(19 October 1906 – 16 January 1975) was one of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's most revered

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

actors from the 1930s until his death. He was a renowned and , specializing in particular in the style. He was officially designated as a " Living National Treasure" by the Japanese government in 1973.

Lineage

8th in the line of , he was adopted by ; his son and grandson would go on to take the name as well, becoming ninth and tenth in the line respectively.

Early life

made his stage debut at the age of 7 in 1913 as III. He would take the name VI in 1928, at the theatre.

Career

later tried to adapt

The Tale of Genji is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu around the peak of the Heian period, in the early 11th century. It is one of history's first novels, the first by a woman to have wo ...

to the stage, but was prohibited from doing so by the authorities. After a few years in a kabuki troupe run by the company, he moved to ; he lived there for nearly 20 years, performing in and other venues, and taking part in the final performances at the , which closed and became a department store in 1958. In 1962, following his return to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, and the death of his adopted father VII, celebrated a (naming ceremony) alongside his son-in-law, , and grandson, , taking the name VIII himself. Four years later, he performed at the opening ceremonies for Tokyo's National Theater. He performed as in (''The Tale of the 47 Ronin'') in December 1974 at the National Theater. This was among his final performances, as he died the following month at age 68.

Death

In January 1975, visited a

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

restaurant with friends and ordered four portions of , or

puffer fish Tetraodontidae is a family of marine and freshwater fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, ...

liver. The liver is one of the most toxic parts of the fish, and its sale was prohibited by local ordinances (it was banned nationally in 1984). Claiming that he could survive the fish's poison, he ate the livers and died following eight hours of gradual paralysis and breathing difficulties.

Notes

References

External links

Bandō Mitsugorō VIII at Kabuki21.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bando, Mitsugoro 8 Kabuki actors 1906 births 1975 deaths Living National Treasures of Japan Deaths from foodborne illnesses Male actors from Tokyo People from Taitō Tachiyaku actors Yamatoya Accidental deaths in Japan 20th-century Japanese male actors