Narukami Fudo in Kabuki

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Ichikawa Danjūrō 市川 團十郎
Ichikawa Danjuro
is a stage name taken on by a series of Kabuki actors of the Ichikawa family. Most of these were blood relatives, though some were adopted into the family. It is a famous and important name, and receiving it is an honor. There are a number of roles that the line of Danjūrō specialize in, as well as a series of plays, the Kabuki Jūhachiban (The Kabuki Eighteen), which showcase the specialties of the Ichikawa family.



Ichikawa Danjūrō I (May 1675 - February 1704)
also known as Mimasuya Hyōgo (三升屋 兵庫) as a playwright; known as Ichikawa Ebizō I prior to taking the name Danjūrō. Originated the aragoto form.
...
Ichikawa Danjūrō XII (April 1985 - February 2013)
Eldest son of Danjūrō XI. Previously known as Ichikawa Shinnosuke VI and Ichikawa Ebizō X.

- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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"Narukami Fudo Kitayama Zakura"
雷神不動北山桜


©　Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum


ICHIKAWA DANJÛRÔ　市川団十郎

The Ichikawa Danjûrô line of actors is closely related to the cult of Fudô Myôô.

February 1790: Danjûrô V plays the role of the wicked priest Narukami in the great play "Narukami Fudô Kitayama Zakura", which commemorates the 12th anniversary (13th memorial service) of late Ichikawa Ebizô III. The role of Princess Taema is played by Iwai Hanshirô IV.
...www.kabuki21.com/





This play was performed in January 2008!
When Danjuro played the God Fudo, people from Edo used to throw votive money at him and took him for the real deity.



Narukami and the God Fudo
The Story
Narukami lives in a hermitage near a waterfall in which he has has imprisoned the dragon god. As a result all rainfall has ceased and the land is suffering from drought. The Emperor sends the beautiful Princess Taema to try and break the curse and restore rainfall to the land. As she approaches the hermitage she meets some of Narukami's acolytes, Hakuunbô (the white cloud bonze) and Kokuunbô (the black cloud bonze), who immediately fall under the spell of her beauty.

She claims to have come to pray for the soul of her late husband and to wash one of his garments since there is no water in the capital. The acolytes and Narukami listen entranced as she goes into intimate and sensuous detail about how she met her husband and how they made love. Narukami feels faint from listening to the story and falls off the veranda of his room.

Princess Taema revives him by transferring water from her lips to his, but he becomes immediately suspicious as he knows of a hermit who lost his powers of sorcery in a similar fashion. She pleads her sincerity and asks to become his disciple. He agrees and sends the acolytes down the mountain for nun's garments and a razor.



While the acolytes are gone Princess Taema fains illness, and naïve Narukami offers to massage her pain. However, he has to put his hand inside her kimono and when his hand touches her breast he is overcome with desire. She has been waiting for this to happen and begins to ply him with wine-the first alcohol of his life.

Very soon the wine loosens his tongue and he reveals that the dragon god remains imprisoned as long as the sacred rope across the waterfall is intact. When Narukami falls into a drunken stupor, Princess Taema creeps away and cuts the rope.

She escapes as thunder and lightning fill the sky and rain pours down. When Narukami revives, his anger at being tricked transforms him into a thunder god and we see him in a final pose wearing a costume covered in orange-red flames and glaring in the direction his seductress has fled.
quote from 　..... www.kabuki21.com



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Shinmyoo-In 岩屋不動、岩屋山志明院
Iwaya Fudo, Shinmyo-In
北区雲ケ畑出谷町261 / 261 Kumogahatadetanichō, Kita-ku, Kyōto

The temple has been founded by En no Gyoja 役の行者 in 650 but has been revived in 829 by Kukai Kobo Daishi on request (chokugan) of Emperor 淳和天皇 Junna Tenno - (786 - 840).


source :　312224.at.webry.info/201312


- quote
Mt.Iwayasan Shimyoin Temple
Mt.Iwayasan Shimyoin Temple lying at the source of Kamogawa River was built by Kukai in 829. Fudomyo-o Statue, principal image of this temple, is said to have been made by Kukai himself and also to be the oldest Fudomyo-o Statue in Japan. The temple is an ascetic training place surrounded by rich nature and heals the hearts of visitors.



A community of shakunage (rhododendrons) designated as a natural monument by Kyoto City beautifully bloom in April. It is also famous as the setting for Narukami, one of the 18 famous representative Kabuki performances.
- source : www.kyoto-kankou.or.jp


. Chokuganji 勅願寺 Chokugan-Ji, "Imperial Temple" .

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More English LINKS


More LINKS to 雷神不動北山桜





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by Masamitsu Ota (1892-1975)

Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro X or XI is in the role of Fudo.
This print is from the series, "Kabuki Juhachi-Ban" (The Eighteen Famous Kabuki Plays by the Ichikawa Family).
- source : Hayato Tokugawa

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External LINKS

Temple Naritasan Shinshoji and
Commoner Patronage During the Edo Period
成田山新勝寺

- Real fame came when the wildly popular and rich kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro I (166o-1704) patronized the temple after dreaming of Fudo; he also appeared in several Fudo plays, one of which featured the history of the temple.

- Patronage was then taken up by the many fans of the actor. This led to the establishment of many new buildings in the first half of the 17th c., of which the pagoda, sutra hall and bell tower still exist. The woodcarvings on the pagoda with their Confucian and Daoist themes call the Yomeimon Gate of Nikko to mind.
©　Ad Blankestijn





©　2002 Naritaya


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The Actor Ichikawa Ebizo V as
the Deity Fudo Myoo
Rescuing Ichikawa Danjuro VIII,
c.1850
by Utagawa Kunisada 歌川国貞

© PHOTO :　www.allposters.com


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Peace Pagoda at Narita 平和大塔 - Narita Fudo 成田不動尊
and the Ichikawa Family of Kabuki Actors

Narita Train Line and DARUMA


Danjuro XII and the freedom in Kabuki acting ... and HAIKU


WKD - Saijiki for Festivals and Ceremonies: Kabuki

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. Temple Hasedera in Nara .
Woodblock from Toyokuni, about 1845–48, showing

Minamoto no Toshiyori 源俊頼朝臣
Narukami Shonin 「鳴神上人」
Kumo no Taema 「雲のたへま」


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source :　ukiyo-e.org/image

Ichikawa Danjûrô 7th as Benkei, in the Fudô Myôô Pose (Fudô no mie)
Bunsaisha Fudemaru, Edo period, circa 1824-1829 (late Bunsei era)



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. Fudō Myō-ō, Fudoo Myoo-Oo 不動明王 Fudo Myo-O
Acala Vidyârâja - Vidyaraja - Fudo Myoo .


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