Ichikawa Danjūrō II

was a Japanese kabuki performer in the lineage of a celebrated family of actors from the Edo region. Ichikawa Danjūrō is a stage name.

Career The earnestly prayed-for son of Ichikawa Danjūrō I, Danjūrō II acted under the name Ichikawa Kuzō I from 1697 to 1704, the year his father was killed in a backstage quarrel with another actor. Danjūrō II assumed his father's stage name five months after this incident and held it until 1735, when he took the name Ichikawa Ebizō II.

In the conservative Kabuki world, stage names are conveyed in formal system which converts the kabuki stage name into a mark of accomplishment. In 1840, Danjūrō IV created Kabuki Jūhachiban to remind the theater world of his family's pre-eminence in Kabuki, especially in the creation and development of aragoto roles. This collection of 18 plays is a compilation of his and his predecessors representative roles. The work features the character Benkei, who was played by Danjūrō I and Danjūrō II. This is the ie no gei (family art) of the Danjuro line.

Lineage of Danjūrō stage names Ichikawa Danjūrō I (1660–1704) Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838–1903) Ichikawa Danjūrō X (19th century) Ichikawa Danjūrō XI (1909–1965) Ichikawa Danjūrō XII (1946–2013)