| Ichikawa Danjūrō II | |
| Birth Date: | 1688 |
| Birth Place: | Edo, Japan |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Occupation: | Kabuki performer |
| Known For: | Part of a celebrated family of actors from the Edo region |
was a Japanese kabuki performer in the lineage of a celebrated family of actors from the Edo region.[1] Ichikawa Danjūrō is a stage name.
The earnestly prayed-for son of Ichikawa Danjūrō I, Danjūrō II acted under the name Ichikawa Kuzō I from 1697 to 1704, the year his father was killed in a backstage quarrel with another actor. Danjūrō II assumed his father's stage name five months after this incident and held it until 1735, when he took the name Ichikawa Ebizō II.[1] Thereafter, the name was handed down in a direct line through the generations, e.g., Danjūrō III and Danjuro IV were the adopted sons of Danjūrō II; Danjūrō VI was the adopted son of Danjūrō V, and Danjūrō VII was the adopted son of Danjūrō VI.[2]
In the conservative Kabuki world, stage names are conveyed in formal system which converts the kabuki stage name into a mark of accomplishment.[3] In 1840, Danjūrō IV created Kabuki Jūhachiban to remind the theater world of his family's pre-eminence in Kabuki, especially in the creation and development of aragoto roles. This collection of 18 plays is a compilation of his and his predecessors representative roles. The work features the character Benkei, who was played by Danjūrō I and Danjūrō II.[4] This is the ie no gei (family art) of the Danjuro line.[5]