Momonosuke Ichikawa

Japanese: 市川百々之助 - いちかわもものすけ

...In the 1920s, the action movie craze was further fuelled by films starring Douglas Fairbanks, such as "Zorro" (1920), "The Three Musketeers" (1921), and "Robin Hood" (1922), which led to a succession of imitations. The action movie stars of the time were, after Onoe Matsunosuke, Katsumi Yotaro, who directed "A Hard Handshake" (1922) directed by Shimazu Yasujiro and "The Wolf Pack" (1923) directed by Ushihara Kyohiko, Ichikawa Domonosuke, who directed "The Great Zorro" (1924), and Takagi Shinpei, who was nicknamed "Birdman" for his imitations of "Zorro", such as "The Great Hawk" and "The Battle" (both 1924). Thus, the action movie format was established around 1923-1924.

From [Period drama movies]

...And because "Woman and the Pirate" "was such a huge hit, from then on, other companies' old-style films began to be treated as being of the same standard as new-style films, and before we knew it, the "new" part had been dropped and the term "period drama" was adopted."
[Period dramas as action dramas]
Also in 1923, Ichikawa Domonosuke, who made his debut at Teikoku Kinema, became an instant hit as the handsome star of period dramas with their intense action scenes, which were called "fighting dramas," and attracted female audiences with films such as "Chōbei Sells Out" and "Sword Troubles, Women Troubles." More than Shochiku, which coined the term "period drama," it was Makino Shozō, who brought Matsunosuke films to the world, who carried out a revolution in the old style of theater.

From Japanese Movies

...The second Kan Productions 1931-37) (15) Toshio Yamaguchi (1928-28) (16) Ryunosuke Tsukigata (1928-29/1931-32. Nara Ikoma mountain range) (17) Juro Tanizaki (1928-28) (18) Reizaburo Yamamoto (1928-28) (19) Momonosuke Ichikawa (1930-30) (20) Munenosuke Sawamura (1932-33) (21) Takako Irie (1932-37. Kyoto Futagaoka) (22) Minoru Takada (1934-36) These are the star production companies of the prewar period, and although their life spans varied greatly, they played a major role in the development of Japanese cinema. In particular, Kataoka Chiezo Productions marked an era by releasing many works by talented filmmakers such as Inagaki Hiroshi, Itami Mansaku, and Yamanaka Sadao.

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Ichikawa Momonosuke" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…20年代に入って，ダグラス･フェアバンクス主演《奇傑ゾロ》(1920)，《三銃士》(1921)，《ロビン･フッド》(1922)がさらに決定的に活劇熱をあおり，模倣作品を続出させた。　当時の活劇スターとして，尾上松之助に次いで，島津保次郎監督《堅き握手》(1922)や牛原虚彦監督《狼の群》(1923)などの勝見庸太郎，日本版《奇傑ゾロ》といえる《抜討権八神出鬼没》(1924)などの市川百々之助，同じく《奇傑ゾロ》の模倣作《怪傑鷹》や《争闘》(ともに1924)で〈鳥人〉の異名をとった高木新平がいる。こうして23年から24年ころにかけて，活劇という映画形式は定着した。…

【時代劇映画】より

…そして《女と海賊》が〈大へんな大当たりだったので，それ以後，他社の旧劇写真も新派映画なみに規格を上げて扱われはじめ，いつの間にか“新”を取り除いて“時代劇”と呼ぶことにきまってしまった〉ということである。
［活劇としての時代劇］
　また同じ1923年，帝国キネマでデビューした市川百々之助は，〈猛闘劇〉と呼ばれたほど立回りの激しい時代劇の美貌スターとして，一躍大人気を得て，《長兵衛売出す》《剣難女難》などで女性観客をひきつけた。〈時代劇〉の名称を生んだ松竹以上に旧劇革新を遂行したのは，松之助映画を世に送り出した牧野省三である。…

【日本映画】より

…第2次寛プロ1931‐37)(15)山口俊雄(1928‐28)(16)月形竜之介(1928‐29/1931‐32。奈良生駒山ろく)(17)谷崎十郎(1928‐28)(18)山本礼三郎(1928‐28)(19)市川百々之助（もものすけ）(1930‐30)(20)沢村宗之助(1932‐33)(21)入江たか子(1932‐37。京都双ヶ丘)(22)高田稔(1934‐36)　以上が戦前のスター･プロで，寿命の長短ははなはだしいが，日本映画の大きな側面を担い，なかでも片岡千恵蔵プロダクションは稲垣浩，伊丹万作，山中貞雄ら俊才の作品を数多く世に出して，一時代を画した。…

※「市川百々之助」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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