Nureki Chimuo Archive

I would like to write a little more about the career of my mentor, Ichikawa Fukunosuke.

In December 1985 (Showa 60), Fukunosuke was introduced in the “Kabuki Actor Directory,” also published as a special issue by “The Theater World,” alongside a black-and-white portrait, as follows:

When it comes to important supporting roles in the Kabuki world today, Fukunosuke is undoubtedly among the top five. He possesses an enduring Kabuki flavor and a rich foundation in Gidayu storytelling. In the role of Okaya in Chushingura, he approaches the level of the late Taganojo, whose performance was considered a masterpiece.

The term “Nirien” refers to the kabuki world, the theater community. It originates from the story of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who planted pear trees in the palace and used the area to train actors in their craft. It’s a slightly pretentious way of saying it.

“Engekikai16” is, of course, Japan’s only kabuki-specialized magazine, and its periodically published supplement, the “Kabuki Actor Directory,” features elegant, substantial, and splendidly rich content.

The opening color pages feature Onoe Kikugoro performing the shirabyoshi Hanako in “Kyokakashi Musume Dojiji.”

Kataoka Takao (now Nizaemon) portraying Koshiba Rokuzaburo in “Sanze So Nishikibunsho”

Bando Tamasaburo as the Wind Chime Princess in “Sakurahime Higashi Bunsho”

Translated to “The Theater World”

Sawamura Sojuro as Shizuka Gozen in “Yon no Kiri.” (Yon no Kiri refers to the climatic scene of the fourth act of “Yoshitsune Senbonzakura,” specifically the “Road Journey / Kawarazukan” scene.)

Matsumoto Koshiro dancing the role of the Kyogen performer Ukon in “Renjishi.”

Nakamura Kichiemon portraying Oboshi Yuranosuke in “Kana Tehon Chushingura.”

Nakamura Tomijuro performing “Kurama Shishi.”

Nakamura Fukusuke (now Nakamura Baigyoku) as Takechi Jujiro in “Ehon Daikoki.”

Nakamura Kankuruo (now Kanzaburo) as Shoomaru in “Sugaware Denju Tenarai Kagaimi: Terakoya.”

Nakamura Kotaro (now Nakamura Fukusuke) as Shizuka Gozen in Yoshino-yama from “Yoshitsune Senbonzakura.”

Bando Yasozo (now Mitsugoro) as Takabe Genzo in “Sugawara Denju Tenargakki: Terayoka.”

Nakamura Matsue (now Nakamura Kaishun) as Princess Tachibana in “Imoseyama Onna Teikin.”

Ichikawa Sadanji as Ko Moranao in “Kana Tehon Chushingura.”

Ichikawa Danshira as Shin Chunagon Tomomori in “Yoshitsune Senbonzakura.”

Kataoka Gato as King Zhou in “Tamamo-no-mae Kesho Kisho.”

Bando Minosuke (who later became the ninth Bando Mitsugoro. The current Mitsugoro is his son, the tenth.) as Tonbei in “Shinrei Yaguchi Watashi.”

Sawamura Tanosuke as Okumurasaki in “Kan.”

Kawarasaki Gonjuro as Tsuribune Sabu in “Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami” (This Gonjuro was the third generation, the current Gonjuro is the fourth generation.)

Nakamura Chitaro (now Nakamura Kanzaru) as Tokubei in “Sonezaki Shinju.”

Nakamura Shinjiro (now Nakamura Kinsuke) as Miuranosuke in “Tamamo No Mae Kesho Kisho.”

Nakamura Utakage dancing the role of Genpachi, the wish-granting monk, in “Ukare Bozu.”

Otani Tomoemon as the courtesan Usugumo in “The Chivalrous Man and the Spring Rain Umbrella.”

Nakamura Hashinosuke as the spirit of Shin Chunagon Tomomori in “Funabenkei.”

Nakamura Kotaro (now Nakamura Sensaku) as Oyana in “Tamamo No Mae: The Shining Robe.”

Ichikawa Monnosuke as Minamoto no Yorimitsu in “The Two-Faced Dojoji.”

Bando Hikosaburo as Wada Hyoe Hidemori in “Moritsuna’s Camp.”

Ichimura Manjiro as Kaoze Gozen in “Chushingura.”

Nakamura Shibajaku as Princess Asaka in “Settsu Gobo Tsuji.”

Kataoka Shutaro as Kishu no Kuniya Koharu in “The Love Suicide at Amijima.”

Nakamura Tozo as the hairpin seller Orin in “Roben Sugi Yurai.”

Nakamura Utaroku as Minamoto no Yoshitsune in “Yoshitsune Snebonzakura.”

Nakamura Tokizo as Omiwa in “Imoseyama Fujin Teikun.”

Onoe Tatsunosuke as Danshichi Kurobe in “Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami” (This name, Tatsunosuke, refers to the first generation. The second generation Tatsunosuke succeeded as the fourth generation Matsugoro several years ago.)

Sawamura Tojuro as O-Mitsu in “Nozakimura.”

Ichikawa Ennosuke dancing the role of Sato Tadanobu in “Yoshitsune Senbozakura: Yoshino-yama.”

Nakamura Sensaku (now the fourth-generation Sakata Tojiro) dancing “Hona.”

Ichikawa Danjuro as Hanakawado Sukeroku in “Sukeroku Yuen Edo Zakura.”

Following these vibrant color pages, a single black-and-white page features twelve leading actors of this era, renowned for their exceptional talent and popularity. Presented as a

“Selection of Outstanding Stage Photographs,” each image is accompanied by commentary from the photographer.

Specifically: Nakamura Kaemon performing Hanako in “Kyokako Musume Dojoji.”

Once Matsugoro (Matsugoro III, the title “III” was posthumously conferred upon his eldest son, Tatsunosuke, and his descendant from Tatsunosuke is the current Matsugoro IV) portraying Fuwa Banzaemon in “Sankae Nagoya.”

Onoe Baiko performing the Lion Spirit in “Kagami Jishi.”

Ichimura Uzaemon as Kumagai Naozane in “Ichinotani Futaba Gunki.”

Jitsukawa Nobuyoshi dancing “Ayatsuri Sanbaso.”

Nakamura Matagoro as Kiyotsugu, the master carpenter, in “Shiranami Gonin Otoko.”

Kawarasaki Kunitaro of the Senjinza troupe as O-Fumi in “O-Fumi the Slain.” (This refers to the previous Kunitaro, the fifth generation. The current Kunitaro is the son of Arashi Yosaburo and succeeded as the sixth generation.)

Nakamura Shikan as the second shite in “Kyokakashi Musume Dojoji.”

Nakamura Sukeremon performing Umegae in “Mugen no Kane.”

Kataoka Nizaemon performing Heisaku in “Numazu.” (This Nizaemon is the 13th generation. The 14th Nizaemon was posthumously given to Gado, the eldest son of the 12th generation. The current Nizaemon is called the 15th generation.)

Kataoka Gado as Oen in “Fuin Giri.”

Nakamura Kanzaburo (the 17th generation; he current Kanzaburo is the 18th generation) as Danjuro Kurobe in “Summer Festival.”

Carried away, I ended up copying down the names of my favorite actors one after another.

As always, I write each character by hand on manuscript paper, and R-san types it up neatly on the computer. It must be incredibly nerve-wracking work. Sometimes when I see her eyelids swollen, I feel sorry for her.

Those uninterested in kyogen names and actors will likely skip over this.

Even thinking that, I kept writing as if possessed.

I’d like to write more names of my favorite actors, but I’ll stop here.

I’ve seen every single play these actors performed in.

Every time I copy down a name, I hear these actors’ voices in my ears.

I’ve seen the late Kunikitaro’s “O-Fumi Being Cut Down,” Gado’s Oen in “Breaking the Seal,” and Matagoro’s master carpenter in “Hamamatsuya,” all of them. Not just once or twice, but many times over.

But I can’t see them anymore.

They’ve all gone to the other world.

Each of their stage appearances holds its own vivid memory for me. And yet, of these twelve, only two remain alive today!

We must return to the original topic.

When Ichikawa Fukunosuke is discussed, he is first labeled as an “actor from the small theater.” He is also sometimes called an “actor from the Katabami-za.” These are synonymous terms.

The term “small-scale theater” carries a derogatory undertone. It cannot be denied that actors worthy of this derogatory label exist.

However, there are also actors with substantial, undeniable skill who cannot be dismissed as inferior. Most possess unique personalities, are highly skilled, and have excellent artistry that truly entertains the audience.

“Fukunosuke’s performance as Okaya in the sixth act of Chushingura rivals that of the late Taganojo,” written in the introduction in “Engekikai,” succinctly praising Fukunosuke’s artistry.

This was, of course, Fukunosuke’s portrayal of “Okaya” after he had moved from the “Katabami-za” to the grand Kabuki stage.

I watched this “Okaya” from the curtain-viewing seats at the Kabuki-za. Incidentally, I also saw the late Taganojo’s Okaya. Taganojo was an actor hailed as a master of the role.

Ah, I really must stop writing things like this. If I start expounding on the merits of little plays here, there’ll be no end to it. I’ll just keep veering off on tangents.

Though somewhat different in quality, I’ve been frequently watching popular theater with R-san for several years now. Just a few days ago, at the Shinohara Entertainment Hall in Jujo, I unexpectedly saw a masterful performance that seemed to carry on the tradition of Hakata Ninka’s “Warudassha” (ah, that word might be obsolete now too) and was deeply impressed.

I’m about to go off on a tangent again. Back to the main point.

In short, I wanted to speak of the refinement and high artistic quality of my teacher, Ichikawa Fukunosuke’s artistry. And I wanted to say that this was fully recognized within the kabuki world of that time.

If Fukunosuke’s artistry and character, which I encountered at the Tsurukame Theater immediately after the war, had been vulgar and lacking in refinement, my memories would have been entirely different.

No, they might not have remained as memories at all, but vanished entirely.

Though it was a truly brief period, I feel that the mysterious, magical power that seeped into and permeated every pore of my skin, my entire body, at that time, became a pillar supporting my life thereafter.

It’s not just that I remember it because I was under twenty, a time of heightened sensitivity.

That’s why, even after sixty years, it hasn’t faded, I haven’t forgotten it, and with a stiflingly vivid realism, remember as if it were yesterday (though I’ve already forgotten yesterday). My feelings from that time come back to me, raw and vivid.