Sakata Tojuro IV
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese kabuki
actor in the Kamigata
style. and is officially designated a Living National Treasure
. Unlike most kabuki actors, he performs both male and female roles, and is renowned as both a skilled wagoto
shi (actor of male roles in the wagoto tradition) and onnagata (actor of female roles). He is the fourth in the line of Sakata Tōjūrō
, having revived the name after a lapse of over 230 years.
.
Tōjūrō's sons Nakamura Kanjaku V and Nakamura Senjaku III perform as kabuki actors, as do his grandsons Nakamura Kazutarō and Nakamura Toranosuke.
1931, the eldest son of actor Nakamura Ganjirō II. He made his first appearance on stage in October 1941, under the name Nakamura Senjaku II, at the Kado-za in Osaka, in the play Komochi Yamanba.
Throughout his career, he has performed primarily in Osaka, performing in both traditional pieces long in the repertoire, and in new kabuki works, primarily by playwright Nobuo Uno. He also frequently took part in revival performances in Tokyo of works by the great bunraku
(puppet theatre) playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon
. "The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
" (Sonezaki Shinjū), one of the playwright's most famous works, was performed for the first time since before World War II
at the Shinbashi Enbujō
in 1953. The playwright's 250th memorial service was observed with the revival of Horikawa Nami no Tsuzumi in 1973.
In 1982, Senjaku founded the Chikamatsu-za, a traveling troupe devoted to performing and reviving Chikamatsu's works. These tours have taken him to many cities across Japan, as well as England, the US, China, and elsewhere, not only doing performances, but lectures and cultural workshops as well. The tours frequently feature "The Love Suicides at Amijima
" (Amijima Shinjū), and sometimes feature the revivals of plays not performed for centuries. The 1998 tour saw the revival of Keisei Mibu Dainenbutsu which had not been performed since 1702.
Senjaku inherited his father's name and became Nakamura Ganjirō III in November 1990, in a shūmei
ceremony at the Kabuki-za
in Tokyo. Ganjirō was then named a Living National Treasure (人間国宝, ningen kokuhō) in 1994.
He took the name Sakata Tōjūrō in December 2005. He adopted this new name at the Minami-za
in Kyoto. His goal was reviving the lineage which had died out over 230 years prior, with the death of Sakata Tōjūrō III in 1774. He seeks to not only honor the memory of the line of Sakata Tōjūrō before him, who pioneered, developed, and maintained the Kamigata (Kansai
) kabuki tradition, but also as part of an effort to revive and maintain that tradition himself. He is thus, like the other Tōjūrō before him, seen as a symbol of the Kamigata tradition, and as the top actor in that tradition.
In addition to performing, Tōjūrō oversees and participates in a number of cultural programs to help encourage interest in kabuki, and to maintain the Kamigata tradition. He has also performed abroad, his September 2007 tour taking him to Guangzhou
, Beijing
, Shanghai
, and Hangzhou
. In December of that year, he celebrated his 77th birthday (a special birthday in Japan) with a performance of Dōjōji
.
/WorldCat
encompasses roughly 30+ works in 30+ publications in 2 languages and 170+ library holdings .
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 in the 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...
style. and is officially designated a Living National Treasure
Living National Treasure (Japan)
is a Japanese popular term for those individuals certified as by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as based on Japan's...
. Unlike most kabuki actors, he performs both male and female roles, and is renowned as both a skilled wagoto
Wagoto
, or soft style, is a style of kabuki acting that emphasizes realistic speech and gestures. Wagoto actors typically do not employ the exaggerated makeup and costuming common to the more exaggerated aragoto style....
shi (actor of male roles in the wagoto tradition) and onnagata (actor of female roles). He is the fourth in the line of Sakata Tōjūrō
Sakata Tojuro
' refers to a family of kabuki actors in Kyoto and Osaka and it is the stage name of a series of Kabuki actors over the course of the history of the form....
, having revived the name after a lapse of over 230 years.
Lineage
Though he bears no direct hereditary connection to the previous lineage of Sakata Tōjūrō which he has revived, Tōjūrō does trace his line back several generations within the kabuki world. He is the eldest son of Nakamura Ganjirō II, grandson of Nakamura Ganjirō I, and great-grandson of Nakamura Kanjaku III who was adopted into the kabuki families by Nakamura Utaemon IVNakamura Utaemon IV
was a Japanese kabuki performer. He was a prominent member of a family of kabuki actors from the Keihanshin region. Nakamura Utaemon was a stage name with significant cultural and historical connotations....
.
Tōjūrō's sons Nakamura Kanjaku V and Nakamura Senjaku III perform as kabuki actors, as do his grandsons Nakamura Kazutarō and Nakamura Toranosuke.
Life and career
He was born on New Year's EveNew Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
1931, the eldest son of actor Nakamura Ganjirō II. He made his first appearance on stage in October 1941, under the name Nakamura Senjaku II, at the Kado-za in Osaka, in the play Komochi Yamanba.
Throughout his career, he has performed primarily in Osaka, performing in both traditional pieces long in the repertoire, and in new kabuki works, primarily by playwright Nobuo Uno. He also frequently took part in revival performances in Tokyo of works by the great bunraku
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
(puppet theatre) playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Chikamatsu Monzaemon was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki...
. "The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki is a love-suicide play by Chikamatsu. While not his first one nor his most popular , it is probably the most popular of his "domestic tragedies" or "domestic plays" as Donald Keene characterizes the...
" (Sonezaki Shinjū), one of the playwright's most famous works, was performed for the first time since before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
at the Shinbashi Enbujō
Shinbashi Enbujo
The ' is a theatre in the Ginza neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major kabuki venue, though other types of performances take place there as well....
in 1953. The playwright's 250th memorial service was observed with the revival of Horikawa Nami no Tsuzumi in 1973.
In 1982, Senjaku founded the Chikamatsu-za, a traveling troupe devoted to performing and reviving Chikamatsu's works. These tours have taken him to many cities across Japan, as well as England, the US, China, and elsewhere, not only doing performances, but lectures and cultural workshops as well. The tours frequently feature "The Love Suicides at Amijima
The Love Suicides at Amijima
The Love Suicides at Amijima is a domestic play by Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Originally written for the jōruri puppet theatre, it was adapted into kabuki shortly after its premiere. The play is one of Chikamatsu's more famous plays.It was first performed 3 January 1721...
" (Amijima Shinjū), and sometimes feature the revivals of plays not performed for centuries. The 1998 tour saw the revival of Keisei Mibu Dainenbutsu which had not been performed since 1702.
Senjaku inherited his father's name and became Nakamura Ganjirō III in November 1990, 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....
ceremony 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...
in Tokyo. Ganjirō was then named a Living National Treasure (人間国宝, ningen kokuhō) in 1994.
He took the name Sakata Tōjūrō in December 2005. He adopted this new name at the Minami-za
Minami-za
is the primary kabuki theatre in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded in 1610 as Shijō Minami-za. The current building with 1,086 seats was built in 1929.- External links :*...
in Kyoto. His goal was reviving the lineage which had died out over 230 years prior, with the death of Sakata Tōjūrō III in 1774. He seeks to not only honor the memory of the line of Sakata Tōjūrō before him, who pioneered, developed, and maintained the Kamigata (Kansai
Kansai
The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...
) kabuki tradition, but also as part of an effort to revive and maintain that tradition himself. He is thus, like the other Tōjūrō before him, seen as a symbol of the Kamigata tradition, and as the top actor in that tradition.
In addition to performing, Tōjūrō oversees and participates in a number of cultural programs to help encourage interest in kabuki, and to maintain the Kamigata tradition. He has also performed abroad, his September 2007 tour taking him to Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, and Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
. In December of that year, he celebrated his 77th birthday (a special birthday in Japan) with a performance of Dōjōji
Dōjōji (Noh play)
' is a famous Noh play of the fourth category , of unknown authorship. Traditionally it is said to be written by Kan'ami and revised by Zeami, while others assign it to Kanze Nobumitsu; there are many variations in different texts, and a popular adaptation for kabuki theatre...
.
Selected works
In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Sakata Tōjūrō IV, OCLCOCLC
OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. is "a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing information costs"...
/WorldCat
WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
encompasses roughly 30+ works in 30+ publications in 2 languages and 170+ library holdings .
- 近松劇への招待 : 舞台づくりと歌舞伎考 (1989) with Koshirō Uno;
- 通し狂言宿無団七時雨の傘 : 三幕六場 (1992) with Shōzō Namiki and Ginsaku Tobe
- 一生青春 (1997) with Michiko Toki
- 雁治郎芸談 by 中村雁治郎 (2000) Kiyoshi Mizuochi
- 恋飛脚大和往来. 封印切 : 一幕 (2000) with Mansaku Tatsuoka
- 加賀見山旧錦絵: 通し狂言: 四幕七場 (2004) with Yōtai Yō and Shōichi Yamada
- 坂田藤十郎 : 歌舞伎の真髄を生きる (2006)