YAMAMURAZA
   
City Edo
History

1642: a man named Okamura Kohei opens a theater in Edo in the district of Kobiki-chô and calls it Yamamuraza.

1644: Okamura Kohei takes the name of Yamamura Chôdayû I.

1658: Yamamura Chôdayû I retires and entrusts the management of the Yamamuraza to his son (or adopted son for some documents) Yamamura Chôbê, who becomes Yamamura Chôdayû II.

10th lunar month of 1670: the number of Kabuki theaters in the city of Edo is set to 4 by the authorities. The authorized theaters are the Nakamuraza (in the district of Sakai-chô), the Ichimura-Takenojôza (Fukiya-chô), Moritaza (Kobiki-chô) and the Yamamuraza (Kobiki-chô).

1672: Yamamura Chôdayû II retires and entrusts the management of the Yamamuraza to his adopted son Yamamura Gorozaemon (grandson of Yamamura Chôdayû I), who becomes Yamamura Chôdayû III.

5th lunar month of 1675: Ichikawa Ebizô takes the name of Ichikawa Danjûrô, playing for the first time the role of Soga Gorô Tokimune in the drama "Kachidoki Homare no Soga", which is performed at the Yamamuraza. His stage partners in the roles of Kudô Saemon Suketsune and Soga Jûrô Sukenari are Nagashima Isoemon and Miyazaki Denkichi. This play is the first sogamono in Kabuki history.

1685: Yamamura Chôdayû III retires and entrusts the management of the Yamamuraza to his adopted son, who becomes Yamamura Chôdayû IV.

1694: Yamamura Chôdayû IV retires and entrusts the management of the Yamamuraza to Yamamura Saburobê, son of Yamamura Chôdayû III, who becomes Yamamura Chôdayû V.

26th day of the 12th lunar month of 1695: a fire breaks out in the district of Sukiyabashi. It spreads and burns both the Moritaza and the Yamamuraza.

29th day of the 11th lunar month of 1703: an earthquake hits Edo and the resulting fires destroy the city. The 4 main theaters, the Nakamuraza, the Ichimuraza, the Moritaza and the Yamamuraza, are burnt to ashes. This catastrophe is nicknamed "Genroku Jishin Kaji" ("Genroku Earthquake and Fire").

11th lunar month of 1706: premiere at the Yamamuraza of the drama "Taihei Shusse Kagekiyo Shiraume no Hata", which is considered as an earlier version of the Kabuki Jûhachiban drama "Kagekiyo". It is staged within the kaomise program "Kaeribana Buyû Kagami", which celebrates the arrival in Edo of the Kamigata actor Takeshima Kôzaemon I, with the following casting:

Roles Actors
Taira no Kagekiyo Takeshima Kôzaemon I
Sasaki Takatsuna Ichikawa Danjûrô II
Chichibu no Shôji Shigetada Ikushima Shingorô
Kumagai Jirô Naozane Yamanaka Heikurô I
Kajiwara Heizô Kagetoki Hayakawa Dengorô

1st lunar month of 1709: the 4 Edo theaters, the Nakamuraza, the Ichimuraza, the Moritaza and the Yamamuraza, produce simultaneously a sogamono new year drama. This is the beginning of a custom that is still somehow observed nowadays.

7th lunar month of 1709: Ichikawa Danjûrô II achieves a triumphant success at the Yamamuraza, playing the role of the uirô peddler Kumehachirô, in the "Mogusa Uri" scene of the drama "Keisei Hibari Yama", whose main character is the famous Princess Chûjô. This role, with fast-spoken lines, will become in 1718 the core of the "Uirô Uri" scene. His stage partners are Yamanaka Heikurô I, Ikushima Shingorô, Ogawa Zengorô I and Nakamura Gentarô, who plays the role of Princess Chûjô. There is also a "Zôhiki" scene integrated within this summer drama.

3rd lunar month of 1713: premiere at the Yamamuraza of the play "Hana Yakata Aigo Zakura", which is the first version of "Sukeroku". It is staged with the following casting:

Roles Actors
Sukeroku Ichikawa Danjûrô II
The courtesan Agemaki Tamazawa Rin'ya
Ikyû Yamanaka Heikurô I
The sake-seller Ikushima Shingorô

2nd lunar month of 1714: Ejima, a court lady who serves the shogun, is in love with the star Ikushima Shingorô. Their affair is discovered in the backstage of the Yamamuraza. This incident, which breaks the boundaries between samurai and commoner, is a serious crime for the shogunal authorities which decides to deal ruthlessly with the culprits: Ejima and Ikushima Shingorô are exiled to different places, those in the Shôgun's household who are held responsible are executed, the Yamamuraza is definitively closed and its management is heavily fined.

 
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