Stage names:

Bandô Tamasaburô V
Bandô Kinoji

Real name: Morita Shin'ichi

Guild: Yamatoya

Line number: GODAIME (V)

Birthday: 25 April 1950

Connections:

Adoptive father: Morita Kan'ya XIV

Career:

December 1957: he makes his first appearance on stage, at the Tôyoko Hall, where he receives the name of Bandô Kinoji and plays the role of Kotarô in the drama "Terakoya".

June 1964: Bandô Kinoji takes the name of Bandô Tamasaburô V at the Kabukiza, playing the roles of Otama and Omiyo in the dramas "Shinjû Yai ha Kôri no Tsuitachi" and "Hachidaime Ichikawa Danjûrô".

January 1967: revival at the National Theatre of "Narukami Fudô Kitayama Zakura"; Tamasaburô plays the role of Harukaze's sister Nishiki-no-Mae [casting].

March 1967: revival at the National Theatre of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's masterpiece "Sakura Hime Azuma Bunshô", which is supervised by Gunji Masakatsu; Tamasaburô plays the role of Shiragikumaru [casting].

May 1968: revival at the National Theatre of "Ura Omote Sendai Hagi"; Tamasaburô plays the role of Matsushima [casting].

November 1969: premiere at the National Theatre of Mishima Yukio's drama "Chinsetsu Yumihari-zuki"; Tamasaburô plays the role of Princess Shiranui [more details].

September 1970: the duo Ebizô/Tamasaburô plays together for the first time the roles of the wicked priest and Princess Taema in the classic "Narukami", which is performed at the Kabukiza.

April 1971: revival at the National Theatre of Nagawa Shimesuke I's drama "Sumidagawa Gonichi no Omokage"; Tamasaburô plays the role of Princess Nowake [casting].

June 1971: revival at the Shinbashi Enbujô of the drama "Banshû Sarayashiki"; Tamasaburô plays the role of Okiku [more details].

28 march 1975: his adoptive father Morita Kan'ya XIV dies.

June 1975: Tamasaburô plays for the first time the great role of princess Sakura in Tsuruya Nambok IV's masterpiece "Sakura Hime Azuma Bunshô", which is performed at the Shinbashi Enbujô. His stage partners in the roles of Seigen and Gonsuke are Ichikawa Ebizô X and Kataoka Takao.

October 1977: Tamasaburô plays for the first time the difficult role of princess Yuki in the play "Kinkakuji", which is performed at the Shinbashi Enbujô. His stage partners are Nakamura Tomijûrô V (Daizen) and Ichikawa Ebizô X (Tôkichi).

December 1977: Tamasaburô plays for the first time the role of Princess Tomi in Izumi Kyôka's drama "Tenshu Monogatari", which is staged at the Nissay Theatre; the role of Zushonosuke is played by Misawa Shingo.

February 1979: revision by Uno Nobuo at the Shinbashi Enbujô of Sakurada Jisuke III's drama "Sanzesô Nishiki Bunshô"; Tamasaburô plays the role of Osono [casting].

January 1980: Tamasaburô takes part in the first Kabuki performances at the Asakusa Kôkaidô [more details].

Summer 1985: tour in the USA; Tamasaburô plays the roles of Teruha, Kasane and Princess Sakura in "Shibaraku", "Kasane" and "Sakurahime Azuma Bunshô", which celebrate the shûmei in the USA of Ichikawa Danjûrô XII [more details].

January 1986: revival at the National Theatre of the rarely-staged drama "Uwanari", which belongs to the Kabuki Jûhachiban; Tamasaburô plays the roles of Saburô's first wife Kasuga and the mekake Kuretake (in reality the jealous ghost of Saburô's wife Kasuga) [more details].

June 1986: Tamasaburô and Kataoka Takao, a very popular and successful duo, play together in Paris (France) in the classic "Narukami"; Kataoka Takao plays the role of Narukami and Tamasaburô the one of princess Taema.

June 1989: the drama "Kaidan Botan Dôrô" using Ônishi Nobuyuki's script is staged for the first time with a full Kabuki casting, at the Shinbashi Enbujô; Tamasaburô plays the roles of Otsuyu, Otsuyu's ghost and Tomozô's wife Omine [casting].

September 1995: release in Japan of the movie version of Izumi Kyôka's drama "Tenshu Monogatari", which was directed by Tamasaburô and in which he plays the role of Princess Tomi.

October 1996: Yo-Yo Ma and Tamasaburô combine talents to create an emotionally charged dance to J.S. Bach's "Suite No. 5 for Unaccompanied Cello", which is performed at the Suntory Hall in Tôkyô. The performance has been filmed and released in video/DVD.

January 1997: Tamasaburô plays for the first time the prestigious role of the courtesan Akoya in the play "Dan no Ura Kabuto Gunki", which is revived in its full length at the National Theatre [casting].

June 2000: first edition of a special show in Kyôto at the Minamiza for the duo made of Bandô Tamasaburô and Ichikawa Shinnosuke. The two populars actors play together in the dance "Iro Moyô Chotto Karimame".

February 2001: Tamasaburô plays for the first time the bombastic role of Tomoe Gozen in the parody "Onna Shibaraku".

October 2001: Tamasaburô plays the roles of the courtesan Yûgiri and the nurse Masaoka in the plays "Yoshidaya" and "Meiboku Sendai Hagi", which are performed at the Kabukiza. He also takes part in the BESETO special show, traditional performances from China, Korea and Japan, by dancing "Kane no Misaki" (BESETO means Beijing-Seoul-Tôkyô).

May 2006: premiere at the Setagaya Public Theatre of "Amaterasu", a project gathering Tamasaburô and the Kodô taiko drummers [more details].

July 2012: Tamasaburô receives the prestigious title of Living National Treasure (Ningen Kokuhô in Japanese).

October 2014: the October Grand Kabuki at the Kabukiza commemorates the 26th anniversary (27th memorial service) and the 2nd anniversary (3rd memorial service) of late Nakamura Kanzaburô XVII and late Nakamura Kanzaburô XVIII [more details].

Comments:

Bandô Tamasaburô V is the most popular onnagata actor!

"The onnagata is the flower of Kabuki, and although the great elders are essential in this field, if there were none of these flowers in bud, Kabuki would not survive. Nowadays, even though we would like to cultivate such flowers, there is no soil for this purpose and we can only impatiently wait for a miracle. Tamasaburô, who was born to come up to our expectations, is a young onnagata, whose elegance and delicacy call to mind the working of ivory, and is the living proof of the vitality of Kabuki" (Mishima Yukio, August 1970)

Bandô Tamasaburô would be allowed to take the name of Morita Kan'ya XV but he said several times that he won't do it. We hope that he may change his mind because it would give his fans the opportunity to attend an amazing shûmei!

Official website: http://www.tamasaburo.co.jp/

Bandô Tamasaburô V playing the role of Akoya in the eponymous drama "Akoya" (illustration courtesy of RANCHUROW (2010) all rights reserved)

Prints & Illustrations

Print made by Tsuruya Kôkei in 1987

Print made by Tsuruya Kôkei in 1990

The Bandô Tamasaburô line of actors