ICHIKAWA KAMEJIRÔ II

Real name: Kinoshi Takahiko

Guild: Omodakaya

Line number: NIDAIME (II)

Birthday: 26 November 1975

Connections:

Great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Danshirô II

Great-grandfather: Ichikawa En'ô

Grandfather: Ichikawa Danshirô III

Father: Ichikawa Danshirô IV

Uncle: Ichikawa Ennosuke III

Career:

July 1980: he makes his first appearance on stage at the Kabukiza, playing the role of the child emperor Antoku in the classic "Yoshitsune Sembon Zakura".

July 1983: he becomes Ichikawa Kamejirô II at the Kabukiza by playing the role of Kamuro Tayori in the dance "Modori Kago Iro ni Aikata".

July 1998: Kamejirô becomes nadai and celebrates it by playing the role of Osato in the "Sushiya" scene of the play "Yoshitsune Sembon Zakura", which is staged at the Kabukiza.

January 2000: Kamejirô plays for the first time the prestigious role of Princess Taema in the play "Narukami", which is staged in Ôsaka at the Shôchikuza. The role of Narukami is played by his father Ichikawa Danshirô IV.

August 2001: Kamejirô takes part in a Kabuki show in Houston (Texas) at the Museum of Fine Arts.

August 2002: first edition of the program of the association Kamejirô no Kai; Kamejirô plays in Kyôto at the Shunjûza the roles of Tamate Gozen and the spirit of the shishi in "Gappô Anshitsu" and "Kagami Jishi".

August 2003: 2nd edition of the program of the association Kamejirô no Kai; Kamejirô plays in Kyôto at the Shunjûza the roles of the Wisteria Maiden, the shôjô and the wandering woman Hanjo-no-Mae in "Fuji Musume", "Shôjô" and "Sumidagawa".

August 2004: 3rd edition of the program of the association Kamejirô no Kai; Kamejirô plays in Kyôto at the Shunjûza the roles of Ichijô Ôkura Naganari and the Heron Maiden in "Ichijô Ôkura Monogatari" and "Sagi Musume".

August 2005: 4th edition of the program of the association Kamejirô no Kai; Kamejirô plays in Tôkyô at the National Theatre the roles of Ofuna and Shizuka/Tomomori in "Yaguchi no Watashi" and "Funa Benkei".

May ~ June 2006: Kabuki tour in Western Europe, in London at the Sadler's Wells (31 May~11 June) and in Amsterdam at the Stadsschouwburg (15~18 June); Kamejirô plays the role of Kasane in "Kasane" [more details].

August 2006: 5th edition of the program of the association Kamejirô no Kai; Kamejirô plays in Tôkyô at the National Theatre the roles of Sadatô/Sodehagi and the celestial creature in "Sodehagi Saimon" and "Ama-kudaru Keisei".

January 2007: Kamejirô receives the Terayama Shûji Award of the 6th Asahi Performing Arts Awards (2006).

March 2007: tour in Paris (France); Kamejirô plays at the Palais Garnier the roles of Yoshitsune and the Mountain God in the dance-dramas "Kanjinchô" and "Momijigari", which celebrate the Ichikawa clan [more details].

March 2009: Kabuki adaptation by the famous stage director Ninagawa Yukio of Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night", which is titled "Ninagawa Jûniya", from the 24th to the 28th of March 2009 in London (UK) at the Barbican Theater; Kamejirô plays the role of Maa (Maria) [more details]. The same play is staged with the same casting in June 2009 at the Shimbashi Embujô and in July 2009 at the Shôchikuza.

Comments:

Ichikawa Kamejirô II is a young and talented onnagata actor. Check his official website (http://www.kamejiro.net) for more details and great photographes.

Ichikawa Kamejirô II playing the role of Osato in the drama "Sushiya"