Hanshiro, the fifth, married a daughter of the third Sawamura Sojuro, named O-Chiyo, who was of gentle disposition and very accomplished. She possessed considerable literary talent, and was well versed in poetry. She never went to the theatre, because she considered it highly ridiculous to see her husband in a woman’s rôle. After his son the sixth Hanshiro died, a second son succeeded as Hanshiro, the seventh, but he died in middle life. The eighth Hanshiro brings us down to recent times, for he was one of the stars of the Meiji period.
The fourth Yoshizawa Ayame, son of the third, and descended from the first Ayame of Genroku fame, was a popular onnagata. He managed an Osaka theatre and travelled back and forth between Osaka and Kyoto, succeeding to the name of Ayame at the age of 53 and dying at 56.
Not less popular in their day than the Iwai Hanshiro line was the onnagata family of Segawa. There was the third Segawa Kikugoro, who was born in Osaka, the son of a theatre costumer. His son became Segawa Kikunojo, who, unlike most actors, was economical, saved his earnings, and invested in houses and land. The adopted son of this Kikunojo became Segawa Kikunojo, the fourth, and he was a famous onnagata. He enjoyed but a brief career, dying at the age of 31.
At the time the sixth and seventh Hanshiro were acting, the fifth Segawa Kikunojo was acknowledged to be the leading onnagata in Yedo. He was a large man, but possessed rather rough manners, being short and abrupt with his fellow-actors, and much disliked by his neighbours. Yet upon the stage there was no one to compare with him. He died at 31, at the height of his career.
In the Bunka and Bunsei period the representative onnagata in Osaka and Kyoto was Nakamura Tomijuro. He was exiled by the authorities from Osaka for extravagance. He tried to have his sentence revoked, and travelled up to Yedo to appeal to the authorities, but in vain. Although he had been at the top of his profession, with no other onnagata to rival him, yet he was unable to return home, and spent his life in Sakai, the port near Osaka, where he was obliged to play in country theatres with inferior players. This must have been severe punishment for an actor of genius, who lived to be 70 years of age.
Nakamura Karoku, another onnagata of distinction, was the son of a clerk connected with the Mitsui Company in Osaka. He came to Yedo at the age of 40 and played there until he had reached 74, dying at 80. He was a large, handsome man, and had blood relations with many actor families. His first wife died; he married a second half his age, and had altogether twelve children. One daughter married the third Arashi Kichisaburo, another became the wife of Ichikawa Kodanji, while a third was the wife of Kataoka Nizaemon, the eighth. Nakamura Karoku was succeeded by his son.
He had a habit of coughing when crossing a bridge near his home to let his household know of his approach, and was considered very extravagant because there were always two candles burning at the entrance to his house that a bright welcome should be waiting him when he returned from the theatre.
Famous for his good looks was the second Sawamura Tannosuke, son of the third Sawamura Sojuro. He was born in Kyoto, and his father died when he was 14. There was a rumour once that he had committed suicide, but this was not true; he had hurt himself on the stage and did not appear for some time.
Ichikawa Dannosuke, an onnagata, son of the fourth Ichikawa Danzo, failed in the management of the Kiri-za in Yedo, and committed suicide at 32. There was Nakayama Nishi, an onnagata common to the theatre of Osaka and Kyoto, who specialised in innocent young girl rôles, dressed in gaudy kimono, and loved to be conspicuous. He retired and opened an oil shop. And there was the fourth Yamashita Kinsaku, who was trained in small theatres, was stout, had a clear voice, and played chiefly in middle-aged women’s characters. Nakamura Daikichi, who became ill on the stage, fainted in the gakuya, and died before his heavy wig could be removed, was another popular onnagata.
Such were some of the onnagata who distinguished themselves in the Japanese theatre during two centuries, the period from 1642, when the first Kyoto onnagata played in Yedo for the first time, to 1868, the year of the Restoration. The actors of Meiji, and the developments that took place upon the opening of Japan to commercial relations with other countries, belong to the story of Meiji Kabuki, which forms a later chapter.