Ichikawa Danjūrō II

Ichikawa Danjūrō II (二代目 市川 團十郎, Nidaime Ichikawa Danjūrō, 1688–1758) was a Japanese kabuki performer in the lineage of a celebrated family of actors from the Edo region.^[1] Ichikawa Danjūrō is a stage name.

Ichikawa Danjūrō II
Ichikawa Danjūrō II as Kio, and Sadojima Chojoro as Soga no Juro in a scene from the New Year's kabuki play, Hatsu-goyomi akinai Soga at Nakamura-za theatre.
Born	1688 Edo, Japan
Died	1758 (aged 69–70)
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Kabuki performer
Known for	Part of a celebrated family of actors from the Edo region

In this Japanese name, the surname is Ichikawa.

Career

The earnestly prayed-for son of Ichikawa Danjūrō I, Danjūrō II acted under the name Ichikawa Kuzō I from 1697 to 1704, the year his father was killed in a backstage quarrel with another actor. Danjūrō II assumed his father's stage name five months after this incident and held it until 1735, when he took the name Ichikawa Ebizō II.^[1] Thereafter, the name was handed down in a direct line through the generations, e.g., Danjūrō III and Danjuro IV were the adopted sons of Danjūrō II; Danjūrō VI was the adopted son of Danjūrō V, and Danjūrō VII was the adopted son of Danjūrō VI.^[2]

In the conservative Kabuki world, stage names are conveyed in formal system which converts the kabuki stage name into a mark of accomplishment.^[3] In 1840, Danjūrō IV created Kabuki Jūhachiban to remind the theater world of his family's pre-eminence in Kabuki, especially in the creation and development of aragoto roles. This collection of 18 plays is a compilation of his and his predecessors representative roles. The work features the character Benkei, who was played by Danjūrō I and Danjūrō II.^[4] This is the ie no gei (family art) of the Danjuro line.^[5]

Lineage of Danjūrō stage names

• Ichikawa Danjūrō I (1660–1704)^[5]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō II (1688–1758)^[5]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō III (18th century)^[1]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō IV (1711–1778)^[1]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō V (1741–1806)^[5]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō VI (18th–19th century)^[1]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (1791–1859)^[1]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII (1822–1854)^[6]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838–1903)^[5]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō X (19th century)^[1]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō XI (1909–1965)^[1]
• Ichikawa Danjūrō XII (1946–2013)^[1]

See also

The Ichikawa family crest (mon)

• Shūmei