Stage names:
| Iwai Hanshirô VI |  |
| Iwai Kumesaburô II | |
| Iwai Hisajirô I | |
Nickname Kumesa Hanshirô
Guild: Yamatoya
Line number: ROKUDAIME (VI)
Poetry names: Baiga, Shûka
Existence: 1799 ~ 8 April 1836
Connections:
Great-grandfather : Sawamura Sôjûrô II
Grandfathers: Iwai Hanshirô IV, Sawamura Sôjûrô III
Father: Iwai Hanshirô V
Brother: Iwai Hanshirô VII
Career:
November 1804: he makes his first appearance on stage at the Nakamuraza, where he receives the name of Iwai Hisajirô I while his father takes the name of Iwai Hanshirô V.
November 1812: Hisajirô takes the name of Iwai Kumesaburô II at the Ichimuraza.
November 1822 ~ October 1823: the best year of the Iwai Clan; The tateonnagata for the 3 Edo theaters (Edo Sanza) are Iwai Hanshirô V (Ichimuraza), Kumesaburô (Nakamuraza) and Iwai Shijaku I (Moritaza).
July 1825: Kumesaburô plays at the Nakamuraza the roles of Okaru, Oishi and Osono in the drama "Kanadehon Chûshingura".
July 1825: premiere at the Nakamuraza of Tsuruya Namboku IV's ghost play "Tôkaidô Yotsuya Kaidan"; Kumesaburô plays the role of Osode [casting].
September 1825: premiere at the Nakamuraza of Tsuruya Namboku IV's drama "Kamikakete Sango Taisetsu"; Kumesaburô plays the roles of Dakki no Koman, Oroku, Moronô's mistress Ran-no-Kata and Kampei's widow Okaru [casting].
September 1827: Kumesaburô plays at the Ichimuraza the role of Otoku in the drama "Keisei Hangonkô"; his stage partners are Ichikawa Danjûrô VII (Matahei), Ichimura Uzaemon XII (Utanosuke), Ichimura Uzaemon XII (Shurinosuke) and Kataoka Nizaemon VII (Shôgen).
March 1831: premiere at the Nakamuraza of the five-role hengemono "Rokkasen Sugata no Irodori"; Kumesaburô plays the role of Ono no Komachi [more details].
November 1832: great shûmei for the Iwai clan at the Nakamuraza; Iwai Hanshirô V, Iwai Kumesaburô II and Iwai Hisajirô II respectively take the names of Iwai Tojaku, Iwai Hanshirô VI and Iwai Kumesaburô III. They play together in Segawa Jokô II's drama "Goban Tadanobu Yuki no Kuroshiro" and their stage partners are Matsumoto Kôshirô V, Nakamura Shikan II, Ichikawa Yaozô IV and Sawamura Tosshô I.
February 1836: Hanshirô appears on stage for the last time, playing at the Moritaza 15 roles in Mimasuya Nisôji's drama "Sugawararyû Kanagaki Soga", which mixes the "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami", "Kanadehon Chûshingura" and sogamono worlds. He suddenly falls ill in the middle of the month and dies in April. His tombstone is located in the precinct of the Jôshinji temple in the district of Fukagawa.
Comments:
Iwai Hanshirô VI was a talented wakaonnagata, who achieved fame for himself in Edo during the first half of the nineteenth century. His popularity was high (as high as the one of Segawa Kikunojô V in the 1820s) but he unfortunately died too young, before reaching the peak of his career. As far as art is concerned, he followed the same path as his father Iwai Tojaku or his grandfather Iwai Hanshirô IV but he did not create his own.
Iwai Hanshirô VI playing the role of Oshichi in the drama "Sugawararyû Kanagaki Soga", which was staged in February 1836 at the Moritaza (print made by Utagawa Kunisada I)
Print made by Utagawa Toyokuni in 1820
Print made by Utagawa Kunisada in 1825
Print made by Utagawa Kunisada in 1832
Print made by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1834
The Iwai Hanshirô line of actors
The Iwai Kumesaburô line of actors
The Iwai Hisajirô line of actors
