Playwright name:

Fukuchi Ôchi

Real name: Fukuchi Gen'ichirô

Existence: 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month of 1841 ^[1] ~ 4 January 1906

Connection:

Disciples: Enomoto Torahiko, Segawa Jokô IV, Kema Nanboku

Career:

23rd day of the 3rd lunar month of 1841 ^[1]: born in Nagasaki. He was the last child of a doctor named Fukuchi Kuan. His yômyô was Yasokichi.

21 November 1889: opening of the Kabukiza in the district of Kobiki-chô in Tôkyô. The building of this theater was financed by Chiba Katsugorô and the general manager was Fukuchi Gen'ichirô. "The greatest theatre in Japan was the plan of Fukuchi, who ranked with Mokuami as a playwright. When the theatre was completed, Fukuchi went to Danjûrô and Kikugorô, to invite them to play in the Kabukiza, but they refused, as they had pledged themselves to Kan'ya. Fukuchi was surprised at the tactics of the Shintomiza manager, but pretended not to be disappointed, joked, and said he would have to paint his face and dance in their stead. But the best theatre and the best actors could not long remain apart. The shrewd Kan'ya, seeing an advantage to himself, at last consented to lend the three stars provided he was given a certain large sum. This was agreed upon, and his actors appeared at the opening performances of the Kabukiza, which were a pronounced success from the start, while Kan'ya was enabled to pay off his pressing debts." (Zoë Kincaid in "Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan")

March 1890: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's drama "Sôma Heiji Nidai Banashi", a revision of Chikamatsu Monzaemon's 1724 drama "Kanhasshû Tsunagi Uma".

July 1890: Fukuchi lost his manager role of the Kabukiza and became a simple sakusha, then the tatesakusha of the Kabukiza.

March 1891: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's drama "Buyû no Homare Shusse Kagekiyo", a revised revival of Chikamatsu Monzaemon's jidaimono "Shusse Kagekiyo" [casting].

June 1891: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's drama "Kasuga no Tsubone".

September 1891: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's drama "Zôho Onna Narukami" [more details].

March 1892: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's drama "Motome-zuka Migaeri Nitta", a revision of Chikamatsu Monzaemon's 1710 drama "Yoshino no Miyako Onna Kusunoki".

October 1892: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's matsubamemono "Suô Otoshi", starring Ichikawa Danjûrô IX and Nakamura Fukusuke IV in the roles of Tarôkaja and the Princess.

March 1893: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's Nagauta-based dance "Shunkyô Kagami Jishi". The musical accompaniment was written by Kineya Shôjirô III, the choreography was made by Fujima Kan'emon II and the leading role was danced by Ichikawa Danjûrô IX.

May 1893: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's drama "Jûnitoki Kaikei Soga", a revision of Chikamatsu Monzaemon's 1718 drama "Soga Kaikeizan".

September 1893: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's drama "Ôkubo Hikozaemon" with Ichikawa Danjûrô IX in the eponymous role of Ôkubo Hikozaemon.

April 1897: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's drama "Otokodate Harusame Gasa" [more details].

October 1897: premiere at the Meijiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's dance-drama "Ômori Hikoshichi" [casting].

November 1897: premiere at the Kabukiza of Fukuchi Ôchi's drama "Shihei no Nana Warai", a revision of the second act of Namiki Gohachi's drama "Tenmangû Natane no Gokû"; the Meiji star Ichikawa Danjûrô IX played the role of Fujiwara no Shihei.

4 January 1906: Fukuchi Ôchi died in Tôkyô ^[2].

Comments:

Fukuchi Ôchi worked on more than 40 Kabuki plays. Many of them were katsureki written specifically for the Meiji star Ichikawa Danjûrô IX. He heavily revised dramas written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon or Kawatake Mokuami, earning the nickname of kaisaku koji (The Adapter), then kaiaku koji (The Worse Maker).

"Fukuchi Gen'ichirô, known better under his pen name, ochi kochi, "Here and There", was a man of varied talents. He was in the Government service, and might have risen high in official circles but for his predilection for drama. He distinguished himself during the days of the Restoration and travelled abroad in the suite of the late Prince Itô. Few men of his time were better versed in English literature. For a time he entered journalism, but it is as a playwright that he will best be remembered. Fukuchi was one of the promoters of the Kabukiza, and wrote almost exclusively for Danjûrô. [...]. Fukuchi lived through an unprofitable period of the theatre, tried to conform to the demand of the time by writing "living-history" pieces for Danjûrô, and the interest of the public cooling, he was pushed aside, and passed away forgotten and neglected. Many of his plays are more appreciated to-day than they were in his lifetime, especially "Kasuga no Tsubone", or The Lady Kasuga." (Zoë Kincaid in "Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan")

"Statesman, journalist and literary man. Born in Nagasaki. He undertook Dutch studies and English studies in Nagasaki and Edo. In 1859, he started serving for the Tokugawa Shogunate. He traveled twice to Europe as a member of the mission sent by the Shogunate. In 1868, he launched the Koko Shinbun newspaper and criticized the new government, for which he was placed under arrest. In 1870, he started serving for Ministry of Finance and attended to both Hirobumi Itô's visit to the United States and Iwakura Mission. From 1874 to 1888, he worked as chief editor and president of the newspaper Tôkyô Nichinichi Shinbun and had extensive authority in the press world as a government-affiliated newspaper journalist. Later, he was active in various fields, writing political fiction and Kabuki scripts, and joining the movement for modern theater. In 1904, he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives." (ndl.go.jp)

[1] The 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month of the 12th year of the Tenpô era was the 13th of May 1841 in the western calendar.

[2] His tombstone is located in the cemetery of the Tennôji temple in the district of Yanaka (Tôkyô).

Fukuchi Ôchi