The kabuki productions at the University of Hawaiʻi would not have been possible without the time, patience, and expertise of master artists, dedicated community members, and passionate faculty members. Click the links below to find out more about the visiting artists artists who have been working with us on the 2024 production of The Maiden Benten and the Bandits of the White Waves (Benten Musume Meo no Shiranami).
ICHIKAWA Monnosuke VIII, Artistic Adviser
ICHIKAWA Monnosuke VIII (given name SOMA Takayuki) was born in 1959 in Tokyo, Japan. He is the eighth-generation in the Ichikawa Monnosuke line, dating back to 1713. It is one of the oldest acting lineages in Kabuki theater, with a continuous line of prominent onnagata, or female role specialists. Monnosuke VIII debuted in 1969 at the Kabukiza.
OGURI Sachie, Director of Minō Kabuki Preservation Society
OGURI Sachie is a “Renaissance woman” of kabuki, acting for nearly five decades in “jikabuki” (regional kabuki), as well as directing and providing costumes for productions for forty years. She is a founding member and Director of the Minō Kabuki Preservation Society, and runs the Museum Nakasendo in Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture.
KASHIWA Senjirō, Narimono
KASHIWA Senjirō (Yutaka WATANABE) was born in 1963 in Kanagawa Prefecture. From 1981 to 1983, he studied at the National Theatre of Japan for Kabuki Music (Narimono [percussion]) Training, the first person to graduate from this newly established program. In 1986, he was given the professional name of Kashiwa Senjirō.
NAGANO Isamu, Wig Maker and Stylist
NAGANO Isamu is a second-generation wig maker and stylist, who works with kabuki as well as in TV and film. Based in Osaka, he both builds wig structures and styles the hair, a rare combination as these jobs are usually done by two different specialists. He is also one of the few wig specialists working today who is adept at repairing old wigs.
Kenny Endo, Narimono
Kenny Endo is at the vanguard of the taiko genre, continually paving new paths for this Japanese style of drumming. A performer, composer, and teacher of taiko with numerous awards, Endo is a consummate artist, one of the most versatile musicians in the genre, crossing easily between the classical Japanese style and his own neo-traditional, globally-inspired variety.
KINEYA Sakio, Shamisen
Bryson Teruo Goda is a fourth-generation Japanese American, born and raised in Honolulu. At the age of 6, Bryson began his training in nagauta shamisen from Kineya Satoshi in Honolulu. At 15, Bryson began training in Tokyo under the seventh-generation nagauta Samoan-kai headmaster, Kineya Sakichi, and was granted the professional name (natori) of Kineya Sakio three years later.
ICHIKAWA Komazō XI, Actor
Akira Kambe was born as the eldest son of Hanayagi School Nihon Buyō master Hanayagi Yasusuke II. Kambe made his kabuki stage debut before the age of five, training under his great uncles, Ichikawa Chūsha VIII and Ichikawa Enʻō I. After their death, he continued training under Matsumoto Koshirō VIII. He succeeded to the name Ichikawa Komazō XI in 1995.
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ICHIKAWA Utaki, Actor
ICHIKAWA Takishō, Actor
ISHIZAKA Masayu was selected to join the National Theatre Kabuki Training School in 2012. After graduating in March of 2015, he joined the artistic family of Ichikawa Monnosuke VIII, where he continues his professional training.
MATSUTA Ryūya was selected to join the National Theatre Kabuki Training School in 2016. After graduating in March of 2019, he joined the artistic family of Ichikawa Monnosuke VIII, where he continues his professional training.