Miyake Tokuro (三宅藤九郎)
Tokuro MIYAKE is one family name given to Kyogen performers.
Refer to Kyogen page, regarding the formation of the Miyake family.
Along with the Yamawaki family and the Matasaburo NOMURA family, the Miyake family established 'Izumi school' (the head family is the Yamawaki family). Their base is in Kanazawa City.
Mansai NOMURA and Manzo NOMURA, who have been active in the front lines, are from the Nomura family, a disciple family of the Miyake family's.
While other schools declined owing to Taisei Hokan (transfer of power back to the Emperor), the fifth Manzo NOMURA, who wouldn't easily to his surrounding, reestablished the Miyake family, his mentor family, by making his second son succeeding to that name.
The first Tokuro MIYAKE
(year of birth unknown - 1708).
The seventh Tokuro MIYAKE
(1824 - August 8, 1885).
He was adopted to the Sozaburo MIYAKE family.
The ninth Tokuro MIYAKE (the seventh Shoichi MIYAKE)
(March 18, 1901 - December 19, 1990).
He was Kyogen performer of Izumi school. He was a holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure). He was from Tokyo. He was Manzo NOMURA's second son. He was a brother of the sixth Manzo NOMURA. His first name was Mansuke NOMURA. He married Kikue ONOE, who was the first female chief actress in Kabuki. The couple was adopted into the Miyake family and Mansuke became Tokuro MIYAKE, the 9th. His sons are the 13th Soke Motohide IZUMI (his former name was Yasuyuki MIYAKE) and Ukon MIYAKE.
Tokuro MIYAKE became famous as a Kyogen researcher, made a lot of new Kyogen scripts, including "Bofuri" (stick waving), and discovered and performed old Kyogen plays that had not been performed for a while. His accomplishment was highly evaluated and he was designated as Living National Treasure. In 1989 Tokuro retired and succeeded to the stage name of the seventh Shoichi MIYAKE.
Publication
Kyogen performer, Tokuro MIYAKE' (a movie)
The tenth Tokuro MIYAKE (Shoko MIYAKE, whose former name was Shoko YAMAWAKI).
Noh gaku (Noh music) Izumiryu kyogenkata (comic actors of Izumi school). She is from Tokyo. She is the second daughter of the nineteenth Motohide IZUMI of Izumi-ryu soke (the head family of the Izumi school). She studied at Aoyama Gakuin school, from elementary course through university.
Her older sister is Junko IZUMI, her younger brother Motoya IZUMI and their mother is Setsuko IZUMI.
When she appears on TV, she is often with her sister, Junko, and they are called 'Izumi sisters.'
Some Kyogen admirers call her 'the daughter who doesn't look like Motohide.'
After the ninth Tokuro MIYAKE passed away, everyone expected the ninth Tokuro's second son, Ukon MIYAKE would succeed to the name but Shoko succeeded to it at the age of seventeen.
It became controversial (although the Izumi family claimed that the ninth had appointed her, many are still against her succession.)
The name of Tokuro MIYAKE was registered as a trademark by Shoko and the registration was applied three years before the death of the ninth.
After their father Motohide passed away in 1995, Shoko was active with her sister, Junko and brother Motoya almost in isolation from 'Noh gaku' ('Noh' music) world. After Motoya IZUMI withdrew from Association for Japanese Noh Plays, Motoya and his sisters have had few opportunities to perform with other 'Noh' performers. It is difficult for them to give normal performances and they have no chance to play 'Ai kyogen' (comic interlude in Noh).