Ichikawa Shunen II
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese kabuki
actor. He is an onnagata actor, specializing in playing female roles. He has been described as a rapidly rising star, and is said to be particularly superb when portraying tragic figures.
Born Gen Kondō in 1970, in March 1988, at the age of 18, he completed the formal kabuki actor training course at the National Theatre of Japan
. The following month he made his kabuki stage debut under his real name, performing a number of minor roles in a production of Chūshingura
at the Kabuki-za
. He became the apprentice or disciple of actor Ichikawa Ennosuke III
in July the same year, and performed several minor roles in Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura
under the name Ichikawa Shun'en II, officially becoming Ennosuke's heyago (a certain type of formal apprentice) in 1994.
Shun'en was promoted to nadaiyakusha (名題役者, an actor who plays major roles) in 2000. He is active in the entertainment world offstage, frequently appearing on television variety shows, and has appeared in television dramas and video games as well.
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. He is an onnagata actor, specializing in playing female roles. He has been described as a rapidly rising star, and is said to be particularly superb when portraying tragic figures.
Born Gen Kondō in 1970, in March 1988, at the age of 18, he completed the formal kabuki actor training course at the National Theatre of Japan
National Theatre of Japan
The is a complex consisting of three halls in two buildings in Hayabusa-chō, a neighborhood in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The Japan Arts Council, an Independent Administrative Institution of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, operates the National Theatre...
. The following month he made his kabuki stage debut under his real name, performing a number of minor roles in a production of Chūshingura
Chushingura
is the name for fictionalized accounts of the historical revenge by the Forty-seven Ronin of the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including the early , the story has been told in kabuki, bunraku, stage plays, films, novels, television shows and other media...
at the Kabuki-za
Kabuki-za
' in Ginza was the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional kabuki drama form.-Architecture:The original Kabuki-za was a wooden structure, built in 1889 on land which had been either the Tokyo residence of the Hosokawa clan of Kumamoto, or that of Matsudaira clan of Izu.The building was...
. He became the apprentice or disciple of actor Ichikawa Ennosuke III
Ichikawa Ennosuke III
is a Japanese Kabuki actor, famous for his love of keren . He is considered the king of chūnori; he has flown out over the audience, held aloft on strings, over 5000 times....
in July the same year, and performed several minor roles in Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura
Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura
Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura , or Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees, is a Japanese play, one of the three most popular and famous in the Kabuki repertoire...
under the name Ichikawa Shun'en II, officially becoming Ennosuke's heyago (a certain type of formal apprentice) in 1994.
Shun'en was promoted to nadaiyakusha (名題役者, an actor who plays major roles) in 2000. He is active in the entertainment world offstage, frequently appearing on television variety shows, and has appeared in television dramas and video games as well.