was a Japanese comedian.

Career

Furukawa was born the sixth son of Baron Katō Terumaro (1863–1925), making him the grandson of Baron

Katō Hiroyuki Baron was an academic and politician of the Meiji period Japan. Biography Katō was born on August 5, 1836 to a ''samurai'' family in Izushi domain, Tajima Province (present day Hyōgo Prefecture), and studied military science under Sakuma Sh ...

. The family custom, however, was to have the younger sons adopted by related families, so Furukawa was adopted by his father's sister and her husband, Furukawa Taketarō. His real name became Ikurō Furukawa (sometimes rendered "Ikuo"). He began attending

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

, but left before graduating in order to become a film critic and magazine editor. He worked under the pen name "Roppa". He was quite skilled at voice impersonation and eventually decided to become a professional comedian, forming in 1933 the comedy troupe "Warai no Tengoku" (Laughter Heaven) with

Musei Tokugawa was a Japanese benshi, actor, raconteur, essayist, and radio and television personality. Musei (as he was called) first came to prominence as a benshi, a narrator of films during the silent era in Japan. He was celebrated for his restrained but e ...

. He joined

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

in 1935 and, starring in stage revues and films, became nearly as popular as the other prewar comedic great, Ken'ichi Enomoto. His film work included many comedies, musicals, and a popular set of films co-starring

Kazuo Hasegawa was a Japanese film and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 films between 1927 and 1963. Career Born to a sake brewing family in Kyoto, he first appeared on stage at age five in a theater run by his family as a side business. In 1918, he beca ...

. After the war, his career went into decline as he began to suffer from various ailments, but he remained popular on radio. A skilled writer, his diaries were published to much acclaim before he died.

Selected bibliography

Selected filmography

* '' Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka'' (力と女の世の中) (1933) * ''Harikiri Bōi'' (ハリキリ・ボーイ) (1937) * ''Otoko no hanamichi'' (男の花道) (1941) * '' A Mother's Love'' (1950)

References

External links

Furukawa Roppa
at

Aozora Bunko Aozora Bunko (, literally the "Blue Sky Library", also known as the "Open Air Library") is a Japanese digital library. This online collection encompasses several thousands of works of Japanese-language fiction and non-fiction. These include out-o ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Furukawa, Roppa 1903 births 1961 deaths Japanese comedians Japanese film critics Japanese male film actors Japanese diarists Japanese magazine editors Japanese male musical theatre actors Singers from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese male actors 20th-century comedians 20th-century Japanese male singers 20th-century Japanese singers 20th-century diarists