Stage names:

Ichikawa Ebizô VII
Ichikawa Hakuen IV
Ichikawa Shinshô
Ichikawa Komazô VII
Ichikawa Shinnosuke III

Guild: Naritaya

Line number: SHICHIDAIME (VII)

Existence: 1833 ~ 13 July 1874

Connections:

Great-great-great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Danjûrô I

Great-great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Ebizô II (Danjûrô II)

Great-great-grandfather: Ichikawa Ebizô III (Danjûrô IV)

Great-Grandfather: Ichikawa Hakuen I (Danjûrô V)

Father: Ichikawa Ebizô V

Adoptive father and father-in-law: Matsumoto Kôshirô VI

Brothers: Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII, Ichikawa Danjûrô IX, Ichikawa Ebizô VIII, Ichikawa Komazô VI, Ichikawa Saruzô I, Ichikawa Kôzô

Career:

1833 ~ 1844: born in Edo. He was the third son of Ichikawa Ebizô V. His mother was Osato^[1], one concubine of his father. He started his career at an unknown date, performing under the name of Ichikawa Shinnosuke III.

1844: he was adopted by Ichikawa Komazô V.

3rd lunar month of 1844: Ichikawa Komazô V and Ichikawa Shinnosuke III respectively took the names of Matsumoto Kôshirô VI and Ichikawa Komazô VII ^[2] at the Nakamuraza, performing together in the drama "Sugata no Hana Yayoi no Kagamiyama" ^[3].

3rd day of the 11th lunar month of 1849 ^[4]: his father-in-law Matsumoto Kinshô I died.

1856: separation with his wife and the Matsumoto clan.

3rd lunar month of 1856: Ichikawa Komazô VII took the name of Ichikawa Shinshô.

1st lunar month of 1859: Ichikawa Shinshô took the name of Ichikawa Hakuen IV at the Nakamuraza, performing in the new year sogamono drama "Hatsudôchû Sugoroku Soga".

23rd day of the 3rd lunar month of 1859 ^[5]: his father Ichikawa Ebizô V died.

5th lunar month of 1861: premiere at the Moritaza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Ryu to Mimasu Takane no Kumokiri"; Hakuen played the role of Yûki Shichirô Tomomitsu [casting].

1874: Ichikawa Hakuen IV formally took the name of Ichikawa Ebizô VII. He unfortunately fell ill and died before performing under his new name.

Comments:

Ichikawa Ebizô VII was a promising tachiyaku actor but he died before becoming popular and achieving any fame.

[1] Ichikawa Ebizô V fathered only one child with Osato. Ichikawa Ebizô VII's 6 brothers were therefore all half-brothers.

[2] Ichikawa Komazô V gave his name to Ichikawa Komazô VII ... what about Ichikawa Komazô VI ? In 1844, Ichikawa Shinnosuke III became indeed Ichikawa Komazô VI. He became the 7th Ichikawa Komazô after his death, during the Meiji era. One elder half-brother of Ichikawa Komazô VII, who spent almost no time on stage and never held the name of Ichikawa Komazô, was finally considered by the Kabuki world as the sixth holder of the name Ichikawa Komazô.

[3] It was also the shûmei of Iwai Hanshirô VII.

[4] The 3rd day of the 11th lunar month of the 2nd year of the Kaei era was the 17th of December 1849 in the western calendar.

[5] The 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month of the 6th year of the Ansei era was the 25th of April 1859 in the western calendar.

The mon of Ichikawa Ebizô VII

Print made by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1847

Prints & Illustrations

The Ichikawa Komazô line of actors

The Ichikawa Hakuen line of actors

The Ichikawa Ebizô line of actors