Stage names:

Bandô Kikô
Bandô Yasosuke I
Morita Kan'ya VIII
Bandô Matakurô IV
Morita Matajirô

Guilds: Kinojiya, Yamatoya

Line number: SHODAI (I)

Existence: 1759 ~ 22 February 1814

Connections:

Father: Bandô Matazaemon (Morita Kan'ya V)

Brother-in-law: Morita Kan'ya VI

Son: Morita Kan'ya IX

Career:

1759: born in Edo. He is the son of Bandô Matazaemon, who was the adopted son of Morita Kan'ya IV and held the name of Morita Kan'ya V from 1744 to November 1751.

November 1765: he makes his first appearance on stage, at the Moritaza, where he receives the name of Morita Matajirô.

November 1776: Morita Matajirô takes the name of Bandô Matakurô IV at the Moritaza, playing in the kaomise drama "Hikitsurete Yagoe Taiheiki".

May 1780: Morita Kan'ya VI dies.

August 1783: Morita Kan'ya VI's son Morita Kan'ya VII dies; Bandô Matakurô IV takes the name of Morita Kan'ya VIII at the Moritaza and becomes the new manager of this theater.

26 December 1784: a fire breaks out in the palace of a daimyô and destroys the Moritaza.

1789 ~ 1797: the Moritaza goes bankrupt and Kan'ya gives its license for Kabuki performance to his hikae yagura, the Kawarazakiza.

June 1795: the play "Miura no Ôsuke Ôbai Tazuna" is staged for the first time in Edo, at the Kiriza; Kan'ya plays the role of Matano Gorô [casting].

February 1798: Kan'ya reopens his theater, with a program called "Ichikawa Danzô Machiuke Banashi" and starring Ichikawa Danzô IV.

1800 ~ 1808: the Moritaza goes bankrupt and Kan'ya gives its license for Kabuki performance to his hikae yagura, the Kawarazakiza.

November 1801: Morita Kan'ya VIII and his son Morita Matakichi respectively take the names of Bandô Yasosuke I and Morita Kan'ya IX at the Kawarazakiza, playing in the drama "Ume ni Suisen Iro no Udezuku".

1802: his father Bandô Matazaemon dies.

1804 ~ 1806: tour in Kamigata.

May 1808: the Moritaza reopens.

June 1808: Yasosuke appears on stage for the last time, at the Moritaza, playing in the drama "Tokieshi Hana Sakae Morita". He definitively retires from stage, taking the name of Bandô Kikô.

22 February 1814: Kikô dies in Edo.

Comments:

Bandô Yasosuke I was both a tachiyaku actor and the zamoto of the Moritaza from 1783 to 1789 and from 1797 to 1800. His theater went bankrupt twice and was closed for many years, allowing him to focus on acting. His forte were aragoto and budôgoto roles.

Bandô Yasosuke I in a print made by Utagawa Toyokuni I

The Bandô Matakurô line of actors and theater managers

The Morita Kan'ya line of actors and theater managers

The Bandô Yasosuke line of actors