Ichikawa Raizō (市川雷蔵) is a stage name used by

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, beginning with a student of

Ichikawa Danjūrō II was a Japanese kabuki performer in the lineage of a celebrated family of actors from the Edo region.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). "Ichikawa Danjūrō" in Ichikawa Danjūrō is a stage name. Career The earnestly prayed-for so ...

; the use of the name 'Ichikawa' therefore emphasizes this connection. In a 2014 blog post, Ichikawa Ebizō XI (

Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII (born 6 December 1977) is a Japanese Kabuki, film and television actor, and stage producer. He is the eldest son and successor of the celebrated Ichikawa Danjūrō XII. He is known for being a renowned ''tachiyaku'' (actor specializing in m ...

since 2019, following the death of his father,

Ichikawa Danjūrō XII was a Japanese actor. He was the twelfth kabuki actor to hold the illustrious name Ichikawa Danjūrō. Career He was the eldest son of Ichikawa Danjūrō XI. He first appeared on stage in 1953 under his birth name Natsuo Horikoshi, and in ...

, in 2013) stated that the honorific names Ichikawa Raizō, Ichikawa Jukai, and Ichikawa Kudanji were not currently in use ("vacant seats"), and thus it can be seen as having been returned to the Ichikawa house and line following Raizō VIII's death.

Lineage

*Ichikawa Raizō I (1724–67): student of

. *Ichikawa Raizō II (1754–78): son of Ichikawa Raizō I. *Ichikawa Raizō III (dates unknown): student of

Ichikawa Danjūrō V also known as , was one of the most famous and popular Japanese Kabuki actors of all time. Throughout his career, Danjūrō would hold some of the highest ranks in the '' hyōbanki'', an annual Edo publications which evaluated actors and perfor ...

. *Ichikawa Raizō IV (dates unknown): student of

. *Ichikawa Raizō V (1820–66): student of

Ichikawa Danjūrō VII was a Japanese kabuki actor who specialized in male hero (''tachiyaku'') roles, said to be the greatest of the 19th century. He was responsible for the establishment of the ''Kabuki Jūhachiban'', a collection of the eighteen greatest plays in ...

. *Ichikawa Raizō VI (1876-1901): student of

Ichikawa Danjūrō IX was one of the most successful and famous Kabuki actors of the Meiji period (1868–1912). Ninth in the line of actors to hold the name Ichikawa Danjūrō, he is depicted in countless ''ukiyo-e'' actor prints ('' yakusha-e''), and is widely ...

. *Ichikawa Raizō VII (1890-?): student of

; ceased acting in the mid-Taisho period, becoming an instructor of traditional Japanese dance. *

Ichikawa Raizō VIII was a Japanese film and kabuki actor. His birth name was ,While the stage names of all kabuki actors have retained traditional order (Surname-Givenname) on Wikipedia, birth names of those born after the Meiji Restoration are in Western order (G ...

(1931–69): student of Ichikawa Jūkai III; also a film actor. As of 2023, the last to use the name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ichikawa, Raizo (lineage) Kabuki actors