Playwright name:

Kimura Kinka

Stage name:

Ichikawa Takanosuke

Real Name: Kimura Kinnosuke

Existence: 17 May 1877 ~ 19 August 1960

Connection:

Wife: Kimura Tomiko

Son: Sawamura Gennosuke V

Career:

17 May 1877: born in Tôkyô in Ushigome Iwatochô ^[1]. His father was a member of Ichikawa Sadanji I's troupe. He performed as a koyaku in this troupe. His stage name was Ichikawa Takanosuke.

1908: he started to work for Ichikawa Sadanji II, along with Oka Onitarô, at the Meijiza.

1912: he joined the Shôchiku Company.

1920: Kimura Kinka directed, along with Henry Kotani, the B&W silent movie "Shima no Onna", which starred Kawada Yoshiko, Shizuka Yachiyo and the Kabuki actor Nakamura Tsuruzô III. This was the first movie produced by the Shôchiku Company. The screenplay was written by Kimura Kinka, based on an originbal work by Yamazaki Shikô

January 1925: reopening of the Kabukiza (which was destroyed by a powerful earthquake called Kantô Daijishin the 1st of September 1923. Kimura Kinka became the head of tatesakusha.

December 1925: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Togitatsu no Utare"; the roles of the togiya Moriyama Tatsuji, Hirai Kuichirô and Hirai Saijirô were played by Ichikawa Ennosuke II, Ôtani Tomoemon VI and Ichimura Kamezô III.

December 1926: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Keikochû no Togitatsu", which starred Ichikawa Ennosuke II in the togiya Moriyama Tatsuji.

July 1927: premiere at the Kabukiza of "Shunshoku Ume Goyomi", an adaptation to Kabuki by Kimura Kinka of Tamenaga Shunsui's 1833 eponymous novel [casting].

August 1927: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Koi no Togitatsu", which starred Ichikawa Ennosuke II in the togiya Moriyama Tatsuji.

August 1928: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Tôkaidôchû Hizakurige", a Kabuki drama based on Jippensha Ikku's picaresque comic novel "Tôkaidôchû Hizakurige"; the roles of Yajirobê and Kitahachi were played by Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ôtani Tomoemon VI.

May 1929: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Jûsansai no Yoritomo", which starred Ichikawa Sadanji II and Nakamura Kichiemon I.

August/September 1929: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Kiso Kaidô Hizakurige", a sequel to "Tôkaidôchû Hizakurige" set on the Nakasendô ^[2], not on the Tôkaidô; the roles of Yajirobê and Kitahachi were played by Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ôtani Tomoemon VI.

December 1929: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Akô Gishi Kaikyoroku", which starred Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ichikawa Yaozô VIII.

July 1930: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Sono Toki no Akô-jô", which starred Ichikawa Sadanji II and Morita Kan'ya XIII.

August 1930: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Kyûshû Dôchû Hizakurige", a sequel to "Tôkaidôchû Hizakurige" set in Kyûshû, not on the Tôkaidô; the roles of Yajirobê and Kitahachi were played by Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ôtani Tomoemon VI.

October 1930: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Sasagawa Ikka", which starred Ichikawa Sadanji II and Matsumoto Kôshirô VII.

December 1930: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Chigiri Iseya", which starred Ichikawa Sadanji II and Sawamura Sôjûrô VII.

August 1931: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Kômori no Yasu-san" ^[3], which starred Morita Kan'ya XIII in the eponymous role of Kômori no Yasu (Yasu the Bat) ^[4]. It was a Kabuki adaptation of Charles Chaplin's 1931 movie "City Lights". "The earliest detailed description of City Lights to have appeared in the Japanese press is “A Cinema Diary in America 6”, written by film critic Tamura Yukihiko in the 21 March, 1931 issue of Kinema Junpô. Kimura probably wrote the scenario of Kômori no Yasusan based on this magazine article, and then supplemented it with details provided by his friends the legendary actors Ichimura Uzaemon the 15th and Ichikawa Ennosuke the 2nd, who had just seen the film in the United States." (Ôno Hiroyuki in "From Chaplin to Kabuki")

August 1932: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Ôshû Hizakurige", a sequel to "Tôkaidôchû Hizakurige" set in Ôshû, not on the Tôkaidô; the roles of Yajirobê and Kitahachi were played by Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ôtani Tomoemon VI.

September 1932: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Zoku Ôshû Hizakurige", a sequel to "Ôshû Hizakurige", which was also a sequel to "Tôkaidôchû Hizakurige" set in Ôshû, not on the Tôkaidô; the roles of Yajirobê and Kitahachi were played by Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ôtani Tomoemon VI.

August 1933: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Konpira Dôchû Hizakurige", a sequel to "Tôkaidôchû Hizakurige" set on the road to the Konpira Shrine, not on the Tôkaidô; the roles of Yajirobê and Kitahachi were played by Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ôtani Tomoemon VI.

August 1934: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Izumo Dôchû Hizakurige", a sequel to "Tôkaidôchû Hizakurige" set on the road to Izumo Taisha, not on the Tôkaidô; the roles of Yajirobê and Kitahachi were played by Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Ôtani Tomoemon VI.

June 1936: his son Kataoka Chiyomaro took the name of Sawamura Gennosuke V at the Tôkyô Gekijô.

August 1936: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Mori no Ishimatsu Dôchûki", which starred Ichikawa Ennosuke II (Ishimatsu) and Nakamura Tokizô III (Oyuki).

September 1936: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Zoku Mori no Ishimatsu Dôchûki", which starred Ichikawa Ennosuke II (Ishimatsu), Nakamura Baigyoku III, Ichikawa Omezô IV and Sawamura Tosshi VIII.

August 1937: premiere at the Kabukiza of Kimura Kinka's drama "Yaji Kita Nikkichô"; the roles of Yajirobê and Kitahachi were played by Ichikawa Ennosuke II and Sawamura Tosshi VIII.

26 December 1944: his wife Kimura Tomiko died.

From 1945: he left the Shôchiku Company and retired at the end of WWII. He managed a wig store and was also the president of the Stage Art Federation

19 August 1960: Kimura Kinka died in Tôkyô.

Comments:

Kimura Kinka was an important playwright and director, who was active from the 1920s to the 1940s. He wrote more than 60 scripts. He wrote also several books about performing arts.

[1] Nowadays the district of Iwatochô in Shinjuku Ward.

[2] The Nakasendô was commonly called Kiso Kaidô.

[3] This drama was revived at the National Theatre in December 2019 to commemorate the 130th Anniversary of Chaplin's Birth [more details].

[4] "The title character in Kômori no Yasusan is based on the well-known figure ‘Kômori-Yasu’, who appears in the “Genjidana” scene in the famous Kabuki piece, Yowa Nasake Ukina no Yokogushi. This narrative was written by Segawa Jokô the 3rd, and was first in 1853. Kômori-Yasu is a tramp character and teaches Yosaburo, the protagonist, how to extort women. Kimura wrote, ‘Kômori-Yasu is an ideal role to adapt to Charlie, because he is a gentle tramp.’ Clearly Kimura tailored Kômori-Yasu to be “Chaplinesque”." (Ôno Hiroyuki in "From Chaplin to Kabuki")

Kimura Kinka