the 20th century. It was first opened in 1634 and was run by members of the Ichimura family for much of the following nearly three centuries before being destroyed by fire in 1932 and not...

 theatre; he was adopted at a very young age by the actor Bandō Mitsugorō III

Bando Mitsugoro III

was a Kabuki actor, one of the best tachiyaku of the early 19th century. He is famous for a great many roles, and for his rivalry with the Kamigata actor Nakamuta Utaemon III.-Names:...

, who raised him as an actor. Shūka's son would be named Bandō Mitsugorō VI, and his adopted son was known as Bandō Minosuke IV.

Life and career

Adopted at a young age by the actor Bandō Mitsugorō III, who gave him the name Tamanosuke, he made his first stage appearance in 1824, at the age of 11, taking the name Bandō Tamasaburō. Six years later, in 1830, after performing on tour in Nagoya and the surrounding area of Kamigata

Kamigata

Kamigata is a region of Japan referring to the cities of Kyoto and Osaka; the term is used particularly when discussing elements of Edo period urban culture such as ukiyo-e and kabuki, and when making a comparison to the urban culture of the Edo/Tokyo region.Kabuki, ukiyo-e, and many of the other...

 with Bandō Hikosaburō IV, Tamasaburō and Hikosaburō settled in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 and began performing regularly at the Naka no Shibai

Naka no Shibai

Naka no Shibai , also known as Naka-za , was one of the major kabuki theatres in Osaka, Japan.-History:It was first built in 1652, in Osaka's Dotonbori entertainment district, and saw the premieres of many famous plays; closely related to the nearby jōruri theatres, Naka would often be the first to...

 (Central Theatre). Mitsugorō died the following year, however, and so Tamasaburō returned to Edo soon afterwards. In 1839, he took on his father's poetry name (haimyō), Bandō Shūka, in a shūmei

Shumei

Shūmei are grand naming ceremonies held in Kabuki theatre. Most often, a number of actors will participate in a single ceremony, taking on new stage-names....

(naming ceremony) at the Ichimura-za.

Over the course of his career, Shūka performed in countless plays, and was a celebrated onnagata (actor specializing in female roles) alongside his tachiyaku (actor of male roles) partner, Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII

Ichikawa Danjuro VIII

Ichikawa Danjuro VIII was a Japanese actor in the 19th century. He is known for his role as Prince Mitsuuji in the play Genji Moyo Furisode Hinagata. He played the role of Prince Mitsuuji in the first production in 1852...

. In 1853, he began performing at the Kawarazaki-za

Kawarazaki-za

The ' was one of the major kabuki theatres in Edo during the Edo period and into the Meiji period. Not being one of the four theatres formally licensed by the Tokugawa shogunate, the theatre was largely inactive for long stretches of time, operating only when the Morita-za, facing financial...

. His final performance was as Kaoyo Gozen and Okaru in the famous Kanadehon Chūshingura

Kanadehon Chūshingura

Chūshingura is an 11-act bunraku puppet play composed in 1748. It is one of the most popular Japanese plays, ranked with Zeami's Matsukaze, although the vivid action of Chūshingura differs dramatically from Matsukaze...

, in November the following year. He was posthumously named Bandō Mitsugorō, after his adopted father; the same name was held by his own adopted son for most of his career. As a result, drama historians now consider Shūka and his adopted son to be the fifth and sixth, respectively, to be known as Mitsugorō.

See also

• Actor lineages:
• Bandō Shūka
• Bandō Tamasaburō
  Bando Tamasaburo
  is a stage name taken on by a series of Kabuki actors of the Bandō family. Of the five who have held this name, most were adopted into the lineage. Many members of the Bandō family were also adopted or blood members of the Morita family, who established and ran the Morita-za theatre in...
  
  
• Bandō Mitsugorō