Stage names:
Ichikawa Ebizô VII
Ichikawa Hakuen IV
Ichikawa Shinshô III
Ichikawa Komazô VII
Ichikawa Shinnosuke III
Guild: Naritaya
Line number: SHICHIDAIME (VII)
Existence: 1833 ~ 13 July 1874
Connections:
Great-great-great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Danjûrô I
Great-great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Ebizô II (Danjûrô II)
Great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Ebizô III (Danjûrô IV)
Great-Grandfather: Ichikawa Hakuen I (Danjûrô V)
Father: Ichikawa Ebizô V
Adoptive father and father-in-law: Matsumoto Kôshirô VI
Brothers: Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII, Ichikawa Danjûrô IX, Ichikawa Ebizô VIII, Ichikawa Komazô VI, Ichikawa Enzô I, Ichikawa Kôzô
Career:
1833 ~ 1844: born in Edo. He is the third son of Ichikawa Ebizô V. His mother is Osato*, one concubine of his father. He starts his career at an unknown date, performing under the name of Ichikawa Shinnosuke III.
1844: he is adopted by Ichikawa Komazô V.
March 1844: Ichikawa Komazô V and Ichikawa Shinnosuke III respectively take the names of Matsumoto Kôshirô VI and Ichikawa Komazô VII** at the Nakamuraza, playing together in the drama "Sugata no Hana Yayoi no Kagamiyama".
November 1849: his father-in-law Matsumoto Kinshô dies.
1856: separation with his wife and the Matsumoto clan.
March 1856: Ichikawa Komazô VII takes the name of Ichikawa Shinshô III.
January 1859: Ichikawa Shinshô III takes the name of Ichikawa Hakuen IV at the Nakamuraza, playing in the drama "Hatsudôchû Sugoroku Soga".
March 1859: his father Ichikawa Ebizô V dies.
1874: Ichikawa Hakuen IV formally takes the name of Ichikawa Ebizô VII. He unfortunately falls ill and dies before performing under his new name.
Comments:
Ichikawa Ebizô VII was a promising tachiyaku actor but he died before becoming popular and achieving any fame.
(*) Ichikawa Ebizô V fathered only one child with Osato. Ichikawa Ebizô VII's 6 brothers are therefore all half-brothers.
(**) Ichikawa Komazô V gives his name to Ichikawa Komazô VII ... what about Ichikawa Komazô VI ? One elder half-brother of Ichikawa Komazô VII, who spent almost no time on stage, was said to hold the name of Ichikawa Komazô for a short period of time but there is absolutely no document to back this fact. Kabuki historians decided to reference him as the sixth holder of the name Ichikawa Komazô, because he was older than Ichikawa Komazô VII.
Ichikawa Hakuen IV playing the role of Sawai Seigorô in the drama "Hatsudôchû Sugoroku Soga", which was staged in January 1859 at the Nakamuraza (print made by Utagawa Toyokuni III)
Print made by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1847
The Ichikawa Komazô line of actors
The Ichikawa Ebizô line of actors