IKUSHIMA SHINGORÔ

Stage names:

Ikushima Shingorô
Noda Kuranojô
Noda Kuranosuke

Existence: 1671 ~ 1743

Connections:

Brother: Ikushima Daikichi I

Disciples: Ikushima Shinnojô, Ikushima Tôgorô, Ikushima Tôzaburô, Ikushima Hanroku, Ikushima Kazuma, Ikushima Kokichi, Ikushima Kuranojô, Ikushima Shinzô

Career:

1671 ~ 1682: born in Ôsaka. He starts his career in a troupe of children-actors (kodomo shibai), playing under the name of Noda Kuranosuke.

5th lunar month of 1682: Kuranosuke settles in Edo and plays at the Ichimuraza the role of Soga Gorô in the drama "Kôshoku Kamakura Gonin no Onna".

8th lunar month of 1682: Kuranosuke becomes wakashugata and plays at the Ichimuraza in the drama "Oguri Chûkô Guruma".

1684 (?): Noda Kuranosuke takes the name of Noda Kuranojô.

1693: Noda Kuranojô takes the name of Ikushima Shingorô.

1697: tour in Kamigata.

6th lunar month of 1699: Shingorô plays at the Yamamuraza the role of Yamatonosuke in the drama "Isshin Onna Narukami".

1st lunar month of 1700: Shingorô plays at the Ichimuraza the role of Nagoya Sanzaburô in the drama "Keisei Hama no Masago".

11th lunar month of 1700: Shingorô goes to Kyôto and plays at Miyako Mandayû's theater, sharing the stage with the actor Kirinami Senju I.

3rd lunar month of 1702: Shingorô goes back to Edo and plays at the Yamamuraza the role of Yamada Saburô in the drama "Kôbai Sumidagawa".

11th lunar month of 1702: Shingorô plays at the Ichimuraza the role of Takiguchi in the drama "Yorimasa Hôraizan".

11th lunar month of 1704: Shingorô plays at the Yamamuraza the role of Yorimasa in the drama "Yorimasa Gozen Nô".

11th lunar month of 1706: premiere at the Yamamuraza of the drama "Taihei Shusse Kagekiyo Shiraume no Hata", which is considered as an earlier version of the Kabuki Jûhachiban drama "Kagekiyo"; Shingorô plays the role of Chichibu no Shôji Shigetada [casting].

3rd lunar month of 1707: Shingorô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, is jô-jô-kichi (superior - superior - excellent) [visual].

11th lunar month of 1707: Shingorô plays at the Yamamuraza the role of Ariwara no Yukihira in the kaomise drama "Yukihira Obana Gitsune"; his stage partners in the roles of Murasame's lovers Murasame and her sister Matsukaze are Nakamura Gentarô and Tsutsui Kichijûrô.

1st lunar month of 1708: Shingorô plays at the Yamamuraza the role of Sasaki Moritsuna in the drama "Keisei Sasaki Mondô".

11th lunar month of 1708: Shingorô plays at the Yamamuraza the role of Yorimasa in the kaomise drama "Yorimasa Shiki Samba".

11th lunar month of 1711: Shingorô plays at the Yamamuraza the role of Chihara Sakon in the drama "Shida Konjiki no Uruko".

3rd lunar month of 1713: premiere at the Yamamuraza of the play "Hana Yakata Aigo Zakura", which is the first version of "Sukeroku"; Shingorô plays the role of the sake-seller [casting].

2nd lunar month of 1714: the love affair, which involves Ejima, a court lady who serves the mother of the Shôgun, and Shingorô, is discovered in the backstage of the Yamamuraza. This incident, which breaks the boundaries between samurai and commoner, is a serious crime for the authorities, which decides to deal ruthlessly with the culprits: Ejima and Shingorô are exiled to different places, those in the Shôgun's household who are held responsible are executed, the Yamamuraza is definitively closed and its management is heavily fined [more details].

13th day of the 2nd lunar month of 1742: Shingorô is back in Edo.

1743: Shingorô dies in his home in the district of Kozuna-chô.

Comments:

Ikushima Shingorô was an outstanding tachiyaku, who achieved fame for himself in Edo during the Genroku and Hôei era. His career was unfortunately ruined by the Shogunate rules of iron: "one of the most tragic figures among these old actors, was born in Ôsaka, and came to Edo during his years of stage apprenticeship. He acted almost exclusively at the Yamamuraza. He was 44 years of age when his love affair with a lady of the Shôgun's Court caused him to be banished from Edo, and for twenty years he lived in his place of exile, never returning to the scene of his stage triumphs. A modern play has been made concerning this unfortunate actor, who, according to the gossip of the time, was more sought after by the venturesome Court lady than disposed to seek her himself." (Zoë Kincaid in "Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan")

Ikushima Shingorô

Prints & Illustrations