Names matter, and in the realm of Japanese culture almost nowhere more than in kabuki, one of whose top names, Ennosuke IV, has just become artistic director of the Shunju-za theater in Kyoto.
To mark this event, an exhibition titled "Ennosuke e no Kiseki" ("The Trajectory of Ennosuke") is now on at the Shunju-za, which is part of the Kyoto Arts Theatre in the city's Sakyo-ku district. And what is the show's focus if not the actor's progression from being named Kamejiro II to his current appellation as Ennosuke IV.
It was at the start of this June's season at the Shimbashi Embujo in Tokyo that the then Kamejiro II (who was born Takahiko Kinoshi in 1975) inherited the prestigious stage name Ichikawa Ennosuke IV from his retired uncle, Ichikawa Ennosuke III (who then became known as Ichikawa Ennoh II).