MORITA KAN'YA XIII

Stage names:

Morita Kan'ya XIII
Bandô Mitahachi III

Guild: Kinojiya

Line number: JÛSANDAIME (XIII)

Existence: 18 October 1885 ~ 16 June 1932

Connections:

Father: Morita Kan'ya XII

Brother: Bandô Mitsugorô VII

Sister: Bandô Tamasaburô III

Son: Bandô Kôtarô

Adopted son: Morita Kan'ya XIV

Grandsons: Bandô Kichiya II, Bandô Yajûrô

Career:

December 1890: he makes his first appearance on stage, at the Shintomiza, where he receives the name of Bandô Mitahachi III and plays in the drama "Higuchi no Kanemitsu Sakaro no Aranami".

21 August 1897: his father Morita Kan'ya XII dies.

November 1906: Bandô Mitahachi III becomes nadai and takes the name of Morita Kan'ya XIII at the Shintomiza, playing in the dance "Renjishi".

1909: the management of the Shintomiza is taken over by Shôchiku.

October 1914: premiere at the Meijiza of Okamoto Kidô's drama "Soga Monogatari"; Kan'ya plays the role of Soga Jûrô [casting].

1915: Kan'ya creates and leads the Bungeiza, a theater study group, which focuses on new productions (Shinkabuki, modern theater) and also the adaptations of Western plays. The two others main actors are Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Nakamura Tôzô V.

28 ~ 30 June 1915: first program of the Bungeiza at the Imperial Theater. Then, the group stays inactive up to 1918.

July 1922: premiere at the Imperial Theater of Tanizaki Jun'ichirô's drama "Okuni to Gohei"; Kan'ya plays the role of Tomonojô [casting].

1 September 1923 (11:58 AM): Tôkyô is destroyed by a powerful earthquake called Kantô Daijishin, which kills more than 200,000 people and destroys the Shintomiza.

February 1925: tenth and final program of the Bungeiza.

July 1931: premiere in Tôkyô at the Tôkyô Gekijô of the play "Ippon Gatana Dohyô Iri", written by Hasegawa Shin; Kan'ya plays the role of Tatsusaburô [casting].

January 1932: Kan'ya appears on stage for the last time, at the Kabukiza, playing in the dramas "Na mo Tachibana Homare no Ishikiri" and "Kozaru Shichinosuke".

Comments:

Morita Kan'ya XIII was the first in this line to be an actor and not a zamoto. He was a talented tachiyaku excelling as a wagotoshi. He was endowed with a great voice and an amazing memory. He was open to new forms of theaters and spent a lot of time and energy in the creations of new dramas.

The Morita Kan'ya line of actors and theater managers