The Kabukiza in Ginza has been drawing crowds of Kabuki lovers to its special performances in May and June to celebrate the birth of Ichikawa Ebizo XI. The "newborn" is, in fact, 26 years old -- the tall, handsome tachiyaku (male lead) Ichikawa Shinnosuke, son of Ichikawa Danjuro XII (who last year starred in NHK's popular historical drama "Musashi").
The special programs mark Shinnosuke's shumei (succession) to the stage name of Ebizo, an auspicious name because ebi (lobster) turns bright red when boiled and this was believed by the samurai classes to be a portent of good luck.
The name is that given to the first Ichikawa Danjuro at birth. It was then used by his successors either before or after assuming the stage name of Ichikawa Danjuro. Shinnosuke's grandfather, Ichikawa Danjuro XI, was the most famous of all the Ebizos, from 1940 to 1962; his father used the name from 1969 until 1985, when he succeeded to the stage name of Ichikawa Danjuro XII.