SEKI SANJÛRÔ III

Stage names:

Seki Sanjûrô III
Ichikawa Yaozô V
Ichikawa Datejûrô
Ichikawa Dankichi I

Others names:

Ichikawa Chûsha V
Fujima Kangorô

Nickname: Hana no Sanjûrô^[1]

Guilds: Owariya^[2], Tachibanaya^[3]

Line number: SANDAIME (III)

Poetry names: Chûsha (5), Kijaku, Kazan

Existence: 1805 ~ 18th day of the 12th lunar month of 1870^[4]

Connections:

Father: Fujima Kanbei III (dance master)

Brother-in-law: Nakamura Utaemon IV

Master: Ichikawa Danjûrô VII

Adopted son: Seki Sanjûrô IV

Career:

1805~1827: born in Edo. His father was the choreographer Fujima Kanbei III. He started his career as a disciple of the star Ichikawa Danjûrô VII, who gave him the name of Ichikawa Dankichi I. The, during the Bunsei era, he became Ichikawa Datejûrô.

11th lunar month of 1827: he took the name of Ichikawa Yaozô V^[5] at the Nakamuraza, playing the roles of the gold trader Kichiji and Motoyoshi Shirô Tadahira in the kaomise drama "Kinbusen Yosooi Genji".

3rd lunar month of 1828: Yaozô played in the same theater the roles of Taira no Atsumori and Kumagai Kojirô in the epic drama "Ichi-no-Tani Futaba Gunki"; the role of the warrior Kumagai Jirô Naozane was played by Nakamura Shikan II.

11th lunar month of 1828: his yearly salary for the new season at the Nakamuraza was 250 ryô.

3rd lunar month of 1829: Yaozô played at the Nakamuraza the roles of Kokingo and Suruga Jirô in the drama "Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura".

11th lunar month of 1829: premiere at the Nakamuraza of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's kaomise drama "Kin no Zai Sarushima Dairi"; Yaozô played the roles of Kitashirakawa no Anchin and Nose Gengo [more details].

8th lunar month of 1830: Yaozô played at the Nakamuraza the role of Koganosuke in the drama "Imoseyama Onna Teikin".

6th lunar month of 1834: Yaozô achieved a great success at the Nakamuraza by playing the roles of Tamiya Oiwa, Kobotoke Kohei and Yomoshichi in Tsuruya Nanboku IV's masterpiece "Tôkaidô Yotsuya Kaidan".

9th lunar month of 1834: Yaozô played at the Ichimuraza the roles of Sakuramaru and Kakuju in the drama "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami".

5th lunar month of 1835: Yaozô went on tour with Seki Sanjûrô II in Ise and Kamigata. This was an excellent opportunity for Yaozô to learn the art and techniques of such a great star.

28th day of the 9th lunar month of 1839^[6]: the actor Seki Sanjûrô II died.

4th lunar month of 1840: Ichikawa Yaozô V took the name of Seki Sanjûrô III at the Ichimuraza, playing the roles of Kajiwara Heiji Kagetaka and Chichibu Shôji Shigetada in the jidaimono "Hirakana Seisuiki" and the role of Umakata Hachizô in the drama "Koi Nyôbô Somewake Tazuna". The kôjô celebrating this shûmei was led by the star Nakamura Utaemon IV.

9th lunar month of 1840: premiere at the Ichimuraza of the Tokiwazu-based dance-drama "Yoshinoyama Yuki no Furugoto", a revival of the 1786 Tomimoto-based dance-drama "Sode Furu Yuki Yoshino Shûi" (nowadays entitled "Meoto Gitsune"); Sanjûrô played the role of Kusunoki Masatsura [more details].

1st lunar month of 1843: premiere at the Ichimuraza of the dance "Kashiragaki Ise Monogatari" (commonly called "Noriaibune"), which was staged within the new year sogamono drama "Kioi Uta Soga no Hanadashi"; Sanjûrô was one of the seven dancers [more details].

1st lunar month of 1846: premiere at the Nakamuraza of Sakurada Jisuke III's Tokiwazu-based dance-drama "Kagura Uta Kumoi no Kyokumari", which was commonly called "Dontsuku"; Sanjûrô danced in it [more details].

1st lunar month of 1852: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Sakurada Jisuke III's drama "Satomi Hakkenden"; Sanjûrô played the roles of Ôtsuka Bansaku Kazunari, Inukawa Sôsuke, Kanamari Daisuke Takanori, Komiyama Kageyu Saemon, Inukai Genpachi Nobumichi and Inugawa Gakuzô [casting].

9th lunar month of 1852: the play "Sesshû Gappô-ga-Tsuji" was staged for the first time in Edo, at the Ichimuraza; Sanjûrô played the role of Gappô Dôshin [casting].

1853: Sanjûrô went on tour in Kamigata.

1st lunar month of 1854: Sanjûrô went back to Edo and performed as as a jitsuaku at the Nakamuraza in the new year sogamono drama "Matsu Ichô Tsurukame Soga".

3rd lunar month of 1858: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Edo Zakura Kiyomizu Seigen"; the nibanme of this drama was now entitled "Kurotegumi Kuruwa no Tatehiki" in the Kabuki repertoire (commonly called "Kurotegumi Sukeroku"); Sanjûrô played the roles of Torii Shinzaemon and the shirozake seller Shinbê [more details].

2nd lunar month of 1859: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Kosode Soga Azami no Ironui" (commonly called "Izayoi Seishin"); Sanjûrô played the roles of Yawata no Saburô, Kageyama Budayû, Jigokuba Otani and the poet Tsukioka Hakuren (in reality the tôzoku Ôdera Shôbê) [casting].

1st lunar month of 1860: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Sannin Kichisa Kuruwa no Hatsugai"; Sanjûrô played the roles of Dozaemon Denkichi and Chôjiya Chôbê [casting].

3rd lunar month of 1860: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Kagamiyama Gonichi no Iwafuji"; Sanjûrô played the role of Mochizuki Danjô [casting].

7th lunar month of 1860: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Hachiman Matsuri Yomiya no Nigiwai" (commonly called "Chijimiya Shinsuke"); Sanjûrô played the role of Genzaemon [casting].

3rd lunar month of 1862: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Aoto Zôshi Hana no Nishikie" (commonly called "Shiranami Gonin Otoko"); Sanjûrô played the role of Nippon Daemon [casting].

2nd lunar month of 1864: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Soga Moyô Tateshi no Goshozome"; Sanjûrô played the role of Hoshikage Doemon [casting].

4th lunar month of 1864: premiere at the Moritaza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Wakaba no Ume Ukina no Yokogushi" (commonly called "Kirare Otomi"); Sanjûrô played the role of Izutsu Yozaemon [casting].

2nd lunar month of 1866: premiere at the Moritaza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Fune-he Uchikomu Hashima no Shiranami" (commonly called "Ikake Matsu"); Sanjûrô played the roles of Shimaya Bunzô (in reality Bonji no Shingorô) and Hanaya Sagobê [more details].

2nd lunar month of 1867: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's new year sogamono drama "Keisei Soga Kuruwa Kagami", in which was premiered the drama "Oshizu Reiza"; Sanjûrô played the roles of Kobayashi no Asahina, the doctor Tsurugizawa Bakuan and the Okushûya master Yasuemon [more details].

11th lunar month of 1870: Sanjûrô appeared on stage for the last time, at the Nakamuraza, where he performed in the drama "Futatsu Chôchô Kuruwa Nikki".

18th day of the 12th lunar month of 1870^[4]: Sanjûrô died in Edo.

Comments:

Seki Sanjûrô III was an outstanding tachiyaku actor, who excelled in katakiyaku and jitsuaku roles. He looked like Matsumoto Kôshirô V, sharing the same facial feature: an amazing nose! The playwright Kawatake Mokuami considered that Seki Sanjûrô III was the best actor he ever met.

[1] Literally Sanjûrô the Nose.

[2] His yagô when he was named Seki Sanjûrô III.

[3] His yagô when he was named Ichikawa Yaozô V.

[4] The 18th day of the 12th lunar month of the 3rd year of the Meiji era was the 7th of February 1871 in the western calendar.

[5] One question has to be solved: who held the name of Ichikawa Yaozô between 1827 and 1834? One actor or two actors? It was written in the "Kabuki Jinmei Jiten" that Nakamura Datejûrô went back to Edo in Fall 1827, taking back the name of Ichikawa Yaozô IV and playing at the Nakamuraza the roles of the gold trader Kichiji and Motoyoshi Shirô Tadahira in the drama "Kinbusen Yosooi Genji". The same roles were also credited in the same book to Ichikawa Yaozô V, who played them to celebrate his shûmei at the Nakamuraza. The actor performing under the name of Ichikawa Yaozô in the 11th lunar month of 1827 at the Nakamuraza was also recorded as playing the following year (in the 3rd lunar month of 1828 in the same theater) the roles of Taira no Atsumori and Kumagai Kojirô in the epic drama "Ichi-no-Tani Futaba Gunki". These roles were usually performed by young actor, which logically should exclude Ichikawa Yaozô IV as he was in his 50s around that time, whereas Ichikawa Yaozô V was at the beginning of his 20s. Another good example of this impossibility was the role of Koganosuke in the drama "Imoseyama Onna Teikin", which was staged in the 8th lunar month of 1830 at the Nakamuraza. The Ritsumeikan University Actors Database, which was more coherent than the "Kabuki Jinmei Jiten", did not help us fixing this issue as it reported that Ichikawa Yaozô V took this name not in the 11th lunar month of 1827 but in the 3rd lunar month of 1835 and that Ichikawa Yaozô IV retired from the Kabuki world in 1834. The "Kabuki Nenpyô" reported that an actor named Ichikawa Datejûrô took the name of Ichikawa Yaozô II (!!) in the 11th lunar month of 1827 in Edo (theater not specified - it was just a name in a list of minor actors like Segawa Ayame, Kataoka Kyôshirô, Onoe Sukejirô or Onoe Iwagorô) and that an actor named Ichikawa Yaozô, who was returning from Kamigata, performed the roles of the gold trader Kichiji and Motoyoshi Shirô Tadahira in the drama "Kinbusen Yosooi Genji". Mixing all these pieces of data, kabuki21.com has decided to report that Ichikawa Yaozô V took this name in the 11th lunar month of 1827 and that Ichikawa Yaozô IV kept it up to Fall 1834.

[6] The 28th day of the 9th lunar month of the 10th year of the Tenpô era was the 3rd of November 1839 in the western calendar.

Seki Sanjûrô III playing the role of Iwami Tarô Tomohide in the drama "Kozotte Kuruwa Mimasu no Datezome", which was staged in the 1st lunar month of 1853 at the Nakamuraza (print made by Utagawa Toyokuni III)

Prints & Illustrations

Print made by Utagawa Kunisada

Print made by Utagawa Kuniharu in 1830

Print made by Utagawa Kunisada in 1834

Print made by Utagawa Toyokuni in 1852

Print made by Utagawa Toyokuni in 1861

The Ichikawa Chûsha line of actors

The Ichikawa Yaozô line of actors

The Seki Sanjûrô line of actors