, born , was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 ...

actor, regarded as the leading ''

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, ...

'' (specialist in male roles) of the postwar decades; he also performed in a number of non-kabuki venues, including Western theatre and films. Taking the name Hakuō upon retirement, he was known as Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII for much of his career.

Names

Like most kabuki actors, Hakuō had a number of stage names ('' gō'') over the course of his career. A member of the Koraiya guild, he would often be called by that name, particularly in the practice of ''

kakegoe ''Kakegoe'' () usually refers to shouts and calls used in performances of traditional Japanese music, Kabuki theatre, and in martial arts such as kendo. Kabuki In the kabuki theatre, the term is used to refer to melodramatic calls from an audien ...

'', in which an actor's guild name, ''

yagō , literally meaning "house name", is a term applied in traditional Japanese culture to Japanese name, names passed down within a guild, studio, or other circumstance other than blood relations. The term is synonymous with and . The term most ofte ...

'', or other phrases (e.g., ''jūnidaime'', meaning "the twelfth") is shouted out as a cheer or encouragement during a performance. Originally appearing on stage as Matsumoto Sumizō II, he later took the names Ichikawa Somegorō V and

Matsumoto Kōshirō is the stage name of a line of kabuki actors in Japan. Most of these were blood relatives, though some were adopted into the family. Kōshirō, like other actors' names, is bestowed (or given up) at grand naming ceremonies called ''shūmei'' in ...

VIII.

Lineage

The son of Matsumoto Kōshirō VII and son-in-law of Nakamura Kichiemon I, the man who would later be called Hakuō was born into the kabuki world, and grew up in it. His brothers,

Ichikawa Danjūrō XI may refer to: Places *Ichikawa, Chiba, a city in Chiba, Japan **Ichikawa Gakuen (Ichikawa Junior and Senior High School), a large private boys and girls school in Moto-kita-kata, Ichikawa, Chiba * Ichikawa, Hyogo, a town in Hyōgo, Japan *Ichikawa ...

and Onoe Shōroku II, were actors, as are his sons, Nakamura Kichiemon II and

Matsumoto Kōshirō IX Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of the ...

, and his grandson Ichikawa Somegorō VII (currently known as

Matsumoto Kōshirō X is a Japanese actor and 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 gl ...

Life and career

After making his first stage appearance in 1925, at the age of fifteen, under the name Matsumoto Sumizō II, he took the name Ichikawa Somegorō V in 1931. In 1949, when Somegorō was 39, his father, Kōshirō VII, died, and the actor took his father's name at a ''

shūmei ''Shūmei'' (, "name succession") are grand naming ceremonies held in kabuki theatre. Most often, a number of actors will participate in a single ceremony, taking on new stage names. These stage names, most often those of the actor's father, gr ...

'' (naming ceremony) a few months later, becoming the eighth Matsumoto Kōshirō. The ceremony was held at the

Kabuki-za in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional ''kabuki'' drama form. History The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and o ...

in Tokyo, and featured the play ''

Kanjinchō ''Kanjinchō'' (勧進帳, ''The Subscription List'') is a kabuki dance-drama by Namiki Gohei III, based on the Noh play '' Ataka''. It is one of the most popular plays in the modern kabuki repertory. Belonging to the repertories of the Narita ...

'', in which Kōshirō VIII played

Benkei , popularly known by the mononym Benkei (), was a Japanese warrior monk (''sōhei'') who lived in the latter years of the Heian Period (794–1185). Benkei led a varied life, first becoming a monk, then a mountain ascetic, and then a rogue war ...

and Higuchi Jirō Kanemitsu. His film credits include

Emperor Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

in ''

Japan's Longest Day is a 1967 Japanese epic film, epic war film directed by Kihachi Okamoto. The subject of the majority of the movie is the period between noon on August 14, 1945, and noon on August 15, 1945, when Emperor Hirohito's decision to surrender to the ...

'' ( 日本のいちばん長い日, ''Nihon no ichiban nagai hi''), in which

Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. He often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commandin ...

played General

Korechika Anami was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II who was War Minister during the surrender of Japan. Early life and career Anami was born in Taketa city in Ōita Prefecture, where his father was a senior bureaucrat in the Hom ...

Ii Naosuke was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of Hikone (1850–1860) and also '' Tairō'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his assassination in the Sakuradamon Incident on March 24, 1860. He is most famous ...

in '' Samurai Assassin'' (侍, ''Samurai''), and a number of other ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...

'' (samurai period films). Kôshirō was named a Living National Treasure in 1975, a rare and very illustrious honor awarded in Japan to those who embody, promote, and preserve traditional culture. He retired six years later, in 1981, taking on the name Hakuō in retirement and passing on the name Kōshirō to his son. Hakuō died the following year, on 11 January 1982.

Honours

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (1972) * Living National Treasure (1975) *

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

(1978) *

Order of Culture The is a Japanese Order (decoration), order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japanese Art, Japan's art, Japanese Literature, literature, science, technolog ...

(1981)

Partial filmography

;Films *''Teki wa Hon'nō-ji ni Ari'' (1960) -

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...

*''

The River Fuefuki is a 1960 Japanese historical drama film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita and starring Hideko Takamine. It is based on a novel by Shichirō Fukazawa. Plot The film is set in the Sengoku period in Japan, spanning in time from the Battle of Iidagaw ...

'' (1960) -

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (magnate). He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period ...

*''Yato kaze no naka o hashiru'' (1961) - Tasaka, shôgen *'' Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki'' (1962) -

Ōishi Kuranosuke Oishi may refer to: * Ōishi (surname), a Japanese surname * Oishi (Philippine brand), a snack company from the Philippines * Oishi Group, a Thai food-and-drink company * Ōishi Station, a train station in Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japa ...

*'' Samurai Assassin'' (1965) - Lord Naosuke Ii *''

'' (1967) -

*'' Admiral Yamamoto'' (1968) -

Mitsumasa Yonai was a Japanese navy officer and politician. He served as admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Ministry of the Navy (Japan), Minister of the Navy, and Prime Minister of Japan in 1940. Early life and career Yonai was born on 2 March 1880, in M ...

*'' Chōkōsō no Akebono'' (1969) - Hideo Edo *'' Battle of the Japan Sea'' (1969) -

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

*'' Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron'' (1978) - Kuranosuke Tsuji ;Television * ''

Onihei Hankachō is a series of historical novels written by Japanese author Shōtarō Ikenami. Following the character Heizo Hasegawa in the Edo period of Japan, Ikenami wrote the first story for the December 1967 issue of the light novel magazine ' published ...

'' (1969-72) - Hasegawa "Onihei" Heizō * ''

Daichūshingura (Dai Chushingura) is a Japanese television dramatization of the events of the Forty-seven Ronin. The first episode aired on January 5, 1971, and the 52nd and final episode appeared on December 28 of the same year. The NET network broadcast it in t ...

'' (1971) * ''

Ōgon no Hibi is a 1978 Japanese television series. It is the 16th NHK ''taiga'' drama, and is based on Saburo Shiroyama's novel of the same title. The series is the first ''taiga'' drama to focus on the lives of commoners and merchants, and the first ''taiga ...

'' (1978)

Notes

References

Matsumoto Hakuō at Kabuki21.com
*Frederic, Louis (2002). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matsumoto, Hakuo 01 Fujima family Kabuki actors Kōraiya Persons of Cultural Merit Recipients of the Order of Culture Living National Treasures of Japan Male actors from Tokyo Tachiyaku actors 1910 births Matsumoto Hakuo