Stage names:

Bandô Matatarô IV
Arashi Kuhachi

Guild: Tôgokuya

Line number: YODAIME (IV)

Poetry name: Tôzan

Existence: ??? ~ 13th day of the 9th lunar month of 1801 ^[1]

Connections:

Father: Arashi Otohachi I

Masters: Ichimura Uzaemon IX, Ichimura Uzaemon VIII

Brother: Arashi Otohachi II

Career:

11th lunar month of 1747: he made his first appearance on stage, at the Nakamuraza, playing a child role in the kaomise drama "Izu Gunzei Sumô no Nishiki".

11th lunar month of 1753: he became disciple of Ichimura Uzaemon VIII and took the name of Bandô Matatarô IV at the Ichimuraza, playing the role of the yakko Kiyarasuke in the kaomise drama "Kamuri Kurabe Yatsushi Kuronushi".

11th lunar month of 1759: Matatarô became katakiyaku and performed at the Ichimuraza in the kaomise drama "Okunizome Shusse Butai".

7th day of the 5th lunar month of 1762 ^[2]: his master Ichimura Uzaemon VIII died.

11th lunar month of 1762: Matatarô played at the Ichimuraza the role of Koretaka Shinnô in the kaomise drama "Kisoe Uta Sakae Komachi".

1st lunar month of 1763: Matatarô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, katakiyaku section, was jô-jô (superior - superior) [visual].

11th lunar month of 1768: Matatarô became tachiyaku and achieved a great success by playing at the Ichimuraza the role of Arakawa Tarô in the kaomise drama "Otokoyama Yunzei Kurabe".

26th day of the 3rd lunar month of 1769 ^[3]: his father Arashi Otohachi I died.

1st lunar month of 1770: Matatarô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was jô-jô-(shiro)kichi (superior - superior - (white) excellent) [visual].

Fall 1770: Matatarô went to Ôsaka.

11th lunar month of 1770: Matatarô played at the Naka no Shibai the role of Eda Genzô in the kaomise drama "Ma'ichimonjiya Sakigake Hyôban", which was produced by Ogawa Kichitarô I.

1st lunar month of 1771: Matatarô's rank in the Ôsaka hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was jô-jô-(shiro)kichi (superior - superior - (white) excellent) [visual].

Fall 1771: Matatarô went back to Edo.

11th lunar month of 1771: Matatarô played at the Ichimuraza the role of Harata Rokurô in the kaomise drama "Kono Hana Yotsugi no Hachinoki".

1st lunar month of 1772: Matatarô played in the same theater the role of Umeômaru in the drama "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami"; the roles of Matsuômaru and Sakuramaru were played by Ôtani Hiroji III and Arashi Sangorô II.

11th lunar month of 1772: Matatarô moved to the Nakamuraza and performed in the kaomise drama "Ôyoroi Ebidô Shinozuka", which celebrated the great shûmei of the actors Ichikawa Ebizô III, Matsumoto Kôshirô IV and Ichikawa Komazô III.

11th lunar month of 1773: premiere at the Nakamuraza of the play "Gohiiki Kanjinchô", performed as a kaomise drama. Matatarô played the roles of Bandô Tarô (!) and Ise no Saburô [casting]. This 46-days long performance, which was also the shûmei of Nakamura Rikô I, was a tremendous success.

9th lunar month of 1774: Matatarô played in the same theater the role of Maboroshi no Takeemon in the drama "Futatsu Chôchô Kuruwa Nikki".

11th lunar month of 1774: Matatarô moved to the Moritaza and played the roles of Kasuya Tôta and Kisanta in the kaomise drama "Ichi no Tomi Tsuki no Kaomise", which welcomed in Edo the Kamigata actor Nakamura Shingorô II.

1st lunar month of 1775: Matatarô played in the same theater the role of Soga Gorô Tokimune in the new year sogamono drama "Shida Yuzuriha Hôrai Soga"; the roles of Kudô Saemon Suketsune and Soga Jûrô Sukenari were played by Ichikawa Danjûrô V and Bandô Mitsugorô I.

8th lunar month of 1775: Matatarô played in the same theater the role Watanabe Minbu in the drama "Keisei Tsuki no Miyako".

11th lunar month of 1775: Matatarô moved to the Ichimuraza and achieved a great success by playing the role of Ômori Hikoshichi in the kaomise drama "Oyafune Taiheiki"; his stage partners were Ichikawa Ebizô III, Iwai Hanshirô IV, Matsumoto Kôshirô IV, Ichikawa Yaozô II, Osagawa Tsuneyo II, Nakamura Noshio I and Sakata Hangorô II.

7th lunar month of 1776: Matatarô played in the same theater the role of Sukune Tarô in the drama "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami".

11th lunar month of 1776: Matatarô moved to the Nakamuraza and performed in the kaomise drama "Sakuya Kono Hana no Kaomise".

8th lunar month of 1777: Matatarô played in the same theater the roles of Kajiwara Heizô Kagetoki and Yokawa no Zenji Kakuhan in the drama "Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura".

9th lunar month of 1777: Matatarô played in the same theater the role of Yurugi Saemon in the drama "Koi Nyôbô Somewake Tazuna".

11th lunar month of 1779: Matatarô became jitsuaku and performed in the kaomise drama "Uta Kurabe Tôsei Moyô", which celebrated the shûmei of Ichikawa Yaozô III.

3rd lunar month of 1780: Matatarô played in the same theater the roles of Umeômaru and Shundô Genba in the drama "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami"; the roles of Matsuômaru and Sakuramaru were played by Nakamura Nakazô I and Ichikawa Yaozô III.

4th lunar month of 1780: first Kabuki adaptation of Utei Enba, Kijô Tarô and Yô Yôdai puppet theater drama "Go Taiheiki Shiraishi Banashi". The play was staged in Edo at the Moritaza; Matatarô played the roles of Marigase Shûya and Dojô [casting].

5th lunar month of 1780: Matatarô played in the same theater the role of Ariômaru in the drama "Hime Komatsu Ne-no-Hi no Asobi"; the role of Shunkan was played by Ichikawa Danzô IV.

9th lunar month of 1780: Matatarô played in the same theater the role of the farmer Yomosaku in the drama "Yamatogana Ariwara Keizu".

11th lunar month of 1780: Matatarô played at the Moritaza the role of Nanba Jirô, the villain of the "Shibaraku" scene starring Ichikawa Danzô IV, in the kaomise drama "Tokimekiya Oedo no Hatsuyuki", which celebrated the arrival in Edo of the Kamigata star Arashi Hinasuke I.

3rd lunar month of 1781: Matatarô played in the same theater the role of Teraoka Heiemon in the classic "Kanadehon Chûshingura"; the roles of Yuranosuke and Okaru were played by Ichikawa Danzô IV and Nakamura Kumejirô.

11th lunar month of 1781: Matatarô played in the same theater the role of Yawata no Saburô in the new year sogamono drama "Nanakusa Yosooi Soga".

7th lunar month of 1782: Matatarô played in the same theater the roles of Watanabe Minbu and the yakko Dampei in the drama "Datezome Shikata Kôshaku", whose plot and characters belonged to the "Meiboku Sendai Hagi" world.

4th lunar month of 1783: Matatarô played at the Moritaza the roles of the yakko Hatasuke, Sakama Denbê and Hosokawa Yoriyuki in the drama "Kagamiyama Kokyô no Nishikie".

2nd lunar month of 1784: Matatarô played at the Ichimuraza the role of Denkaibô in the drama "Shinjû Ten no Amijima".

6th lunar month of 1800: Matatarô appeared on stage for the last time, in Edo at the Ichimuraza, where he played the role of Hida Saemon in the drama "Genpei Nunobiki no Taki".

13th day of the 9th lunar month of 1801 ^[1]: Matatarô died in Edo.

Comments:

Bandô Matatarô IV was a good katakiyaku and tachiyaku of the second half of the eighteenth century. his forte were aragoto roles in jidaimono dramas. In the last years of his career, he took an active part in the management of the Ichimuraza but it did not work well and the theater had to close. He also managed a bath house in the district of Segawa-chô.

[1] The 13th day of the 9th lunar month of the 1st year of the Kyôwa era was the 20th of October 1801 in the western calendar.

[2] The 7th day of the 5th lunar month of the 12th year of the Hôreki era was the 28th of June 1762 in the western calendar.

[3] The 26th day of the 3rd lunar month of the 6th year of the Meiwa era was the 2nd of May 1769 in the western calendar.

Bandô Matatarô IV in a print made by Katsukawa Shunshô

Print made by Kitao Shigemasa at the end of the 1760s

Print made by Katsukawa Shunshô in 1773

The Bandô Matatarô line of actors