Namiki Gohei I


Namiki Gohei I was a Kabuki actor and playwright active in Kyoto, Edo and Osaka. He wrote over 100 plays, mostly in the genres of jidai-mono and sewa-mono.
Born in the Doshōmachi district in Osaka in 1747, Gohei was a student of the playwright Namiki Shōzō I. By 1775 he was already the main playwright for the Hayakumo-za Kabuki theatre in Kyoto. He is credited with helping establish the new genre of sewa-mono plays.
Two of his plays have been translated into English, The Temple Gate and the Paulownia Crest and Five Great Powers that Secure Love, both in Kabuki Plays on Stage II: Villainy and Vengeance, 1773-1799, edited by James R. Brandon and Samuel L. Leiter.

Plays