Name Ichikawa II Died 1758 | Role Ichikawa Danjuro I's son Parents Ichikawa Danjuro I | |
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Ichikawa Danjuro II (二代目 市川 團十郎, Nidaime Ichikawa Danjuro, 1688-1758) was a Japanese kabuki performer in the lineage of a celebrated family of actors from the Edo region. Ichikawa Danjuro is a stage name.
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Career
The earnestly prayed-for son of Ichikawa Danjuro I, Danjuro II acted under the name Ichikawa Kuzo I from 1697 to 1704, the year his father was killed in a backstage quarrel with another actor. Danjuro II assumed his father's stage name five months after this incident and held it until 1735, when he took the name Ichikawa Ebizo II. Thereafter, the name was handed down in a direct line through the generations, e.g., Danjuro III and Danjuro IV were the adopted sons of Danjuro II; Danjuro VI was the adopted son of Danjuro V, and Danjuro VII was the adopted son of Danjuro VI.
In the conservative Kabuki world, stage names are conveyed in formal system which converts the kabuki stage name into a mark of accomplishment. In 1840, Danjuro IV created Kabuki Juhachiban 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 Danjuro I and Danjuro II. This is the ie no gei (family art) of the Danjuro line.