Kawatake Mokuami(河竹黙阿弥) (birth name Yoshimura YoshisaburŠ;
å ‰æ '芳三郎) (1 March 1816 â€" 22 January 1893) was a Japanese
dramatist of Kabuki. It has been said[by whom?] that "as a writer of
plays of Kabuki origin, he was one of the greatest, if not the
greatest, Japan has ever known".[1] He wrote 150 or so plays over the
course of his 58-year career,[2] covering a wide variety of themes,
styles, and forms, including short dance pieces, period plays
(jidaimono), contemporary genre pieces (sewamono), tragedies and
comedies, as well as adaptations of foreign (Western) stories,[3]
though he is perhaps most famous for his shiranamimono, plays
featuring sympathetic or tragic rogues and thieves.[4] For the greater
part of his career he wrote under the professional name Kawatake
Shinshichi, only taking the name Mokuami on his retirement from the
stage in 1881.Mokuami was born in the Nihonbashi district of Edo
(modern-day Tokyo). He was disinherited by his father at age fourteen,
and obtained work at a lending library, introducing him to the world
of theatre.[5] In 1835, he entered into an apprenticeship with Tsuruya
Nanboku IV, and in 1843 became the lead playwright (tate-sakusha) for
the Kawarazaki-za theatre, succeeding to the name Kawatake Shinshichi
II. He began working with kabuki star Ichikawa Kodanji IV in 1854,
producing kizewamono pieces.[4] Most of Mokuami's works are in this
form, and were written specifically for the star actors of the time,
such as Onoe KikugorÅ V and Ichikawa Kodanji IV.[1] Many of his
plays, such as the famous Benten KozÅ , featured thieves and
robbers,[2] also known as shiranami (white waves), whom he represented
somewhat sympathetically, as low-class heroes, or as tragic figures.As
Japan modernized and Westernized rapidly in the Meiji period, Mokuami
moved along with new trends in theatre, becoming a pioneer of
Shin-kabuki ("New Kabuki"), writing plays in new genres such as
katsurekimono (realistic, historically accurate jidaimono period
plays) and zangirimono (sewamono genre plays featuring Meiji era
contemporary characters and setting[6]).[4]During his 58-year career,
he became the most prolific kabuki author in history, producing over
360 works: 130 sewamono, 90 jidaimono, and 140 dances.[7] Mokuami
formally retired in 1881, but continued to present new works, and was
spoken highly of by novelist and literary critic Tsubouchi ShÅ yÅ .
Mokuami died in 1893 and is buried at Gentsū-ji in Nakano, Tokyo.[4]
å ‰æ '芳三郎) (1 March 1816 â€" 22 January 1893) was a Japanese
dramatist of Kabuki. It has been said[by whom?] that "as a writer of
plays of Kabuki origin, he was one of the greatest, if not the
greatest, Japan has ever known".[1] He wrote 150 or so plays over the
course of his 58-year career,[2] covering a wide variety of themes,
styles, and forms, including short dance pieces, period plays
(jidaimono), contemporary genre pieces (sewamono), tragedies and
comedies, as well as adaptations of foreign (Western) stories,[3]
though he is perhaps most famous for his shiranamimono, plays
featuring sympathetic or tragic rogues and thieves.[4] For the greater
part of his career he wrote under the professional name Kawatake
Shinshichi, only taking the name Mokuami on his retirement from the
stage in 1881.Mokuami was born in the Nihonbashi district of Edo
(modern-day Tokyo). He was disinherited by his father at age fourteen,
and obtained work at a lending library, introducing him to the world
of theatre.[5] In 1835, he entered into an apprenticeship with Tsuruya
Nanboku IV, and in 1843 became the lead playwright (tate-sakusha) for
the Kawarazaki-za theatre, succeeding to the name Kawatake Shinshichi
II. He began working with kabuki star Ichikawa Kodanji IV in 1854,
producing kizewamono pieces.[4] Most of Mokuami's works are in this
form, and were written specifically for the star actors of the time,
such as Onoe KikugorÅ V and Ichikawa Kodanji IV.[1] Many of his
plays, such as the famous Benten KozÅ , featured thieves and
robbers,[2] also known as shiranami (white waves), whom he represented
somewhat sympathetically, as low-class heroes, or as tragic figures.As
Japan modernized and Westernized rapidly in the Meiji period, Mokuami
moved along with new trends in theatre, becoming a pioneer of
Shin-kabuki ("New Kabuki"), writing plays in new genres such as
katsurekimono (realistic, historically accurate jidaimono period
plays) and zangirimono (sewamono genre plays featuring Meiji era
contemporary characters and setting[6]).[4]During his 58-year career,
he became the most prolific kabuki author in history, producing over
360 works: 130 sewamono, 90 jidaimono, and 140 dances.[7] Mokuami
formally retired in 1881, but continued to present new works, and was
spoken highly of by novelist and literary critic Tsubouchi ShÅ yÅ .
Mokuami died in 1893 and is buried at Gentsū-ji in Nakano, Tokyo.[4]
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