Crest of Ichikawa Danjuro
(Three rice measures).
Crest of Ichikawa Ennosuke
(Derived from toy resembling three monkeys).
Crest of Crest of Ichikawa Chusha
(Peony).
Onoe Matsusuke as Komori Yasu, or Bat Yasu, so called because of the birthmark on his cheek which resembles a bat. A bold, bad man of Yedo.
CHAPTER XII
YAKUSHA OF GENROKU
During the Genroku period that produced so many men of distinction in art, literature, and the drama, the audiences of the three towns had a brilliant array of actor talent from which to choose, and the achievements of the contemporaries of Sakata Tojuro and Ichikawa Danjuro resulted in a keen appreciation of the actor’s creativeness. The common people were to become familiar with a high order of acting, since the emphasis, whether rightly or wrongly, as judged by Occidental standards, was always on the actor, the playwright being of secondary importance.
Three stars were to be seen during Genroku on the stages of Kyoto, Osaka, and Yedo. They were Yamashita Kyoyemon; Takeshima Kyozaemon, the son of that Takeshima who had been the head of a company of women players in Kyoto; and the second Arashi Sanyemon, son of the actor of the same name, who previous to this had gained great success in Yedo, and then removed to Osaka, where he owned a theatre.