KABUKI's News

Ichikawa En’ō sadly passes away

Kabuki actor Ichikawa En'ō II sadly passed away on September 13. He was 83. May his soul rest in peace.

In April 1968, at Tokyo's National Theatre, Ichikawa En'ō II took on the challenge of performing "chūnori" (aerial stunts) in the play 'YOSHITSUNE SENBON ZAKURA', and since then, the revival of the art of "keren" (stage trickery) has drawn a great deal of attention. After that occasion, he incorporated aerial stunts into numerous productions, achieving the remarkable feat of "flying" from the stage over 5,000 times and earning him a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
He was actively engaged in reviving full-length kabuki plays, such as 'KAGAMIYAMA GONICHI NO IWAFUJI', 'DATE NO JŪYAKU' and 'TŌRYŪ OGURI HANGAN', and in addition, he performed new productions of classical plays and created brand-new works.

He also created the new category of plays known as 'Super Kabuki', including 'YAMATO TAKERU', 'OGURI' and 'SHIN SANGOKUSHI'.
Furthermore, his contributions extended beyond Japan, as he directed kabuki performances of plays and operas abroad.
He established "The Ten Plays of Ichikawa En'ō I" and "The Ten Dance Dramas of the Omodakaya Family", as two collections that best represented his family's art. In 2010, based on his own past activities, he created the new collection of plays called "The Forty-Eight Plays Selected by Ichikawa Ennosuke III".

His last appearance was at the Minamiza Theatre in December 2013 for an official 'Announcement Commemorating a Name Succession'.