Hasegawa Kanbei

A Kabuki stage set maker. The son of a palace carpenter in Edo's Nihonbashi district, Hasegawa was the first professional stage set maker, active around the Meireki era (1655-58), and there have been 17 generations of set makers to date. It was during the 6th (?-1737) that Hasegawa monopolized the stage set business, and after that, the 8th (?-1785) created the first revolving stage in Edo and the stage set for Kinkakuji, and the 11th (1781-1841) partnered with Onoe Kikugoro III to invent the mechanism for ghost story kyogen. These developments greatly advanced Kabuki stage sets, and Hasegawa's name became widely known. The 14th (1847-1929) was the grandson of the 11th and was celebrated as a master in the Meiji era, while the 16th (1889-1964), the second son of the 13th, was born Genjiro and was in charge of props at the Tokyo Kabukiza Theatre and founded Hasegawa Stage Co., Ltd. in 1951 (Showa 26). His son Shinjiro (1924- ) is currently the 17th successor, and has changed the company name to Kabukiza Stage Co., Ltd., actively involved in the creation of new and old stage sets.

[Toshiaki Matsui]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

歌舞伎(かぶき)大道具師。江戸日本橋の宮大工の子で、専門大道具師の元祖として明暦(めいれき)（1655～58）ごろに活躍した初世に始まり、今日まで17世を数える。大道具の仕事を独占的にしたのは6世（？―1737）のころで、以後、8世（？―1785）が江戸で最初の回り舞台や『金閣寺(きんかくじ)』の大ぜりをつくり、11世（1781―1841）が3世尾上(おのえ)菊五郎と提携して怪談狂言の仕掛物を発明したことなどによって、歌舞伎の大道具は大いに発達、長谷川の名も広く知られるようになった。14世（1847―1929）は11世の孫で明治時代に名人とうたわれ、13世の次男である16世（1889―1964）は本名源次郎、東京歌舞伎座の大道具を担当し、1951年（昭和26）長谷川大道具株式会社を設立した。現在はその子信次郎（1924―　）が17世を相続、社名を歌舞伎座舞台株式会社と変更、新旧の舞台づくりに活躍している。

［松井俊諭］

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