Stage names:

Ichikawa Ebijûrô II
Ichikawa Ichizô II
Ichikawa Sukezô I

Guild: Harimaya

Line number: NIDAIME (II)

Poetry names: Shinshô

Existence: 1806 ~ 24th day of the 11th lunar month of 1829 ^[1]

Connection:

Father: Ichikawa Ebijûrô I

Career:

1806: born in Ôsaka.

11th lunar month of 1815: he received the name of Ichikawa Sukezô I.

11th lunar month of 1817: Ichikawa Sukezô I took the name of Ichikawa Ichizô II in Ôsaka.

1st lunar month of 1820: Ichizô and his father Ichikawa Ebijûrô I went together to Edo; Ichizô became tachiyaku and performed at the Kawarasakiza in the new year program "Tama no Haru Soga no Kadomatsu".

Fall 1821: Ichizô and his father Ichikawa Ebijûrô I went back to Ôsaka.

16th day of the 7th lunar month of 1827 ^[2]: his father Ichikawa Ebijûrô I died.

Fall 1827: Ichizô went to Edo with Bandô Minosuke II.

11th lunar month of 1827: Ichizô played at the Ichimuraza the roles of Okabe no Yatarô and the hairdresser Goichibê in the kaomise drama "Kawaranu Hana Genji no Kaomise".

Fall 1828: Ichizô went back to Kamigata.

11th lunar month of 1828: Ichikawa Ichizô II took the name of Ichikawa Ebijûrô II in Kyôto at the Kitagawa no Shibai, performing in the kaomise drama "Asoyama Zakura"; his stage partners were Nakamura Utaemon III, Ichikawa Danzô V, Ogawa Kichitarô III, Nakamura Matsue III, Sawamura Kunitarô II, Arashi Rikô I, Asao Gakujûrô, Nakayama Bunshichi III and Nakayama Shinkurô IV.

12th lunar month of 1828: Ebijûrô played at the Takeda no Shibai the roles of Gengobê, Kataoka Hachirô and Kamura Utaemon in the dramas "Suda no Haru Geisha Katagi", "Gosho Zakura Horikawa no Youchi" and "Hinin no Adauchi".

1st lunar month of 1829: Ebijûrô's rank in the Kamigata hyôbanki, jitsuaku/katakiyaku section, was jô-jô-(shiro)kichi (superior - superior - (white) excellent) [visual]. He was the kanjiku for this category of actors.

7th lunar month of 1829: Ebijûrô appeared on stage for the last time, in Ôsaka at the Kado no Shibai, where he played the role of Daishichi in the drama "Go Taiheiki Shiraishi Banashi". He also played the roles of Horiguchi Man'emon and Ude no Jihê in the drama "Kizugawa no Hakkei". He suddenly fell ill and had to retire.

24th day of the 11th lunar month of 1829 ^[1]: Ebijûrô died in Ôsaka ^[3].

Comments:

Ichikawa Ebijûrô II was a promising Ôsaka actor, who followed in the footsteps of his father as a tachiyaku or jitsuaku actor. He unfortunately died too young.

[1] The 24th day of the 11th lunar month of the 12th year of the Bunsei era was the 19th of December 1829 in the western calendar.

[2] The 16th day of the 7th lunar month of the 10th year of the Bunsei era was the 6th of September 1827 in the western calendar.

[3] His tombstone was located in the precincts of the Daifukuin sub-temple of the Mitsudera temple (Ôsaka).

Ichikawa Ebijûrô II playing the role of Horiguchi Man'emon in the drama "Sao no Uta Kizugawa Hakkei", which was staged in the 7th lunar month of 1829 in Ôsaka at the Kado no Shibai (print made by Shunshosai Hokuchô)

Print made by Shunkôsai Hokushû in 1827

Print made by Shumbaisai Hokuei in 1829

Print made by Utagawa Kunihiro in 1829

Print made by Shunshosai Hokuchô in 1829

The Ichikawa Sukezô line of actors

The Ichikawa Ichizô line of actors

The Ichikawa Ebijûrô line of actors