Stage names:

Onoe Shôroku IV
Onoe Tatsunosuke II
Onoe Sakon II

Other name: Fujima Kan'emon VI

Real name: Fujima Arashi

Guild: Otowaya

Line number: YODAIME (IV)

Birthday: 5 February 1975

Connections:

Great-grandfather: Matsumoto Kôshirô VII

Grandfather: Onoe Shôroku II

Father: Onoe Tatsunosuke I

Career:

January 1980: first appearance on stage at the National Theater.

February 1981: he makes his first official stage appearance, at the Kabukiza, where he receives the name of Onoe Sakon II.

January 1984: historic revival at the National Theater of the play "Sankai Nagoya" in which Sakon plays the role of Ashikaga Haruô [casting].

25 June 1989: he becomes master of the Fujima traditional dance school and receives the name of Fujima Kan'emon VI.

March 1987: his father Onoe Tatsunosuke I dies.

June 1989: his grandfather Onoe Shôroku II dies.

May 1991: Onoe Sakon II takes the name of Onoe Tatsunosuke II at the Kabukiza, playing the roles of Minamoto Yoshitsune and Soga Gorô in the plays "Kanjinchô" and "Kotobuki Soga no Taimen".

September 1999: Tatsunosuke plays for the first time the role of the yakko Rampei at the Kabukiza in the play "Rampei Monogurui". This play is a classic for the Onoe Shôroku line of actors.

May 2002: first month of a big name-taking ceremony at the Kabukiza; Onoe Tatsunosuke II takes the name of Onoe Shôruku IV, playing the roles of Tadanobu and Benkei in the play "Shi-no-Kiri" and the dance-drama "Kanjinchô".

June 2002: Shôruku celebrates his second month of shûmei at the Kabukiza, playing the roles of Rampei in "Rampei Monogurui", Shizuka Gozen and the spirit of Taira no Tomomori in "Funa Benkei" and lord Isobe in "Sakanaya Sôgorô".

July 2002: Shôruku celebrates his shûmei at the Shôchikuza in Ôsaka, playing the roles of Rampei in "Rampei Monogurui" and the fox Tadanobu in the dance "Yoshinoyama".

October 2002: Shôruku celebrates his shûmei at the Misonoza in Nagoya, playing the roles of Soga Gorô in "Kotobuki Soga no Taimen" and the spirit of the spider in the dance "Tsuchi Gumo".

December 2002: Shôruku celebrates his shûmei at the Minamiza in Kyôto, playing the roles of Umeômaru in "Kurumabiki" and the wicked moutain priest Narukami in "Narukami".

June 2003: Shôroku celebrates his shûmei at the Hakataza in Fukuoka, playing the roles of Teraoka Heiemon and the spirit of the spider in the seventh act of the drama "Kanadehon Chûshingura" and the dance-drama "Tsuchi Gumo".

July 2003: Shôroku celebrates his shûmei in the Eastern Provinces, playing the role of Jirôkaja in the dance "Bô Shibari".

September 2003: Shôroku celebrates his shûmei in the Western Provinces, playing the role of Jirôkaja in the dance "Bô Shibari".

July 2004: Shôroku celebrates his shûmei in the Central provinces, playing the roles of Satô Tadanobu and the fox Genkurô in the drama "Shi-no-Kiri".

Comments:

Onoe Shôroku IV is a young and popular tachiyaku who suffered great hardships with the sudden death of his father, followed a few years later by his grand-father. He overcame adversity and, thanks to the support of Onoe Kikugorô, he succeeded in becoming a promising actor. He grew in popularity through successful performances with Onoe Kikunosuke and Ichikawa Shinnosuke, forming a famous threesome called "Heisei Sansuke" the "Three Suke" of the Heisei Era (1996 ~ 2002).

You may hear some members of the audience shouting "Kioi-chô" during his performances - this is the name of his neighboorhood in Tôkyô and an original way to appraise this talented actor.

The Onoe Tatsunosuke line of actors

The Onoe Shôroku line of actors