Onoe, Matsunosuke

Early years

Onoe began as an actor in the wandering kabuki theater. In his autobiography, Matsunosuke claims that his debut on the stage took place back in 1880, in the performance of the troupe Tamizo Onoe. Fascinated by the stage, he left home at 14 to travel with the troupe and in 1892 he played under the pseudonym Tsurusabur Onoe. In 1905, he adopted the more "prestigious" name of Matsunosuke One. ^[1] His troupe performed regularly at the Kyoto Theater, which belonged to Shozo Makino, and as a kabuki actor he was known for his unusual stage tricks. ^[one]

Movie career

In 1909, Yokota Shokai, a distributor of cinema and performances and issues of joint film production, turned to Makino, and in the same year they began filming scenes from the plays of the theater. Onoe made his film debut in the film "Goban Tadanobu" ("Lisa Tadanobu", staged in the famous Kabuki play " Yoshitsune Sembon Zakura " ^[2] ) in 1909. ^[3] One's Corpse turns out to be the most popular and Makino chooses Onoe as a star in future films. ^[four]

Onoe starred in hundreds of films, ^{[5] The} 1925 film "Araki Mataemon" was advertised as his thousandth film. ^[1] He played the main characters in almost all the screen versions of the works published by Tachikawa Bunko, which at that time was the best-selling publisher. He and his troupe also remained closely associated with Makino for ten years and Makino gave Ono in 60-80 films a year, which ultimately accounts for about half of Onoэ’s total play. ^[3] In addition to the kabuki-based tapes, he and Makino for the first time filmed Dzidaigaki ("historical film"). One also popularized a subgenre of ninja films.

Onoe's films were taken very well, which brought him the affectionate nickname “no Medama Matchan” (“Eyes” to Maztsu), through his big eyes. He was especially popular with children who loved to portray his ninja roles in their games. ^[3] Many film historians consider him the first superstar of Japanese cinema for his prolific work and continued popularity. ^{[3] [5] [6]}

His films were silent in theaters during the show they were voiced by a live narrator ("benshi"). With the exception of those made during the last years of his career, His films largely carried the conventions of the kabuki theater, for example, his play of men in the female roles of Oyama. Many of his films were shot at 8 frames per second, not 16, as was customary in the west, in order to save on film. Some critics point to these savings, as well as elements such as overexposure of some shots that cause discoloration of the actors' faces, as evidence of primitive cinema. ^[one]

Most of Ono’s short work , however, he also starred in full-length films. One of them, “ Chushingura ” of 1910, is the oldest still existing feature film, although the film is not complete: there are no four scenes. ^[4] Considering "Chushingura", only six of Onoe's tapes remained for the duration of at least one reel. Like many other early Japanese films, Onoe's work was largely lost due to a combination of factors such as the negative impact of Japan’s climate, the great Kanto earthquake in 1923, and the bombing during World War II , as well as the next occupation. ^[one]

In 1926, during the filming of "Kyokotsu Mikajiki", Onoe grabbed the blow. He died the same year of heart disease. His funeral became the plot of the 1926 Matsunosuke Onoe documentary. ^[7]

see [1]

• Onoe, Matsunosuke (English) on the Internet Movie Database

• 尾 上 松 之 助 - 日本 映 画 デ ー タ ベ ー ス

• Abel, Richard, ed. "Encyclopedia of Early Cinema". London and New York, 2005, ISBN 978-0-415-77856-5

• 尾 上 松 之 助.尾 上 松 之 助 自叙 伝. - 春 草堂 出版 出, 1921.
• マ キ ノ 雅 弘 .マ キ ノ 雅 弘 自 伝. - 社 , 1977.
• 稲 垣 浩 .日本 映 画 の 若 き 日 々. - 日 新聞 社 , 1978.
• 映 画 俳 優 全集 ・ ​​男 優 編. - キ ネ マ 旬 報社 , 1979.