was a Japanese

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 ...

performer, known both for his own work and for his place in the lineage of a family of kabuki actors.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). He was the son of Iwai Hanshirō VII.Leiter, Samuel L. (2006). Iwai Hanshirō was a stage name with significant cultural and historical connotations. In the conservative Kabuki world, stage names are passed from father to son in formal system which converts the kabuki stage name into a mark of accomplishment. This actor assumed the mantle of his father's stage name in 1872. ; Lineage of Iwai stage names *

Iwai Hanshirō I was a Japanese kabuki performer, known both for his own work and for his role as the progenitor of a family of kabuki actorsNussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). from Osaka.Leiter, Samuel L. (2006). Iwai Hanshirō was a stage name with ...

(1652–1699)Leiter, * Iwai Hanshirō II (d. 1710) * Iwai Hanshirō III (1698–1760) * Iwai Hanshirō IV (1747–1800) *

Iwai Hanshirō V was a Japanese kabuki performer, known both for his own work and for his place in the lineage of a family of kabuki actors in Edo during the Edo period. He was the son of Iwai Hanshirō IV.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). Iwai H ...

(1776–1847) * Iwai Hanshirō VI (1799–1836) * Iwai Hanshirō VII (1804–1845) * Iwai Hanshirō VIII (1829–1882) * Iwai Hanshirō IX (1882–1945) * Iwai Hanshirō X (1927-2011)Scott,

Family

Born into a prominent Kabuki acting family, he was the great-great-grandson of Sawamura Sōjūrō II (二代目澤村宗十郎), a popular Kabuki actor from the

Kamigata Kamigata (上方) was the colloquial term for a region today called Kansai region, Kansai (''kan'', barrier; ''sai'', west) in Japan. This large area encompasses the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe. The term was also sometimes used to refer only ...

region (present-day

Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...

) who specialized in ''

Tachiyaku is a term used in the Japanese theatrical form kabuki to refer to young adult male roles, and to the actors who play those roles. Though not all ''tachiyaku'' roles are heroes, the term does not encompass roles such as villains or comic figures, ...

'' roles (i.e., male roles). His first great-grandfather, Iwai Hanshirō IV (四代目岩井半四郎) was one of the most popular ''

onnagata , also , are male actors who play female roles in kabuki theatre. It originated in 1629 after women were banned from performing in kabuki performances. There are many specific techniques that actors must learn to master the role of ''onnagata'' ...

'' actors (i.e. Kabuki actors who exclusively played female roles) of the second half of the 17th century and was considered one of the two leading

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

onnagata (the other being his archrival Segawa Kikunojō III). His second great-grandfather, Sawamura Sōjūrō III (三代目澤村宗十郎) was a renowned and outstanding ''tachiyaku'' actor who was active from the 1760s to the 1800s and who was one of the best actors of the role of Ōboshi Yuranosuke (the protagonist of ''

Kanadehon Chūshingura is an 11-act bunraku puppet play composed in 1748. It is one of the most popular Japanese plays, ranked with Zeami Motokiyo, Zeami's ''Matsukaze'', although the vivid action of ''Chūshingura'' differs dramatically from ''Matsukaze''. Medium Du ...

'') of his time. His two grandfathers,

(五代目岩井半四郎) and Segawa Rokō IV (四代目瀬川路考) were two of the greatest ''onnagata'' actors of their period and rivaled each other for the title of best onnagata in Edo. His father Iwai Hanshirō VII (七代目岩井半四郎) and his uncle Iwai Hanshirō VI (六代目岩井半四郎) were known to be talented onnagata actors, but unfortunately both of their careers were cut short by illness while they were in their prime. His father-in-law, Nakamura Kanzaburō XII (十二代目中村勘三郎) was the last great zamoto of the Nakamura-za (one of the major Kabuki theaters in Edo).

Notes

References

* Leiter, Samuel L. (2006)
''Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre.''
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
OCLC 238637010
* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan Encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 48943301
* Scott, Adolphe Clarence. (1955)
''The Kabuki Theatre of Japan.''
London: Allen & Unwin
OCLC 622644114
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwai, Hanshiro, 08 Kabuki actors 1829 births 1882 deaths Male actors from Tokyo Onnagata actors Yamatoya

Family

See also

Notes

References