, better known by the stage name , is a Japanese

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

actor, famous for his love of '' keren'' (stage tricks). He is considered the king of ''

chūnori is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

''; he has flown out over the audience, held aloft on strings, over 5000 times.

Biography

Ennosuke made his stage debut at the age of eight, at the Tōkyō Gekijō, as Ichikawa Danko III. He would formally take the name Ennosuke in 1963, at the age of 24. He is the brother of Ichikawa Danshirō IV; their father is Danshirō III, and their mother is Sanae Takasugi. Their great-grandfather and grandfather, respectively, were the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

to be called Ichikawa Ennosuke. Ennosuke is known as a great proponent of dramatic costumes, flamboyant theater signage, and stage tricks (''keren''), which are looked down upon by many kabuki connoisseurs as "playing to the gallery" and as distracting from the true dramatic art. Nevertheless, among those who enjoy ''keren'', Ennosuke is quite well regarded. He performed ''chūnori'' for the first time in 1968, as the fox in ''

Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura ''Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura'' (義経千本桜), or ''Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees'', is a Japanese play, one of the three most popular and famous in the Kabuki repertoire. Originally written in 1747 for the jōruri puppet theater by ...

'', and for the five thousandth time in 2000, as

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

. He has revived a number of old plays, including '' Date no Jūyaku'' (The Ten Roles of

Date Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner ** Group dating *Play date, a ...

), in which he played ten roles in one performance, through the use of a number of methods of ''hayagawari'' (costume quick-change). Ennosuke also created a more contemporary version of kabuki called the "Super Kabuki" style in 1986. In November 2003, Ennosuke suffered from symptoms of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, and did not perform for most of the following year. He stopped performing in 2004 and retired under the name of Ichikawa En'no II in 2012. His nephew, Takahiko Kinoshi, previously operating under the stage name Kamejiro II, adopted the Ennosuke stage name to become Ichikawa Ennosuke IV. His son is the actor

Teruyuki Kagawa is a Japanese actor, kabuki actor and boxing commentator. Biography Born in 1965, his parents are the kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke III and the cinema actress Yuko Hama. His grandmother is the film actress Sanae Takasugi. In the Kabuki world ...

Notes and references

Web site

Ichikawa Ennosuke III at Kabuki21.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ichikawa, Ennosuke 03 Kabuki actors 1939 births Living people People from Tokyo Male actors from Tokyo Keio University alumni