Stage names:

Morita Kan'ya XI	|
Bandô Mitsugorô IV
Bandô Minosuke II

Other name:

Morita Zekô

|

Nickname: Yoi Mitsu (Mitsu the Drunkard)

Guilds: Kinojiya, Kinojiya, Yamatoya

Line number: JÛICHIDAIME (XI)

Existence: 1802 ~ 18th day of the 11th lunar month of 1863 ^[1]

Connections:

Adoptive father: Bandô Mitsugorô III

Son: Bandô Mitahachi

Adopted sons: Morita Kan'ya XII, Morita Entarô

Disciple: Bandô Kakô

Career:

11th lunar month of 1803: he made his first appearance on stage (hatsubutai), at the Nakamuraza, where he received the name of Bandô Minosuke II in the kaomise drama "Kareki-ni Hana Gorishô Hachinoki".

11th lunar month of 1828: Minosuke played at the Ichimuraza the roles of Kumasaka Chôhan, Ise no Saburô, a boatman, Iwate Sakingo and Akugenta Yoshihira in the kaomise drama "Mitsugi no Yuki Genji Hiiki"; his yearly salary was 550 ryô.

1st lunar month of 1830: Minosuke's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was jô-jô-kichi (superior - superior - excellent) [visual].

27th day of the 12th lunar month of 1831 ^[2]: his adoptive father Bandô Mitsugorô III died.

3rd lunar month of 1832: Bandô Minosuke II took the name of Bandô Mitsugorô IV at the Nakamuraza, playing 3 roles in the drama "Sakura Doki Onna Gyôretsu". He also performed one of the 2 leading roles in the premiere of the 3-part Kiyomoto/Tokiwazu/Nagauta-based dance "Yayoi no Hana Asakusa Matsuri" ^[3], sharing the stage with Nakamura Shikan II.

9th lunar month of 1832: Mitsugorô and Nakamura Utaemon IV alternately played the roles of Fujiya Izaemon and the courtesan Yûgiri in the drama "Kuruwa Bunshô", which was staged at the Nakamuraza.

11th lunar month of 1832: Mitsugorô became zagashira at the Ichimuraza, playing 2 roles in the drama "Bandô Musha Tsunagate Hajime".

1833: Mitsugorô became the assistant of the zamoto Morita Kan'ya X for the management of the Moritaza.

4th lunar month of 1836: premiere at the Moritaza of the drama "Hakkenden Uwasa no Takadono"; Mitsugorô played the roles of Satomi Yoshizane and Higashiyama Yoshimasa [casting].

Fall 1837: the Moritaza went bankrupt and gave its license to the Kawarasakiza.

1838 ~ 1843: Mitsugorô went on tour in almost all the provinces of Japan.

11th day of the 7th lunar month of 1838 ^[4]: the zamoto Morita Kan'ya X died.

12th lunar month of 1838: Mitsugorô played at the Kado no Shibai the role of Shunkan in the drama "Hime Komatsu Ne-no-Hi no Asobi".

1st lunar month of 1839: Mitsugorô's rank in the Kamigata hyôbanki was (shiro)ô-jô-jô-kichi (almost grand - superior - superior - excellent). Premiere at the Kado no Shibai of Nishizawa Ippô's drama "Keisei Hama no Masago"; Mitsugorô played the role of Mashiba Hisayoshi [casting].

11th lunar month of 1843: Mitsugorô was back in Edo and performed at the Ichimuraza in the drama "Wakatonobara Sharin no Ôyose", which commemorated the 12th anniversary (13th memorial service) of the death of Bandô Mitsugorô III. He also played at the end of the program the role of Shunkan in the drama "Hime Komatsu Ne-no-Hi no Asobi".

1st lunar month of 1848: Mitsugorô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was kô-jô-jô-kichi (meritorious - superior - superior - excellent) [Visual].

11th lunar month of 1850: Bandô Mitsugorô IV took the name of Morita Kan'ya XI at the Ichimuraza, performing in the drama "Go Taiheiki Date no Masugata".

22nd day of the 5th lunar month of 1851 ^[5]: the actor and zamoto Bandô Yasosuke, who was Morita Kan'ya IX from the 11th lunar month of 1801 to the 4th lunar month of 1830, died.

8th lunar month of 1851: premiere at the Nakamuraza of Segawa Jokô III's drama "Higashiyama Sakura Sôshi" (commonly called "Sakura Giminden"); Kan'ya played the roles of Asakura Tôzaemon, Ôsawa Hayato and Takaoka Kazue [casting].

5th lunar month of 1856: Kan'ya reopened the Moritaza, which was closed since 1837.

9th day of the 1st lunar month of 1858: a fire broke out in the third floor of the Moritaza and burned the theater to ashes.

11th lunar month of 1858: the newly-rebuilt Moritaza reopened; Kan'ya changed the ideogram for Mori in both his name and his theater name. The old ideogram for mori meant forest and was made up of 3 ideograms meaning wood, a highly-inflammable ideogram. The new ideogram for Mori meant protection, a better meaning for a theater.

You need a Japanese Language Kit installed within your system in order to be able to read the characters

10th lunar month of 1863: Kan'ya produced "Sangoku Yôbuden", his last Kabuki production at the Moritaza.

18th of the 11th lunar month of 1863 ^[1]: Kan'ya died.

Comments:

Morita Kan'ya XI was both a tachiyaku actor and the zamoto of the Moritaza (from 1856 to 1863). He was tall, handsome and, as an actor, excelled in sewamono dramas. He was also a talented jitsuaku and an outstanding dancer.

In his Mitsugorô years, he was both a stage partner and a rival (for the title of Edo best tachiyaku) for Nakamura Shikan II, imitating the glorious rivalry of Bandô Mitsugorô III and Nakamura Utaemon III.

[1] The 18th of the 11th lunar month of the 3rd year of the Bunkyû era was the 28th of December 1863 in the western calendar.

[2] The 27th day of the 12th lunar month of the 2nd year of the Tenpô era was the 29th of January 1832 in the western calendar.

[3] This dance is still sometimes performed in its entirety but the second part, "Sanja Matsuri", is frequently staged independently.

[4] The 11th day of the 7th lunar month of the 9th year of the Tenpô era was the 30th of August 1838 in the western calendar.

[5] The 22nd day of the 5th lunar month of the 4th year of the Kaei era was the 21st of June 1851 in the western calendar.

Morita Kan'ya XI playing the role of Saitô Tarozaemon Toshiyuki in the drama "Ôtô-no-Miya Asahi no Yoroi" (print made by Utagawa Toyokuni III in 1860)

Prints & Illustrations

Print made by Utagawa Kuniyasu in 1829

Print made by Utagawa Kunisada in 1833

Print made by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1834

Print made by Utagawa Kunisada in 1835

Print made by Utagawa Toyokuni in 1860

The Bandô Minosuke line of actors

The Bandô Mitsugorô line of actors

The Morita Kan'ya line of actors and theater managers