, born was a Japanese dramatist of

Kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

. It has been said that "as a writer of plays of Kabuki origin, he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Japan has ever known".Miyake, Shutarō. ''Kabuki Drama''. Tokyo: Japan Travel Bureau, Inc., 1971. p50. He wrote 150 or so plays over the course of his 58-year career,Miyake. p149. covering a wide variety of themes, styles, and forms, including short dance pieces, period plays ('' jidaimono''), contemporary genre pieces (''

sewamono ''Sewamono'' (世話物) is a genre of contemporary setting plays in Japanese traditional theatre. The term applies to both bunraku and kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japan ...

''), tragedies and comedies, as well as adaptations of foreign (Western) stories,Kawatake Mokuami
. ''Kabuki Jiten'' (歌舞伎事典, "Kabuki Encyclopedia"). Japan Arts Council, 2001-2003. Accessed 26 September 2008. though he is perhaps most famous for his '' shiranamimono'', plays featuring sympathetic or tragic rogues and thieves.Kawade Shobō Shinsha Editorial Team (eds.). "'Shiranami sakusha' to yobareta Kawatake Mokuami" (「白波作者」と呼ばれた河竹黙阿弥, "Kawatake Mokuami, who was called the 'Shiranami Writer'"). ''Ō-Edo Rekishi Hyakka'' (大江戸歴史百科, "Historical Encyclopedia of Great Edo"). Tokyo: Kawade Shobō Shinsha Publishers, 2007. p198. 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.

Life and career

Mokuami was born in the

Nihonbashi is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, which sprung up around the bridge of the same name that has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The curre ...

district of

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

(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. In 1835, he entered into an apprenticeship with Tsuruya Nanboku IV, and in 1843 became the lead playwright (''tate-sakusha'') for the

Kawarazaki-za The was one of the major kabuki theatres in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) during the Edo period and into the Meiji period. Not being one of the four theatres formally licensed by the Tokugawa shogunate, the theatre was largely inactive for long stretche ...

theatre, succeeding to the name Kawatake Shinshichi II. He began working with kabuki star Ichikawa Kodanji IV in 1854, producing ''kizewamono'' pieces. Most of Mokuami's works are in this form, and were written specifically for the star actors of the time, such as Onoe Kikugorō V and Ichikawa Kodanji IV. Many of his plays, such as the famous ''

Benten Kozō , as the original and fullest version of this play is known, is a tale in five acts of the ''shiranamimono'' (tales of thieves) sub-category of the ''kizewamono'' (rough contemporary piece) genre of kabuki plays. Written by Kawatake Mokuami, it f ...

'', featured thieves and robbers, 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 The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, 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). During his 58-year career, he became the most prolific kabuki author in history, producing over 360 works: 130

, 90 jidaimono, and 140 dances. Mokuami formally retired in 1881, but continued to present new works, and was spoken highly of by novelist and literary critic

Tsubouchi Shōyō __NoTOC__ was a Japanese author, critic, playwright, translator, editor, educator, and professor at Waseda University. He has been referred to as a seminal figure in Japanese drama. "Wetmore deals cleanly with Japanese theatre as part of the mo ...

. Mokuami died in 1893 and is buried at Gentsū-ji in

Nakano, Tokyo Nakano (, Latn, ja, Nakano-ku) is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Nakano City (, Latn, ja, Nakano-ku).

Selected works

* '' Izayoi Seishin'' (1859) * '' Sannin Kichisa Kuruwa no Hatsugai'' (1860) * '' Murai Chōan'' (1862) * ''

'' aka ''Shiranami Gonin Otoko'' (1862) * ''

Marubashi Chūya was a ''rōnin'' (masterless samurai) from Yamagata, and instructor in martial arts and military strategy, most famous for his involvement in the 1651 Keian Uprising which sought to overthrow Japan's Tokugawa shogunate. He is said to have been ...

'' aka ''Keian Taiheiki'' (1870) * ''

Renjishi ''Renjishi'' (連獅子), or Two Lions, is a kabuki Shosagoto, dance with lyrics written by Kawatake Mokuami, choreography by Hanayagi Jusuke I and music by Kineya Shōjirō III and Kineya Katsusaburō II, first performed in 1872. Originally sta ...

'' (Two Lions) (1872) * '' Sakai no Taiko'' (Sakai's Drum) (1873) * '' Kamiyui Shinza'' (Shinza the Barber) (1873) * '' Ningen Banji Kane Yono Naka'' (Everything in the World is Run by Money) (1878), an adaptation of

Money (play) ''Money'' is a comic play by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, premièred at the Haymarket Theatre, Theatre Royal, Haymarket on 8 December 1840. Plot As relations gather for the reading of the wealthy Mr. Mordaunt's will, Sir John Vesey's poor cousin Alfred ...

Edward_Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (; 25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secr ...

* ''

Kumo ni Magō Ueno no Hatsuhana Kumo may refer to: * Kokemäki, ''Kumo'' in Swedish, a municipality of Finland * ''Kumo'' (album), album released by D'espairsRay in 2000 * Kumo (musician) (born 1965), British musician and composer * ''Kumo'' (sculpture), a public art work by ...

'' (1881) * ''

Tsuchigumo is a historical Japanese derogatory term for renegade local clans, primarily during the Asuka, Nara, and early Heian periods, and also the name for a race of spider-like in Japanese folklore. Alternative names for the historical groups include , ...

'' (1881) * '' Ibaraki'' (The Demon Ibaraki) (1883) * '' Funa Benkei'' (1885) * '' Momijigari'' (1887)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawatake, Mokuami 1816 births 1893 deaths Kabuki playwrights Kabuki actors 19th-century Japanese dramatists and playwrights Writers of the Edo period People from Chūō, Tokyo Writers from Tokyo Male actors from Tokyo