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Kenichi Enomoto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Kenichi Enomoto (October 11, 1904 – January 7, 1970) was a popular Japanese singing comedian, mostly known by his stage name Enoken. A major innovator during his heyday, Enoken's stage shows, radio appearances, and film roles were a major influence within Tokyo theatre before World War II, and was a catalyst for the revival of comedy in the postwar period. Born in Aoyama, Tokyo, the son of rice cracker shop owners, Enomoto fell under the spell of such stars of the Asakusa Opera as Taya Rikizo and Fujiwara Yoshie, and in 1922 he made his stage debut at age 18 as a chorus member of the Asakusa Kinryukan Theatre. The Great Kanto Earthquake of the following year dealt a great blow to the opera world in Tokyo, at which time Enomoto shifted to comic theatre. Playing small roles in various comedy productions, he returned to the Asakusa stage in 1929 as part of the troupe Casino Folly. The following year saw him launch his own troupe, Enoken Gekidan, which would firmly establish him as a leading figure in Tokyo theatrical circles. In 1934, he starred in the movie Enoken no Seishun Suikoden (Enoken’s Tale of Youth’s Folly), and gained national popularity. His subsequent film career saw him parody a whole parade of Japanese historical personages, including Kondo Isami and Sakamoto Ryoma, in a series of "jidai-geki" (historical dramas) and "chanbara" (samurai drama) films, including some directed by Kajirō Yamamoto, Nobuo Nakagawa and Akira Kurosawa. Enomoto became afflicted with necrosis of the right leg in the 1950s, which required amputation, curtailing his film and stage career. He did, however, make a legendary comeback at the Shinjuku Koma Theatre 1963 wearing a prosthetic leg. He died in 1970, and is entombed in Hase Temple in Nishi-Azabu, Minato, Tokyo, on whose tombstone is inscribed "The King of Comedy". Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenichi Enomoto, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Born:
Oct 11, 1904 In Aoyama, Tokyo
Movie/TV Credits:
14
First Appeared:
In the movie Romantic and Crazy 1934-05-03
Latest Project:
Movie The Happy-Go-Lucky Guy 1961-12-06
Known For
Poster of 誰よりも金を愛す
Poster of Rivals
Poster of Enoken's Chakkiri Kinta Part 2: Returning Is Scary, But the Weather Will Clear If You Wait
Poster of Enoken’s Kinta the Pickpocket
Filmography
Movie 誰よりも金を愛す 1961-02-02
Movie The Happy-Go-Lucky Guy 1961-12-06
Movie The Three Treasures God of Yaoyorozu 1959-11-01
Movie The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail Porter 1952-04-24
Movie The Adventures of Tobisuke Tobisuke 1949-09-27
Movie Enoken's Singing Detective Story 1948-12-31
Movie Four Love Stories 1947-04-01
Movie The Monkey King Son Goku 1940-11-06
Movie Enoken's Mori no Ishimatsu 1939-08-10
Movie Rivals 1939-09-19
Movie Enoken’s Kinta the Pickpocket 1937-07-11
Movie Enoken's Chakkiri Kinta Part 2: Returning Is Scary, But the Weather Will Clear If You Wait 1937-08-01
Movie Romantic and Crazy Enoken 1934-05-03
Movie Enoken's The Magician 1934-10-25
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