Stage names:

Segawa Kikunojô VI
Segawa Kikujirô II
Segawa Sengyo I
Iwai Sengyo
Segawa Sengyo I

Real name: Segawa Toyotarô

Guild: Hamamuraya

Line number: ROKUDAIME (VI)

Blazon: the spray of tied cotton (yui wata)

Existence: 25 March 1907 ~ 3 November 1976

Connection:

Adoptive father: Iwai Kumesaburô V

Disciple: Segawa Shinzô

Career:

25 March 1907: born in Asakusa Torigoe.

Fall 1921: he was adopted by the actor Iwai Kumesaburô V, who wanted to help reviving the Segawa Kikunojô line of actors (closely related to the Iwai clan). He received the name of Segawa Sengyo.

October 1922: he took the name of Iwai Sengyo when he performed at the Naniwaza.

October 1924: he took back the name of Segawa Sengyo I at the Bentenza.

February 1931: Sengyo played at the Kotobukiza the role of Otaka's lover Yashichi (in reality Senzaki Yagorô) in the drama "Uekiya"; the role of the koshimoto Otaka, later the mekake Oran-no-Kata, was played by his adoptive father Iwai Kumesaburô V.

Spring 1931 (?): Segawa Sengyo took the name of Segawa Kikujirô II, a stage name not held since the 11th lunar month of 1756!

May 1931: founding of the Zenshinza troupe, a left-wing and progressive theater troupe led by Nakamura Kan'emon III, Kawarasaki Chôjûrô IV and Ichikawa Emiya I. Kikujirô was a member of this troupe.

November 1933: Segawa Kikujirô II took the prestigious name of Segawa Kikunojô VI, a stage name not held since the 1st lunar month of 1832!

13 April 1945: his adoptive father Iwai Kumesaburô V died.

January 1967: ideological breaking off between Kawarasaki Chôjûrô IV and Nakamura Kan'emon III, the two mainstays of the Zenshinza; the former actor was suddenly expelled from the Zenshinza and the latter actor asked Kikunojô to replace him on the spot in the difficult role of the wicked priest Narukami in the eponymous drama "Narukami", which was staged in Ôsaka at the Mainichi Hall (8~15 January), in Nagoya at the Misonoza (23~31 January) and in Kyôto at the Minamiza (2~8 February).

October 1971: Kikunojô played at the Minamiza the role of Shunkan in the drama "Heike Nyogo no Shima".

November 1976: Kikunojô appeared on stage for the last time, in Ôsaka at the Nakaza, where he played the role of Kotetsu in the drama "Shinmon Tatsugorô".

3 November 1976: Kikunojô suddenly collapsed at his hotel, the Hoteru Hanshin in the district of Umeda in Ôsaka, and died.

Comments:

Segawa Kikunojô VI was a talented and versatile supporting tachiyaku actor belonging to the first generations of actors who built the famous and dynamic Zenshinza troupe. His best roles were the fishmonger Masagorô ("Shibahama no Kawazaifu"), the villain Senoo Tarô Kaneyasu ("Heike Nyogo no Shima"), Yaichiemon ("Abe Ichizoku"), Hata no Minbu ("Kenuki") and Tatsusaburô ("Ippon Gatana Dohyô Iri").

Segawa Kikunojô VI playing the role of Kotetsu in the drama "Shinmon Tatsugorô"

The Segawa Kikunojô line of actors