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Associated Press

On stage Danjuro Ichikawa, one of the biggest stars of Japan’s kabuki theatre, is a virtuoso in switching roles.
In his latest production he plays 13 parts, including a princess, a sushi chef and a fox. He hobbles offstage as a feeble old man, then dashes back on moments later as a fierce warrior. He gets in a few sword fights, dies tragically more than once, and takes flight on wires.
Off stage, he is wondering if it is time for the often rigid role of a kabuki star to change.
The 13th man to bear the name Danjuro Ichikawa – which has been passed down between generations of kabuki stars for over 300 years – he is a household name in Japan, showing up in ads, movies and TV shows.

Kabuki, an all-male theatrical tradition that combines music, dance and acrobatics, remains popular, but Danjuro grants that it can be out of step with modern tastes.
Audiences accustomed to TikTok videos and streaming do not always have the patience for four-hour performances in archaic formal Japanese. Social distancing restrictions during the pandemic hit theatres hard, and audiences are still coming back.

Danjuro has made efforts to update kabuki in Hoshiawase Jusandan, at the Kabukiza Theatre in Tokyo until July 24, trimming longer scenes and modernising some dialogue.
“Traditional culture might be hard to follow and get tiresome, but I hope people will have fun. The action moves quickly because I’m one person playing 13 roles,” Danjuro says.
Dapper and tanned, Danjuro, 46, can be disarmingly playful for a famous artist. Amid discussions of the future of live performance, he gamely posed for photos, striking the kind of pose you would see on the romantic lead of a manga comic book.
The all-male theatrical style can be intensely conservative, preserving many of its traditions nearly unchanged from the Edo court.
Today’s Danjuro took on the name in 2022, after going through earlier names he and all the previous Danjuros have gone through: Shinnosuke, and then Ebizo.

Training starts in childhood. When he was 20, about to go on stage for the first time as the monk Benkei – a role that his father, grandfather and all the Danjuros before him had made famous – the pressure was so intense he ran away and spent the night sleeping in a park. He did get back in time for the show.
Today’s Danjuro inherited the name from his father, Danjuro XII, who died in 2013 at 66 of leukaemia.
The death cost him both a beloved parent and a teacher he desperately need. At 35, he was still a novice by the standards of kabuki, an art form in which beautiful maidens are often played by octogenarian masters.
He had to turn to uncles and veterans from other families to learn the craft, defying criticism from peers and even family who said only a Danjuro can teach another Danjuro.

But these days, critics say the 13th Danjuro is living up to his name.
Despite the art’s firm commitment to tradition, Danjuro says, kabuki stories contain universal emotions that young people and foreigners who are new to the genre can connect with.
In Hoshiawase Jusandan, he plays a fox who disguises himself as a warrior to stalk a court dancer who’s carrying a drum made from the hide of his parents.
When, at the climax, a merciful samurai gives the fox the drum, Danjuro’s takes flight on wires, bouncing with joy over the crowd towards the third-floor balcony seats, accompanied by drums, flute and song.
The showy, somewhat dated effect could look like something out of a circus – but it sells a moving scene that contrasts the human folly of war and revenge with the simple love shown by an animal.

For all his worry, Danjuro says he trusts that the power of human performance will survive.
He is training his son Shinnosuke to take his place, and taking care of his health to be sure future generations of Shinnosukes have a chance to know their ancestor.
One day Shinnosuke will become Ebizo, and later, he will be Danjuro XIV.
“One must live,” said Danjuro. “That’s my responsibility.”


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Japan

The kabuki actor trying to update Japanese traditional theatre for the TikTok generation

Kabuki actor Danjuro Ichikawa playing Tomomori, a warrior who is defeated in battle, in Hoshiawase Jusandan at the Kabukiza Theatre in Tokyo. Ichikawa is working to update the all-male traditional Japanese theatre for a generation raised on social-media short videos. Photo: Shochiku via AP)

Japanese kabuki actor Danjuro Ichikawa introduces his current show, Hoshiawase Jusandan, in Tokyo in June 2024. Photo: AP

The kabuki actor is the 13th man in 300 years to have assumed the name Danjuro Ichikawa, which he will eventually pass to his son. Photo: AP

Danjuro says he trusts that the power of human performance will survive. Photo: AP

Danjuro Ichikawa (right) plays a samurai warrior in Hoshiawase Jusandan at the Kabukiza Theatre in Tokyo. Photo: Shochiku via AP

Danjuro has 12 costume changes for Hoshiawase Jusandan, in which he plays 13 parts, including a princess, a sushi chef, a samurai and a fox who impersonates the warrior. Photo: AP

Romeo and Juliet bored him, but Steven Berkoff’s play Greek changed Sean Curran’s life

Sean Curran, co-founder and co-artistic director of Hong Kong theatre company Theatre du Pif. He reveals how Steven Berkoff’s play Greek changed his life. Photo: Theatre du Pif

A poster for Steven Berkoff’s play Greek at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre.

Actor Steven Berkoff in The Fall of the House of Usher in 1982. Photo: Getty Images

Bonni Chan and Curran in a scene from a play in 1996. Photo: SCMP

New Cantonese opera troupe and research centre in Hong Kong, backed by Ina Chan, third wife of late Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, aim to widen art form’s appeal

A Cantonese opera performance in Hong Kong. Photo: Getty Images

Ina Chan Un-chan announcing the launch of the Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Troupe, one of two initiatives she is backing to support the development of the art form in Hong Kong. Photo: Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Troupe

The Xiqu Centre in West Kowloon is a centre for Cantonese opera performance in Hong Kong. Photo: Felix Wong

Chinese musical instruments, used in Cantonese opera performances, at the Wan Chai office of the newly formed Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Troupe. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Leonard Wong Shing-chuen (left), chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Troupe, and Paul Lam Kwan-sing, president of Hong Kong Metropolitan University, which will host the Ina Ho Cantonese Opera Research Centre. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

The entrance to the new Cantonese opera troupe’s office in Wan Chai. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Hong Kong’s Cantonese opera legend Law Kar-ying fears death of the local art form if government fails to act to preserve it

Cantonese opera star Law Kar-ying before performing “Executing the Duke’s Second Brother” at the 2018 Chinese Opera Festival in Hong Kong. He will star in three performances of Seven Filial Kin marking the Hong Kong SAR’s 25th anniversary. Photo: Courtesy of Law Kar-ying

Law says that Cantonese opera is the most important part of his identity. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Law in a still from Summer Snow (1995).

Law in opera dress in 2005. Photo: Courtesy of Law Kar-ying

Cantonese opera veteran Sun Kim-long, who will share the lead role in the upcoming performances of Seven Filial Kin with Law. Photo: David Wong

Cantonese opera script based on a video game? Hong Kong charity out to get children learning an ancient art

Children learning with the charity rehearse for a show to mark the association’s 15th anniversary last month. Photo: Martin Chan

Cha Duk Chang Children’s Cantonese Opera Association’s “Rehearsing for a Great Fun Show” annual show to mark their 16th Year Anniversary at Youth Square, Chai Wan. 30SEP18 SCMP/Martin Chan

Lee Hei-yan are assisted by staffs inside the dressing room. Cha Duk Chang Children's Cantonese Opera Association's "Rehearsing for a Great Fun Show" annual show to mark their 16th Year Anniversary at Youth Square, Chai Wan. 30SEP18 SCMP/Martin Chan

Stella Ma Man-har founder of Cha Luk Chang Children’s Cantonese Opera Association poses for photographer at the school at Youth Square in Chai Wan 13SEP18 SCMP/Martin Chnan

Old-school Cantonese opera performer looks at how to keep the art alive in Hong Kong

Cantonese opera master Yuen Siu-fai rehearses with a 60-strong orchestra at the Academy for Performing Arts. Photo: David Wong

Yuen Siu-fai to perform in A New Cantonese Opera Battle of the Throne, part of Chinese Opera Festival held in Hong Kong by LCSD in 2017

Yuen Siu-fai in movie The Parents' Heart issued 21 April 1955 when he was 10 years old performing with Cantonese opera legend Ma Si-zeng (in the rear). Handout picture supplied by Yuen. Photo: Handout

Cantonese opera master Yuen Siu-fai (left) with his mentor, the late grand master Mak Ping-wing, circa 1960. Yuen was accepted as an apprentice to study under Mak for the next 24 years until Mak died in 1984. Handout picture supplied by Yuen. Photo: Handout

Lifestyle

Arts & Culture

Entertainment

Danjuro Ichikawa, who has 13 roles in latest all-male production, has cut scenes and changed its archaic language to appeal to modern tastes


An all-male tradition that combines music, dance, acrobatics and archaic formal Japanese in plays four hours long, kabuki needs to change, according to one of its biggest stars, Danjuri Ichikawa. He’s made a start.


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