Stage names:

Segawa Tomisaburô II
Yamashita Matsunojô

Nicknames: Iyatomi, Nikutomi

Guild: Hamamuraya

Line number: NIDAIME (II)

Poetry name: Rochô

Blazon: the spray of tied cotton (yui wata)

Existence: ??? ~ 11th day of the 3rd lunar month of 1804 ^[1]

Connection:

Masters: Segawa Senjo, Yamashita Kinsaku II

Career:

1772: debut in Edo as an iroko at the Nakamuraza; disciple of Yamashita Kinsaku II, his first stage name was Yamashita Matsunojô.

1780: he became wakaonnagata.

1784: he became a disciple of Segawa Kikunojô III.

11th lunar month of 1784: he took the name of Segawa Tomisaburô II at the Kiriza, performing with his master in the kaomise drama "Jûni Hitoe Komachi Zakura".

9th lunar month of 1792: Tomisaburô played at the Ichimuraza the role of Hinadori in the drama "Imoseyama Onna Teikin"; the role of Koganosuke was played by Ichikawa Danjûrô VI.

7th lunar month: premiere at the Miyakoza of the drama "Keisei Sanbon Karakasa"; Tomisaburô played the role of the keisei Tôyama [more details].

11th lunar month of 1794: Tomisaburô played at the Miyakoza the role of Prince Korehito in Namiki Gohei I's kaomise drama "Uruô Tosshi Meika no Homare", which celebrated the shûmei of Nakamura Nakazô II and welcomed in Edo the actors Kataoka Nizaemon VII and Nakamura Noshio II and the Ôsaka playwright Namiki Gohei I. Tomisaburô's yearly salary dropped from 430 ryô to 350 ryô (this was a general salary cut for all Edo actors).

12th day of the 9th lunar month of 1799 ^[2]: his first master Yamashita Kinsaku II died.

1st lunar month of 1804: Tomisaburô's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, wakaonnagata section, was jô-jô-(shiro)hankichi (superior - superior - (white) half excellent) [visual].

2nd lunar month of 1804: Tomisaburô appeared on stage for the last time, in Edo at the Nakamuraza, where he played the role of Otomi in the drama "Makari Demura Tasuke-ni Kisaragi".

11th day of the 3rd lunar month of 1804 ^[1]: Tomisaburô died in Edo.

Comments:

Segawa Tomisaburô II was a popular supporting onnagata actor, who was active in Edo from the beginning of the 1770s to the beginning of the 1800s. His forte were musume and keisei roles.

[1] The 11th day of the 3rd lunar month of the 1st year of the Bunka era was the 20th of April 1804 in the western calendar.

[2] The 12th day of the 9th lunar month of the 11th year of the Kansei era was the 10th of October 1799 in the western calendar.

[3] In the kaomise drama "Uruô Tosshi Meika no Homare", which was staged in the 11th lunar month of 1794 at the Miyakoza.

The actor Segawa Tomisaburô II as Prince Korehito in the guise of the maid Wakakusa of the Ôtomo family ^[3]
Artist: Tôshûsai Sharaku
Date: 1794
The Art Institute of Chicago (print in the public domain)

Prints & Illustrations

The Segawa Tomisaburô line of actors