Ichikawa Sadanji II was one of the most popular actors in Japan in the first half of the twentieth century. He was an open-minded reformist, working hard to promote new plays, and an adept of revivals of long-forgotten classical dramas. His close collaborations with Okamoto Kidô, Osanai Kaoru and Mayama Seika were very fruitful and many Shinkabuki dramas, which they created together, were still in the current Kabuki repertoire. Ichikawa Sadanji II gathered them in a special collection of ten plays called Kyôka Gikyoku Jûshu, which included "Toribeyama Shinjû", "Banchô Sarayashiki" and "Shuzenji Monogatari". Edit Biography