Stage name:

Shinomiya Genpachi

Existence: ??? ~ 1730 (?)

Connection:

Son: Shinomiya Heihachi I

Disciples: Shinomiya Manjirô, Shinomiya Kohachi, Shinomiya Kogenji, Shinomiya Heisuke

Career:

1670: coming from Kamigata, he settled in Edo.

Enpô era: he performed in Edo as a tachiyaku.

11th lunar month of 1699: Genpachi played at the Nakamuraza the role of Taira no Kiyomori in the kaomise drama "Taira no Kiyomori Bijin Zoroi".

1st lunar month of 1701: Genpachi played at the Yamamuraza the role of Hôjô no Tokimasa in the new year drama "Keisei Mitsu Urokogata".

3rd lunar month of 1701: Genpachi's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was only naka no jô (superior in the middle class) but, in the oyajigata section, it was jô-jô-kichi (superior - superior - excellent) [visual].

1st lunar month of 1703: Genpachi played at the Yamamuraza the role of Kudô Saemon Suketsune in the new year drama "Keisei Asama Soga"; the roles of Soga Gorô Tokimune and Soga Jûrô Sukenari are played by Bandô Matatarô I and Nakamura Shichisaburô I.

11th lunar month of 1709: Genpachi moved to the Ichimuraza after 9 seasons spent at the Yamamuraza; he played the role of Giô Takiguchi in the kaomise drama "Genpuku Nue Yorimasa".

11th lunar month of 1710: Genpachi moved to the Moritaza, where he played the role of Nobutsura in the kaomise drama "Onna Tsuwamono Tokiwa no Matsu".

3rd lunar month of 1711: Genpachi's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was jô-jô (superior - superior) [visual].

11th lunar month of 1711: Genpachi played at the Moritaza the role of Ono no Yoshizane in the kaomise drama "Kôbai no Momoyoguruma", which welcomed in Edo the actors Sakakiyama Sukegorô, Osagawa Tatsuya and Sawamura Jûrôzaemon.

1st/3rd lunar months of 1712: Genpachi's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, oyajigata section, was jô-jô-kichi (superior - superior - excellent); his rank in the tachiyaku section was jô-jô (superior - superior) [visual].

11th lunar month of 1713: Genpachi performed at the Yamamuraza in the kaomise drama "Sazare Ishi Nasu no Futahashira".

3rd lunar months of 1714: Genpachi's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, oyajigata section, was jô-jô-kichi (superior - superior - excellent) [visual].

2nd lunar month: Ejima of 1714, a court lady who served the mother of the Shôgun, was in love with the star Ikushima Shingorô. Their affair was discovered in the backstage of the Yamamuraza. This incident, breaking the boundaries between samurai and commoner, was a serious crime for the authorities which decided to deal ruthlessly with the culprits: Ejima and Ikushima Shingorô were exiled to different places, some people in the Shôgun's household were executed, the Yamamuraza was definitively closed and its management was heavily fined [more details].

11th lunar month of 1715: Genpachi performed at the Nakamuraza in the kaomise drama "Kogane no Kaburi Konrei Yorimasa".

11th day of the 1st lunar month of 1716: a fire broke out in the district of Shitaya Ike-no-Hata, spreading to others sections of Edo and destroying both the Ichimuraza and the Nakamuraza. Genpachi had to take some unintended vacation during the rebuilding of the theater.

11th lunar month of 1716: Genpachi performed at the Nakamuraza in the kaomise drama "Mitsudomoe Katoku Biraki", which celebrated the shûmei of Arashi Kiyosaburô II.

11th lunar month of 1717: Genpachi played at the Nakamuraza the role of Harada no Jirô in the kaomise drama "Hachinoki Hônen Mitsugimono".

11th lunar month of 1718: Genpachi moved to the Moritaza, where he performed in the kaomise drama "Zenkunen Yoroi Kurabe".

11th lunar month of 1719: Genpachi moved to the Nakamuraza, where he performed in the kaomise drama "Nyohitsu Taiheiki", which commemorated the 6th anniversary (7th memorial service) of the passing away of Nakamura Denkurô I and celebrated the shûmei of Tamazawa Kôjûrô.

11th lunar month of 1720: Genpachi played at the Nakamuraza the role of Kiyohara Takenori in the kaomise drama "Michinoku Taiheiki".

1st lunar month of 1721: Genpachi played in the same theater the role of Kajiwara Heizô Kagetoki in the new year sogamono drama "Kichijô Ôtaka Soga".

11th lunar month of 1721: Genpachi performed at the Nakamuraza in the kaomise drama "Torisaka no Jô Tsuru no Sugomori".

11th lunar month of 1722: Genpachi played at the Nakamuraza the role of the nyûdô Nagasaki in the kaomise drama "Hônen Taiheiki".

11th lunar month of 1723: Genpachi played at the Nakamuraza the role of Harada no Jirô in the kaomise drama "Sono Enpô Onna Migyôsho", which celebrated the arrival at the Nakamuraza of the Kamigata actors Yamashita Kinsaku I and Sanogawa Senzô.

11th lunar month of 1724: Genpachi played at the Nakamuraza the role of the old Sawada Daizen ^[1] in the kaomise drama "Taiheiki Okuni Kabuki".

11th lunar month of 1725: Genpachi played at the Nakamuraza the role of Yokoyama no Gunji in the kaomise drama "Oguri Chôseiden" (literally 'Oguri in the Palace of Long Life').

11th lunar month of 1726: Genpachi moved to the Ichimuraza where he played the role of Taira no Kiyomori in the kaomise drama "Hinazuru Tokiwa Genji", which welcomed in Edo the Kamigata actors Arashi Sangorô I and Tsugawa Kamon.

11th lunar month of 1727: Genpachi performed at the Ichimuraza in the kaomise drama "Goshozome Kôyô Gunki", which celebrates the return in Edo of the actor Bandô Hikosaburô I.

11th lunar month of 1728: Genpachi moved to the Nakamuraza, where he played the role of Kajiwara Heizô Kagetoki in the kaomise drama "Hoshi Kabuto Goban Tadanobu".

1st lunar month of 1729: Genpachi's last rank in the Edo hyôbanki, oyajigata section, was jô-jô-kichi (superior - superior - excellent) [visual]. Genpachi played in the same theater the role of Ômi no Kotôta in the new year program "Suehiro Ehô Soga", in which the short and bombastic "Ya-no-Ne" scene (Kabuki Jûhachiban) was premiered. The performance was a huge success and it was extended up to the 5th lunar month. This was most likely Genpachi's last appearance on stage.

1730 (?): Genpachi died in Edo.

Comments:

Shinomiya Genpachi was a popular actor, who was active in Edo four major theaters from the 1670s to the end of the 1720s. As an oyajigata, he held in the Edo hyôbanki the prestigious jô-jô-kichi rank from 1701 to 1729. He was outstanding in budôgoto. He was also appreciated in handôgataki roles. He made an unusually long career on Kabuki stages.

[1] Sawadako Daizen.

Shinomiya Genpachi playing the role of Kajiwara Heizô Kagetoki in the new year drama "Kichijô Ôtaka Soga", which was staged in the 1st lunar month of 1721 at the Nakamuraza