Bandō Tamasaburō V
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Bandō Tamasaburō V
(1950– ) Japanese onnagata (female-gender role specialist) in kabuki and shimpa, and choreographer. He was adopted into the kabuki family of Morita Kanya in 1956, and Nakamura Utaemon VI, the foremost onnagata of the post-war period, recognized his unusual talent and beauty in his early roles such as Hototogisu in Gosho no Gorozo (1967) and tutored him. That same year Tamasaburō and the young Kataoka Takao made a sensation in their couple roles in Sakurahime Azuma Bunshō (1967). Performing both the young acolyte and the princess in Sakurahime, Tamasaburō established his quintessential feature of gender ambiguity. Known for his aloof beauty and cool sensuality, he excels in the akuba (evil woman) parts such as Kirare Otomi and Unzari Omatsu in the plays of those titles. Tamasaburō has worked extensively outside kabuki, choreographing and performing in collaboration with artists such as Maurice Béjart, Andrzej Wajda, Nuria Espert, and Yo Yo Ma. Among his Western female roles are Medea, Lady Macbeth, and Queen Elizabeth in Francisco Orrs's Contradance. He also directs and performs in films.
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Bandō Tamasaburō V
"Tamasaburo" redirects here. For other actors by this name, see Bandō Tamasaburō.
| Bandō Tamasaburō V 五代目坂東玉三郎 |
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|---|---|
 Tamasaburō as Amaterasu and Fujimoto Yoshikazu of Kodo as Susanoo at Kodo's 25th anniversary performance. |
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| Born | Shin'ichi Morita[1] 25 April 1950 Tokyo, Japan |
| Other names | Bandō Kinoji, Yamatoya |
| Website | |
| http://www.tamasaburo.co.jp | |
Bandō Tamasaburō V (五代目 坂東 玉三郎 Godaime Bandō Tamasaburō) (b. 1950) is a Kabuki actor, and the most popular and celebrated onnagata (an actor specializing in female roles) currently on stage. He has also acted in a handful of films.
Born in 1950, Shin'ichi Morita was adopted by Morita Kan'ya XIV, and made his first appearance on stage at the age of seven, under the name Bandō Kinoji. At a shūmei (naming ceremony) in 1964 he became the fifth to take the name Bandō Tamasaburō; his adopted father had been the fourth.
Like all kabuki actors, Tamasaburō has devoted his life to the theater from a very young age. By 1975, when Morita Kan'ya XIV died, Tamasaburō had already performed in countless plays, many of them alongside his adopted father and other noteworthy actors such as Ichikawa Danjūrō XII. Since then, he has continued to perform, not only in numerous plays at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo, but in many other venues. He took part in an American tour in 1985, performing at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and in Los Angeles as well; he would perform in Paris the following year.
In 1993, he directed the film Yearning, which was entered into the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.[2]
Tamasaburō has also appeared in a number of films and special dance performances such as BESETO in 2001, which celebrated the entertainment traditions of China, Korea, and Japan. In 1996, he collaborated with Yo-yo Ma and performed at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, dancing dramatically to Johann Sebastian Bach's "Suite No. 5 for Unaccompanied Cello." He directed the Kodo One Earth Tour Special in 2003 as well as performed alongside the taiko drummers in 2006, as part of Kodo's 25th anniversary celebration.
References
- ^ While the stage names of all kabuki actors have retained traditional order (Surname-Givenname) on Wikipedia, birth names of those born after the Meiji Restoration are in Western order (Givenname-Surname).
- ^ "Berlinale: 1993 Programme". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1993/02_programm_1993/02_Programm_1993.html. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
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