SUKETAKAYA TAKASUKE III

Stage names:

Suketakaya Takasuke III
Sawamura Chôjûrô V
Sawamura Sôjûrô V
Sawamura Tosshô I
Sawamura Gennosuke II
Sawamura Gempei I

Other name: Sawamura Tosshi V

Guild: Kinokuniya

Line number: GODAIME (V)

Poetry names: Kôga, Tosshi (5)

Crest: the syllabic ideogram "i" in a circle [in Japanese: い]

Existence: 1802 ~ 15 November 1853

Connections:

Adoptive father: Sawamura Sôjûrô IV

Brother (and disciple): Sawamura Gennosuke III

Sons: Suketakaya Takasuke IV, Sawamura Tanosuke III

Son-in-law: Sawamura Shozan I

Career:

1802 ~ 1807: born in Edo. His father Hamazaki Chôkichi is a dekata at the shibai jaya Izumiya, located in the Ichimuraza. His mother is the daughter of a farmer living in the district of Kameido. He becomes a disciple of Sawamura Gennosuke I, who adopts him a few years later.

November 1807: first stage appearance at the Ichimuraza, where he receives the name of Sawamura Gempei I.

December 1812: his adoptive father Sawamura Sôjûrô IV dies.

November 1817: Sawamura Gempei I takes the name of Sawamura Gennosuke II at the Nakamuraza, playing in the kaomise drama "Hana to Yuki Wagô Taiheiki".

1819: tour in the Northeastern provinces.

1820: tour in Nagoya and Ise; then Gennosuke settles in Ôsaka.

June 1821: Tsuruya Namboku IV's drama "Kachi Zumô Ukina no Hanabure", commonly called "Shirafuji Genta", is revived for the first time, 11 years and 3 months after its premiere in Edo, in Kyôto at the Kitagawa no Shibai; Gennosuke plays the role of Tomihachi [casting].

Fall 1828: Gennosuke goes back to Edo.

November 1828: Gennosuke plays at the Kawarazakiza in the kaomise drama "Sakigake Genji no Kibamusha". his yearly salary reaches 510 ryô.

January 1830: Gennosuke's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, is jô-jô-kichi (superior - superior - excellent).

February 1830: Gennosuke plays 7 roles at the Kawarazakiza in the classic "Yoshitsune Sembon Zakura" [print].

May 1830: Gennosuke plays 11 roles at the Kawarazakiza in the classic "Kanadehon Chûshingura".

November 1831: Sawamura Gennosuke II takes the name of Sawamura Tosshô I at the Kawarazakiza, playing in the drama "Matsu o Chikara Tomoe no Fujinami".

February 1834: Tosshô goes to Ôsaka for a few months, after the destruction of Edo in a giant fire.

June 1834: Tosshô goes back to Edo.

January 1835: Tosshô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, is hakushi-jô-jô-kichi (almost unique - superior - superior - excellent).

August 1835: Tosshô achieves a great success at the Moritaza playing 7 roles in the classic "Kanadehon Chûshingura". The roles: En'ya Hangan, Hayano Kampei, Amakawaya Gihei, Yajibei, Kisuke, Teraoka Heiemon and Tonase.

March 1839: premiere at the Kawarazakiza of the dance program "Shiki no Nagame Maru-ni-I no Toshi", which is made up of four dances dedicated to the four seasons and stars Ichikawa Ebizô V, Tosshô and Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII. The autumn dance, "Yashiki Musume", is still part of the current Kabuki repertoire.

September 1839: premiere at the Kawarazakiza of the Kiyomoto-based dance "Shimero Yare Iro no Kakegoe", which is still part of the current Kabuki repertoire under the title "Kanda Matsuri". It stars Tosshô, Ichikawa Ebizô V and Onoe Eizaburô III.

1840: Tosshô becomes zagashira at the Nakamuraza.

August 1840: premiere at the Nakamuraza of the drama "Koi Minato Hakata no Hitofushi", a revised version of Chikamatsu Monzaemon I's masterpiece "Hakata Kojorô Nami Makura"; Tosshô plays the role of Komatsuya Sôshichi [casting].

October 1842: Tosshô takes part in the opening ceremony of the newly-built Nakamuraza in the district of Asakusa Saruwaka-chô, playing in the drama "Kinryûzan Chikai no Ishizue", which is produced by Nakamura Kanzaburô XII; his stage partners are Iwai Tojaku, Arashi Kichisaburô III, Onoe Eizaburô III, Bandô Hikosaburô IV, Osagawa Tsuneyo IV, Arashi Izaburô II and Ichikawa Danzaburô V.

July 1844: Sawamura Tosshô I takes the name of Sawamura Sôjûrô V at the Ichimuraza, playing in the drama "Sawamura Sakisomete Yoshibei".

January 1848: Sôjûrô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, is dai-jô-jô-kichi (grand - superior - superior - excellent). He is also the kanjiku for tachiyaku actors.

November 1848: Sawamura Sôjûrô V takes the name of Sawamura Chôjûrô V at the Nakamuraza.

September 1851: Chôjûrô plays at the Kawarazakiza the role of Shigenoi in the drama "Shigenoi Kowakare"; the role of Shigenoi's son Sankichi is played by Chôjûrô's son Sawamura Yoshijirô I.

January 1852: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Sakurada Jisuke III drama "Satomi Hakkenden"; Chôjûrô plays the roles of Yamabayashi Fusahachi, Inusaka Keno, the ghost of Yatsufusa and Inuyama Dôsetsu [casting].

October 1852: Sawamura Chôjûrô V takes the name of Suketakaya Takasuke III.

September 1853: Takasuke plays in Nagoya at the Tachibana no Shibai but suddenly falls ill. He goes back to Edo but can't recover and dies in November.

Comments:

Suketakaya Takasuke III was an outstanding tachiyaku, who covered himself in glory in both Edo and the Kamigata theaters. When he was young, he received the patronage of stars like Onoe Kikugorô III or Matsumoto Kôshirô V, who wanted to make an actor of him. He made a dazzling career, reaching the jô-jô-kichi and dai-jô-jô-kichi ranks in 1830 and 1848. The wajitsu roles were his forte. He was also able to play onnagata roles and had the reputation to be an excellent dancer, a refined poet and a master of tea ceremony.

"The fifth Sawamura Sôjûrô was the son of a servant in a chaya of the Ichimuraza, and his mother was the daughter of a farmer living at Kameido, a district famous for its wisteria garden. He seems to have been a pet of all the actors, and became a pupil of the fourth Sôjûrô, who died at the age of 21. The third Onoe Kikugorô said he would make an actor of him. Matsumoto Kôshirô also lent him his patronage, and took him to Ôsaka where he remained to study. Sôjûrô, the fifth, had four daughters, and two sons, one of whom, the third Tanosuke, became a star of the Meiji period." (Zoë Kincaid in "Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan")