Stage names:

Sawamura Shirogorô III
Ichikawa Ichiyû
Ichikawa Dankurô I
Ichikawa Tomozô III
Ichikawa Nenosuke I
Ichikawa Danko II

Other name (?):

Sawamura Kawazô II

Guilds: Kawatakiya, Mikawaya

Line number: SANDAIME (III)

Poetry names: Shabaku, Shishô

Existence: ??? ~ ???

Connection:

Father: Ichikawa Tomozô II

Master(s): Sawamura Tosshô I (?) ^[1], Ichikawa Danjûrô VII

Career:

Dates of birth and death unknown. Son of Ichikawa Tomozô II. His first stage names were Ichikawa Danko II (old line) and Ichikawa Nenosuke I.

3rd lunar month of 1819: he took the name of Ichikawa Tomozô III at the Nakamuraza, playing the role of Kanpera Monbê in the drama "Sukeroku".

Fall 1828: he became disciple of Ichikawa Danjûrô VII.

11th lunar month of 1828: he took the name of Ichikawa Dankurô I.

6th day of the 7th lunar month of 1832 ^[2]: Sawamura Shirogorô II died in Edo.

3rd lunar month of 1833: he took the name of Ichikawa Ichiyû at the Ichimuraza, playing the role of Sonezaki Bangorô in the drama "Katsumi Zukin Korowa Yoshibei".

11th lunar month of 1838: he took the name of Sawamura Shirogorô III ^[3] at the Kawarasakiza, playing the roles of the yakko Tomohei, Taira no Munemori and Kiheiji in the drama "Tokinariya Heike no Yozakari".

1st lunar month of 1839: Shirogorô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, katakiyaku section, was one black stroke above jô-jô-(hanshiro)kichi (superior - superior - (half-white) excellent) [visual].

11th lunar month of 1839: Shirogorô performed at the Kawarasakiza in the kaomise drama "Gohiiki o hiku ya Tsunazaka", which welcomed in Edo the Kamigata actor Bandô Jutarô I<.

1st lunar month of 1840: Shirogorô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, katakiyaku section, was jô-jô-(shiro)kichi (superior - superior - (white) excellent) [visual].

11th lunar month of 1840: Shirogorô performed at the Kawarasakiza in the drama "Kaeribana Yuki no Takeda", whose plot and characters belonged to the "Honchô Nijûshikô" world.

1st lunar month of 1841: Shirogorô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, katakiyaku section, was jô-jô-(shiro)kichi (superior - superior - (white) excellent) [visual].

11th lunar month of 1841: Shirogorô played at the Kawarasakiza the roles of Yodarekuri Yotarô and Washizuka Heima in the drama "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami".

1st lunar month of 1842: Shirogorô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, katakiyaku section, was jô-jô-(shiro)kichi (superior - superior - (white) excellent) [visual]. No record afterwards.

Comments:

Sawamura Shirogorô III was active in Edo from the beginning of 1810s to the beginning of the 1840s. He was mainly a katakiyaku actor and was better in sewamono than in jidaimono. Was he also named Sawamura Kawazô II? No clear answer to this question but the probability is quite high.

[1] Was he a disciple of Sawamura Tosshô I? Sawamura Shirogorô III performed along with Sawamura Tosshô I from his shûmei in the 11th lunar month of 1838 to his last appearance on stage in Edo in the 11th lunar month of 1841.

[2] The 6th day of the 7th lunar month of the 3rd year of the Tenpô era was the 1st of August 1832 in the western calendar.

[3] Unclear relationship to Sawamura Shirogorô II? Friendship? Artistic or physical resemblances? Patronage? Family?

Sawamura Shirogorô III playing the role of Nisôta in a print made by Utagawa Toyokuni III (1862~1863)

The Sawamura Kawazô line of actors

The Ichikawa Danko line of actors

The Ichikawa Tomozô line of actors

The Sawamura Shirogorô line of actors