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Sada Yacco

April 11, 2024

Sada Yacco or Sadayakko (川上 貞奴, Kawakami Sadayakko, July 18, 1871 – December 7, 1946) was a Japanese geisha, actress and dancer.

Sada Yacco
川上 貞奴
Born
Sadayakko Kawakami

(1871-07-18)18 July 1871
Tokyo, Japan
Died7 November 1946(1946-11-07) (aged 75)
Other names川上 貞奴
Occupation(s)Geisha, actress , dancer
SpouseOtojirō Kawakami

Early life edit

Sadayakko Kawakami was born July 18, 1871, the youngest of twelve children.[1]: 16  "My grandfather on my mother's side was an assistant magistrate and rather famous, I hear. Our house was in Nihonbashi, right where the Bank of Japan is now."[1]: 13  "For generations her family had run the Echizen-ya, a large store that incorporated a currency exchange and a bookshop."[1]: 14 

 
Sada Yacco in stage dress

According to Leslie Downer's biography of her, "Sada's mother, Otaka [Koguma], was a notable beauty. In her youth she had worked for a time in the mansion of a daimyō, a provincial lord. There she acquired airs and graces and an aristocratic style. Sada's father, Hisajiro Koyama, was such a placid, saintly man that he was nicknamed 'Buddha.' When he married Otaka, he moved into the family house and eventually inherited the business."[1]: 14 

The many industrialization projects undertaken by the Meiji government would be financed by heavy taxes and caused soaring inflation, leading the Koyamas and many other families to lose their finances. To help make ends meet the family set up a pawnbroking business.[1]: 16  When Sada was four years old, she was sent to work as a maid at the Hamada geisha house in the Yoshichō district of Tokyo. Three years later, Hisajiro died, leading the Hamada's proprietress Kamekichi to adopt Sada as her heir.[1]: 17–18 

"In the winter of 1883, at the age of twelve, the child celebrated her debut as an o-shaku, literally 'a sake pourer,' an apprentice geisha. She also received her first geisha name. From now on she was to be Ko-yakko or Little Yakko, named after a geisha named Yakko who had been one of the most adored in Tokyo. Kamekichi felt sure that Little Yakko would grow up to be as brilliant a star in her turn."[1]: 22 

Career as a geisha edit

To make sure that Koyakko's career would blossom, Kamekichi sent her to a Shinto priest to learn how to read and write.[1]: 23–24  This was revolutionary for several reasons. Women's education in Japan was only just starting—the first women's school (for noblewomen only) did not open until 1870. "Geisha were expected to be modern, trendsetting women, but such a skill put Sada ahead of the crowd", many geisha and other entertainers being illiterate and, despite their popularity, members of the lower classes.[1]: 23–24 

Koyakko also took secret lessons in judo, and learned how to ride horses and play billiards.[1]: 26  "A few years later, as the gossip columnists of the day reported with great excitement, she even took part in professional races. It was another mark of how unconventional and progressive she was."[1]: 26  It was on one of these horse rides that she met Momosuke Fukuzawa, then a student at Keio University.[1]: 11–13  She would sustain a short friendship with him that would not be revived again until the 20th century.

In 1886, when Koyakko was fifteen, her mizuage was sold to then-Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi.[1]: 37  Her coming-of-age led her to adopt the new name of Yakko, and the prestige of her new patron greatly increased her popularity at the teahouses.[1]: 39 

"She had also discovered a new talent: acting." As Downer explains, "from 1629, in an attempt to maintain order, kabuki was restricted to male actors. Women performers went underground. The entertainers of the pleasure quarters, who later became known as geisha, performed music and dance of the same genre as kabuki, including dance solos from kabuki plays, but only for private, exclusive customers. So it was a short step for a geisha to act [...] Yakko discovered that she much preferred taking the exciting male parts, with plenty of dramatic posing and fighting scenes, rather than playing coy women's parts."[1]: 48 

"After three years [1888] the Prime Minister released Yakko from being his mistress, though he remained her friend and advisor."[1]: 49  Instead, by 1891 she was "enjoying the favors" of two patrons and two lovers simultaneously,[1]: 50  hoping like many geisha to find a secure position in society via a reliable patron or husband.

"That year everyone was talking about a flamboyant young man who called himself the Liberty Kid. Along with his troupe he performed seditious political dramas, which had been thrilling audiences in Osaka, Kyoto, and beyond, throughout western Japan. His trademark was a catchy satirical song he had composed, which was a huge hit. Now the troupe were on their way to Tokyo. Their first appearances at the prestigious Nakamura-za Theater were heavily booked before they had even arrived in the city."[1]: 51  This Liberty Kid, twenty-seven-year-old Otojiro Kawakami, had a "cheeky round face, thick eyebrows, a blunt nose, and a defiant set to his mouth. He looked like an overgrown street urchin spoiling for a fight. His cocky self-confidence, combined with a certain self-depracatingly comical style, was irrestible."[1]: 53 

The troupe's popularity was such that Prime Minister Ito commanded a private performance at the Kiraku teahouse, where he had also invited Yakko and four other Yoshichō geisha. Otojiro's troupe friend and fellow womanizer Asajiro Fujisawa would later say that Yakko became instantly drawn to his strong will and authority. "Yakko saw his power and realized what a strong man he was [...] She thought, I'd like to be with someone this powerful for the rest of my life. [...] But she had her pride. She decided she would have to make Kawakami a man. Otherwise she would lose face"[1]: 57  Abandoning her other men, Yakko devoted herself entirely to Otojiro, continuing to work at parties as a geisha to support him and "keep herself busy." Finally, in October 1893, Yakko and Otojiro were married, with a mutual friend Baron Kentaro Kaneko as the official go-between.[1]: 64 

Career as an actress edit

Despite Otojiro's ability to cater to the Japanese public, he was notoriously hopeless with money and was constantly in trouble with creditors.[1]: 65  After three years of ups-and-downs, from short-lived productions and asset seizures to a failed political campaign in 1897,[1]: 78–80  to near-divorce in 1896 after the discovery of Otojiro's illegitimate son Raikichi by a courtesan,[1]: 69–71  Otojiro and Yakko attempted to escape their financial problems via boat to Kobe.[1]: 82 

On January 2, 1899, the pair arrived and met Yumindo Kushibiki, a businessman who had made his fortune building a Japanese tea garden in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and bringing Japanese entertainment and goods to the United States.[1]: 87  Kushibuki, desiring to add authentic theater to his garden's repertoire, offered to sponsor and promote Otojiro's troupe on a continental tour.[1]: 88  Otojiro accepted the offer and gathered a total of eighteen people for his troupe: nine other male actors, two child actors (his fourteen-year-old brother Isojiro and his eleven-year-old niece Tsuru), a costume master, a props man, hairdresser, singer, shamisen player, bag carrier, and his wife Yakko. Yakko later said she intended to go only as Otojiro's wife, although she practiced some of her performances learned as a geisha should she have to appear onstage.[1]: 89 

Setting sail on April 30 that year, the troupe arrived three weeks later in San Francisco,[1]: 91  where, unbeknownst to Yakko, Kushibuki had promoted her as the starlet of the troupe,[1]: 94  the Japanese equivalent of famed actresses like Sarah Bernhardt. "If they were to perform before Americans, they would need a beautiful actress as the star," he reasoned. She was given the stage name "Sadayakko", and debuted May 25, "perform[ing]the death scene from The Maiden at Dōjō-ji Temple (Musume Dōjō-ji), which she had practiced in Kobe 'so skillfully that there was a storm of applause.'"[1]: 96–97 

This dance (buyō) wowed audiences almost immediately – "the San Francisco Examiner hailed the couple as 'the Henry Irving and Ellen Terry of Japan' [...] Yakko's debut had been a triumph. Her dancing lessons since the age of four, her years as a geisha, which was a form of acting in itself, her appearances on the stage in charity performances, had all paid off. Even Otojiro must have recognized that this was no humble little woman. She was the entrancing Yakko, the most celebrated geisha in Japan, adored by prime ministers, sumo heroes, and kabuki stars. She could bewitch anyone – even a theaterful of Westerners who could not understand a word she said."[1]: 101 

First tour schedule edit

United States edit

June to November 6, 1899:

November 6 to early December, 1899:[1]: 122 

Early December to January 28, 1900:

January 28 to April, 1900:

Europe edit

"'They begged us to stay longer in America,' Otojiro began his diary entry for Saturday, April 28. 'But as we had Henry Irving's letter of introduction, I wanted to set foot on European soil immediately. Regretfully we left New York, looking back fondly, and set off across the Atlantic.'"[1]: 149 

May 22 to June 28, 1900:

July 4, 1900, to June 16, 1901; June 16 to November 3, 1901:

November 4–5, 1901:

  • the Japanese embassy in Brussels[1]: 197 
  • a park in front of the Belgian Royal Palace: 197 

After sailing back to London on November 7 and boarding a steamer, "finally, at eight o'clock on the morning of Monday, January 1, 1901, after a voyage of nearly two months, more than a year and a half after they had left Japan, they dropped anchor in Kobe."[1]: 181 

Second tour schedule edit

"On April 10, Otojiro and Yakko boarded the luxury six-thousand-ton Sanuki-maru with their new troupe. There were now twenty actors plus Raikichi", including five women (a former member of an all-female acting troupe, Yakko's niece Tsuru Koyama, Kamekichi's relative Tane Hamada, and two other geisha),[1]: 183  "along with musicians, dressers and hairdressers. A theatre critic named Tohi Shunsho accompanied them, intending to spend his time studying and researching foreign drama. They stopped in Singapore, Penang, and Colombo, steamed across the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, and stopped over at Marseilles. At 6:00 AM on June 4 they dropped anchor at Tilbury Docks at the mouth of the Thames, on the edge of London."[1]: 184 

June 18 to the end of August, 1901:

Late August to November 8, 1901:

In addition to their previous Paris repertoire – The Geisha and the Knight, Kesa, Takanori and Zingoro[1]: 179  – the troupe also performed Otojiro's version of The Merchant of Venice, a historical drama called The Shogun and Kosan and Kinkoro, "a Japanese La Dame aux Camelias."[1]: 187 

Mid-November to late January 1902:[5]

February 1 to mid-March, 1902:

Mid-March to late April, 1902:

May 1902 to July 4, 1902:

"After a six-week journey, on August 19th, 1902, the Awa-maru docked at Kobe. The epic journey was over. It was time to come back to earth."[1]: 203 

Imperial Actress Training School edit

After supporting and acting with the Kawakami troupe for several years and going with them to study in Paris, Yakko became inspired to form her own acting school for women. In her own words, "having seen how actresses there are highly educated and well read, and how society welcomes them and heartily supports their development, I [...] would like to train accomplished actresses, who might come to be called the Sarah Bernhardts of Japan."[1]: 224 

Otojiro established the Imperial Theater Company Limited to provide five hundred yen capital plus one hundred yen a month to fund the school. Five prominent local businessmen became "founding members"—entrepreneur Eiichi Shibusawa, industrial magnate Kihachiro Okura, financiers Tsunenori Tanaka and Taro Masuda, and the "Wizard of the Money Markets", Momosuke Fukuzawa.[1]: 224 

"Applicants were to be aged between sixteen and twenty-five, educated to at least junior-high-school level, and with two guarantors who were Tokyo homeowners. The curriculum would include history, script writing, traditional and modern acting skills, and Japanese and Western dancing, as well as the playing of musical instruments such as the flute, shoulder drum, shamisen, and koto. The course would last for two years. There were no fees but students would be expected to perform at the Imperial Theater as part of their practical training. Anyone who left without completing the two years would be charged for the tuition they had received. If they then took up acting or used their training to practice as geisha, they would be fined."[1]: 228–229 

Out of over 100 applicants, Sadayakko interviewed and eventually selected fifteen students, including Ritsuko Mori, daughter of an upper-class politician. The grand opening took place on September 15, 1908, "less than four months after she had returned from Paris."[1]: 229 

Later years edit

 
Sadayakko with Momosuke Fukuzawa

Perhaps as soon as April 1912, less than a year after Otojiro's death, Yakko rekindled her relationship with the (married) businessman Momosuke Fukuzawa. "In the terrible days and months following Otojiro's death, Yakko was desperately in need of support and love. As for Momosuke, he had been consoling himself in the company of geisha for more years than he cared to remember. Neither had ever forgotten the intensity of their first meeting as children. Their friendship as adults was touched with the magic of that innocent love. It had never soured. They had been wrenched apart in spite of themselves."[1]: 251–252 

Although it was not uncommon for married men to seek out and maintain mistresses, this was usually done in secret. For Momosuke and Yakko to live and travel together so openly, then, and to even dare to flirt with each other in public (in a time when kissing or even nearly kissing was considered "shockingly erotic [...] still strictly reserved for the bedroom"), would stir a large public scandal. "Apart from anything else, geisha knew that their job was to take the pressure off a man's marriage. The geisha code was never to try and tear a man away from his wife [...] It was Yakko, not Momosuke, who risked disgrace. Even if she chose not live out her days as a nun, she ought to have married—not taken someone else's husband. By opting for love she forfeited respectability."[1]: 252–254 

Despite the criticism they received for their relationship, she and Momosuke supported one another's continuing careers, she now starring in roles of her own choosing (such as Tosca and Salome)[1]: 255–256  and Momosuke embarking on several business ventures.

Finally, in September 1917 Yakko announced her retirement, her last performance being the lead in Aida.[1]: 261  The home she and Momosuke would build together in Futaba (now part of Nagoya) was restored and moved to Shumoku-cho in Higashi Ward and is now a museum dedicated to them.[6] She built two homes in Tokyo, the House of Peach Water a few blocks from the Imperial Palace[1]: 274  (which she would sell in the late 1920s) and a "luxurious residence built in Kawada-cho, an exclusive Millionaires' Row in the north of Tokyo."[1]: 278 

Although retired from acting, Sada (having given up her stage and geisha names) involved herself in establishing the Kawakami Silk Company, a textile business near their home[1]: 266  that would last until she closed it following the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923. In December 1924 she also established the Kawakami Children's Music and Drama School in Tokyo, eventually closing it soon after Momosuke retired in 1928.[1]: 278 

In 1933, the pair decided that, Momosuke now being sixty-five and in poor health, he should move back to his house and wife in Shibuya and end their relationship. "They held a solemn ceremony to mark the end of an era. They had been together more than twenty years. Sada had never hoped for or expected so much happiness in the second half of her life."[1]: 278 

For her part, Sada decided to sell their home in Futaba and use the proceeds to build a temple, Teishoji, next to the River Kiso, tei being written with the same characters as her name (meaning "chastity"/"constancy") and sho meaning "to shine."[1]: 282  She dedicated the temple to Fudo Myo-o, her guardian deity, and built a storehouse on its grounds to house costumes, personal effects, and other important mementos from her life. Nearby she would build a large villa named Bansho'en (the Garden of Evening Pines) after a villa she had lived in with Otojiro following their tours.[1]: 282–283 

Death edit

"Sada's life [now] revolved around her three homes: Kawado-cho in Tokyo", which would unfortunately burn in the city's fire bombing during World War II,[1]: 286  "the Garden of Evening Pines, and a small villa in the hilly, semitropical seaside spa resort of Atami, where she went in winter to take the health-giving, mineral-rich waters".[1]: 284 

Soon after Japan surrendered, Sada discovered that she had cancer of the liver, which had spread to her throat and tongue. Her adopted daughter Tomiji, and granddaughter, Hatsu, came to Atami to take care of her, "sitting by her bedside, moistening her lips with cotton wool dipped in water" as Sada was soon unable to eat or drink.[1]: 286 

She died on December 7, 1946, aged 75. Her last words were to Tomiji, "I'll watch over you." Three years later, her bones were interred at Teishoji, in a tomb she had previously set aside "in a secluded hollow in the hillside behind the main building, shaded by groves of maple and bamboo."[1]: 283, 286 

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc Downer, Leslie (2003). Madame Sadayakko: The Geisha Who Bewitched the West. Gotham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59240-050-8.
  2. ^ Garelick, Rhonda K. Electric Salome: Loie Fuller's Performance of Modernism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007., ISBN 9780691017082
  3. ^ a b Wearing, J. P. (1981). The London stage, 1900-1909 : a calendar of plays and players. Metuchen, New Jersey. ISBN 0-8108-1403-X. OCLC 7172689.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Theatre programme: Criterion Theatre 18 June 1901
  5. ^ "Mein Heimatland" (PDF). badische-heimat.de. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  6. ^ Cultural Path Futaba Museum website, futabakan.city.nagoya.jp; accessed May 2, 2015.

Further reading edit

  • Downer, Leslie. (February 2004) [2003]. Madame Sadayakko The Geisha Who Bewitched the West. Gotham. p. 16; ISBN 978-1-59240-050-8
  • 1906 interview with Sada Yacco conducted by Japanese writer Yone Noguchi.
  • Futaba Museum website, former residence of Sada Yacco and Momosuke Fukuzawa.
  • Biography of Sada Yacco at Futaba Museum website
  • Berg, Shelley C. "Sada Yacco : the American Tour, 1899-1900", Dance Chronicle. 16. 2 (1993): 147–196.
  • Havemeyer, Louisine W. Sixteen to Sixty; Memoirs of a Collector. New York : Ursus Press, 1993, ISBN 9781883145019
  • Kano, Ayako. Acting Like a Woman in Modern Japan: Theater, Gender, and Nationalism. New York: Palgrave, 2001, ISBN 9780312292911
  • Kendall, Elizabeth. Where She Danced. New York: Knopf, 1979, ISBN 9780394400297
 
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April 11, 2024
sada, yacco, sadayakko, 川上, 貞奴, kawakami, sadayakko, july, 1871, december, 1946, japanese, geisha, actress, dancer, 川上, 貞奴bornsadayakko, kawakami, 1871, july, 1871tokyo, japandied7, november, 1946, 1946, aged, other, names川上, 貞奴occupation, geisha, actress, dan. Sada Yacco or Sadayakko 川上 貞奴 Kawakami Sadayakko July 18 1871 December 7 1946 was a Japanese geisha actress and dancer Sada Yacco川上 貞奴BornSadayakko Kawakami 1871 07 18 18 July 1871Tokyo JapanDied7 November 1946 1946 11 07 aged 75 Other names川上 貞奴Occupation s Geisha actress dancerSpouseOtojirō Kawakami Contents 1 Early life 2 Career as a geisha 3 Career as an actress 3 1 First tour schedule 3 1 1 United States 3 1 2 Europe 3 2 Second tour schedule 3 3 Imperial Actress Training School 4 Later years 5 Death 6 See also 7 References 8 Further readingEarly life editSadayakko Kawakami was born July 18 1871 the youngest of twelve children 1 16 My grandfather on my mother s side was an assistant magistrate and rather famous I hear Our house was in Nihonbashi right where the Bank of Japan is now 1 13 For generations her family had run the Echizen ya a large store that incorporated a currency exchange and a bookshop 1 14 nbsp Sada Yacco in stage dressAccording to Leslie Downer s biography of her Sada s mother Otaka Koguma was a notable beauty In her youth she had worked for a time in the mansion of a daimyō a provincial lord There she acquired airs and graces and an aristocratic style Sada s father Hisajiro Koyama was such a placid saintly man that he was nicknamed Buddha When he married Otaka he moved into the family house and eventually inherited the business 1 14 The many industrialization projects undertaken by the Meiji government would be financed by heavy taxes and caused soaring inflation leading the Koyamas and many other families to lose their finances To help make ends meet the family set up a pawnbroking business 1 16 When Sada was four years old she was sent to work as a maid at the Hamada geisha house in the Yoshichō district of Tokyo Three years later Hisajiro died leading the Hamada s proprietress Kamekichi to adopt Sada as her heir 1 17 18 In the winter of 1883 at the age of twelve the child celebrated her debut as an o shaku literally a sake pourer an apprentice geisha She also received her first geisha name From now on she was to be Ko yakko or Little Yakko named after a geisha named Yakko who had been one of the most adored in Tokyo Kamekichi felt sure that Little Yakko would grow up to be as brilliant a star in her turn 1 22 Career as a geisha editTo make sure that Koyakko s career would blossom Kamekichi sent her to a Shinto priest to learn how to read and write 1 23 24 This was revolutionary for several reasons Women s education in Japan was only just starting the first women s school for noblewomen only did not open until 1870 Geisha were expected to be modern trendsetting women but such a skill put Sada ahead of the crowd many geisha and other entertainers being illiterate and despite their popularity members of the lower classes 1 23 24 Koyakko also took secret lessons in judo and learned how to ride horses and play billiards 1 26 A few years later as the gossip columnists of the day reported with great excitement she even took part in professional races It was another mark of how unconventional and progressive she was 1 26 It was on one of these horse rides that she met Momosuke Fukuzawa then a student at Keio University 1 11 13 She would sustain a short friendship with him that would not be revived again until the 20th century In 1886 when Koyakko was fifteen her mizuage was sold to then Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi 1 37 Her coming of age led her to adopt the new name of Yakko and the prestige of her new patron greatly increased her popularity at the teahouses 1 39 She had also discovered a new talent acting As Downer explains from 1629 in an attempt to maintain order kabuki was restricted to male actors Women performers went underground The entertainers of the pleasure quarters who later became known as geisha performed music and dance of the same genre as kabuki including dance solos from kabuki plays but only for private exclusive customers So it was a short step for a geisha to act Yakko discovered that she much preferred taking the exciting male parts with plenty of dramatic posing and fighting scenes rather than playing coy women s parts 1 48 After three years 1888 the Prime Minister released Yakko from being his mistress though he remained her friend and advisor 1 49 Instead by 1891 she was enjoying the favors of two patrons and two lovers simultaneously 1 50 hoping like many geisha to find a secure position in society via a reliable patron or husband That year everyone was talking about a flamboyant young man who called himself the Liberty Kid Along with his troupe he performed seditious political dramas which had been thrilling audiences in Osaka Kyoto and beyond throughout western Japan His trademark was a catchy satirical song he had composed which was a huge hit Now the troupe were on their way to Tokyo Their first appearances at the prestigious Nakamura za Theater were heavily booked before they had even arrived in the city 1 51 This Liberty Kid twenty seven year old Otojiro Kawakami had a cheeky round face thick eyebrows a blunt nose and a defiant set to his mouth He looked like an overgrown street urchin spoiling for a fight His cocky self confidence combined with a certain self depracatingly comical style was irrestible 1 53 The troupe s popularity was such that Prime Minister Ito commanded a private performance at the Kiraku teahouse where he had also invited Yakko and four other Yoshichō geisha Otojiro s troupe friend and fellow womanizer Asajiro Fujisawa would later say that Yakko became instantly drawn to his strong will and authority Yakko saw his power and realized what a strong man he was She thought I d like to be with someone this powerful for the rest of my life But she had her pride She decided she would have to make Kawakami a man Otherwise she would lose face 1 57 Abandoning her other men Yakko devoted herself entirely to Otojiro continuing to work at parties as a geisha to support him and keep herself busy Finally in October 1893 Yakko and Otojiro were married with a mutual friend Baron Kentaro Kaneko as the official go between 1 64 Career as an actress editDespite Otojiro s ability to cater to the Japanese public he was notoriously hopeless with money and was constantly in trouble with creditors 1 65 After three years of ups and downs from short lived productions and asset seizures to a failed political campaign in 1897 1 78 80 to near divorce in 1896 after the discovery of Otojiro s illegitimate son Raikichi by a courtesan 1 69 71 Otojiro and Yakko attempted to escape their financial problems via boat to Kobe 1 82 On January 2 1899 the pair arrived and met Yumindo Kushibiki a businessman who had made his fortune building a Japanese tea garden in Atlantic City New Jersey and bringing Japanese entertainment and goods to the United States 1 87 Kushibuki desiring to add authentic theater to his garden s repertoire offered to sponsor and promote Otojiro s troupe on a continental tour 1 88 Otojiro accepted the offer and gathered a total of eighteen people for his troupe nine other male actors two child actors his fourteen year old brother Isojiro and his eleven year old niece Tsuru a costume master a props man hairdresser singer shamisen player bag carrier and his wife Yakko Yakko later said she intended to go only as Otojiro s wife although she practiced some of her performances learned as a geisha should she have to appear onstage 1 89 Setting sail on April 30 that year the troupe arrived three weeks later in San Francisco 1 91 where unbeknownst to Yakko Kushibuki had promoted her as the starlet of the troupe 1 94 the Japanese equivalent of famed actresses like Sarah Bernhardt If they were to perform before Americans they would need a beautiful actress as the star he reasoned She was given the stage name Sadayakko and debuted May 25 perform ing the death scene from The Maiden at Dōjō ji Temple Musume Dōjō ji which she had practiced in Kobe so skillfully that there was a storm of applause 1 96 97 This dance buyō wowed audiences almost immediately the San Francisco Examiner hailed the couple as the Henry Irving and Ellen Terry of Japan Yakko s debut had been a triumph Her dancing lessons since the age of four her years as a geisha which was a form of acting in itself her appearances on the stage in charity performances had all paid off Even Otojiro must have recognized that this was no humble little woman She was the entrancing Yakko the most celebrated geisha in Japan adored by prime ministers sumo heroes and kabuki stars She could bewitch anyone even a theaterful of Westerners who could not understand a word she said 1 101 First tour schedule edit United States edit June to November 6 1899 Turn Verein Hall San Francisco two weeks 1 96 California Theater San Francisco June 18 to 21 1 97 98 German Hall San Francisco July 21 to 28 1 106 two theaters in Seattle one being the Seattle Theater September 9 to mid September 1 110 a theater in Tacoma Washington one week 1 111 a theater in Portland Oregon until October 7 1 111 the Lyric Theatre and Chicago Auditorium two weeks from October 22 to November 6 1 122 November 6 to early December 1899 1 122 a theater in Grand Rapids Michigan a theater in Muskegon Michigan the Hamblyn Theater in Battle Creek Michigan the Colossal Theater in Adrian Michigan the Noble Opera House in Tiffin Ohio the Palatine Theater in Toledo the Victoria Theater in Dayton theaters in Mansfield New York Bucryus New York and Albany New YorkEarly December to January 28 1900 the Tremont Theater in Boston 1 123 Copley Hall in Boston 1 128 January 28 to April 1900 the Lafayette Square Opera House in Washington D C January 29 to February 8 1 139 the Berkeley Lyceum in New York New York ten days 1 141 the Bijou Theatre on Broadway 1 143 till April Europe edit They begged us to stay longer in America Otojiro began his diary entry for Saturday April 28 But as we had Henry Irving s letter of introduction I wanted to set foot on European soil immediately Regretfully we left New York looking back fondly and set off across the Atlantic 1 149 May 22 to June 28 1900 the Coronet Theatre Notting Hill Gate in London England 1 152 the Bute House in London 1 158 July 4 1900 to June 16 1901 June 16 to November 3 1901 the theater of Loie Fuller at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris 2 1 162 November 4 5 1901 the Japanese embassy in Brussels 1 197 a park in front of the Belgian Royal Palace 197 After sailing back to London on November 7 and boarding a steamer finally at eight o clock on the morning of Monday January 1 1901 after a voyage of nearly two months more than a year and a half after they had left Japan they dropped anchor in Kobe 1 181 Second tour schedule edit On April 10 Otojiro and Yakko boarded the luxury six thousand ton Sanuki maru with their new troupe There were now twenty actors plus Raikichi including five women a former member of an all female acting troupe Yakko s niece Tsuru Koyama Kamekichi s relative Tane Hamada and two other geisha 1 183 along with musicians dressers and hairdressers A theatre critic named Tohi Shunsho accompanied them intending to spend his time studying and researching foreign drama They stopped in Singapore Penang and Colombo steamed across the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and stopped over at Marseilles At 6 00 AM on June 4 they dropped anchor at Tilbury Docks at the mouth of the Thames on the edge of London 1 184 June 18 to the end of August 1901 the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus 18 June to 13 July transferring to the Shaftesbury Theatre 16 July to 7 August 3 The American serpentine dancer Loie Fuller danced between the plays at the Criterion 4 In London the company performed The Geisha and the Knight 42 performances Kesa 17 perfs Zingoro 36 perfs and The Shogun A Tale of Old Japan 12 perfs 3 the 1901 International Exhibition in Glasgow Scotland 1 184 Late August to November 8 1901 the Theatre de l Athenee Paris 1 192 In addition to their previous Paris repertoire The Geisha and the Knight Kesa Takanori and Zingoro 1 179 the troupe also performed Otojiro s version of The Merchant of Venice a historical drama called The Shogun and Kosan and Kinkoro a Japanese La Dame aux Camelias 1 187 Mid November to late January 1902 5 Berlin Hanover Bremen Hamburg Leipzig the Royal Opera House in Dresden Saturday 18 01 1902 Frankfurt Opernhaus Sunday 19 01 1902 Baden Baden Theater in Baden Monday 20 01 1902 Strassburg Stadt Theater Tuesday 21 01 1902 Mainz Stadt Theater Wednesday 22 01 1902 Karlsruhe Grossherzogliches Hoftheater Thursday 23 01 1902 Mannheim Saalbau Theater Friday 24 01 1902 Mannheim Saalbau Theater Saturday 25 01 1902 Basel Stadt Theater Sunday 26 01 1902 Zurich Stadt Theater Monday 27 01 1902 Stuttgart Residenz Theater Tuesday 28 01 1902 Munich 1 195 Kgl Residenz TheaterFebruary 1 to mid March 1902 Vienna Theater an der Wien Prague Budapest Bucharest Krakow Saint Petersburg Moscow including a performance at the Winter Palace of Czar Nicholas II 1 195 Mid March to late April 1902 Rome Naples Florence including the Teatro della Pergola Livorno Genoa Turin Milan Venice 1 200 May 1902 to July 4 1902 Barcelona Madrid Portugal Toulouse Marseilles Lyon Antwerp Brussels London 1 202 After a six week journey on August 19th 1902 the Awa maru docked at Kobe The epic journey was over It was time to come back to earth 1 203 Imperial Actress Training School edit After supporting and acting with the Kawakami troupe for several years and going with them to study in Paris Yakko became inspired to form her own acting school for women In her own words having seen how actresses there are highly educated and well read and how society welcomes them and heartily supports their development I would like to train accomplished actresses who might come to be called the Sarah Bernhardts of Japan 1 224 Otojiro established the Imperial Theater Company Limited to provide five hundred yen capital plus one hundred yen a month to fund the school Five prominent local businessmen became founding members entrepreneur Eiichi Shibusawa industrial magnate Kihachiro Okura financiers Tsunenori Tanaka and Taro Masuda and the Wizard of the Money Markets Momosuke Fukuzawa 1 224 Applicants were to be aged between sixteen and twenty five educated to at least junior high school level and with two guarantors who were Tokyo homeowners The curriculum would include history script writing traditional and modern acting skills and Japanese and Western dancing as well as the playing of musical instruments such as the flute shoulder drum shamisen and koto The course would last for two years There were no fees but students would be expected to perform at the Imperial Theater as part of their practical training Anyone who left without completing the two years would be charged for the tuition they had received If they then took up acting or used their training to practice as geisha they would be fined 1 228 229 Out of over 100 applicants Sadayakko interviewed and eventually selected fifteen students including Ritsuko Mori daughter of an upper class politician The grand opening took place on September 15 1908 less than four months after she had returned from Paris 1 229 Later years edit nbsp Sadayakko with Momosuke FukuzawaPerhaps as soon as April 1912 less than a year after Otojiro s death Yakko rekindled her relationship with the married businessman Momosuke Fukuzawa In the terrible days and months following Otojiro s death Yakko was desperately in need of support and love As for Momosuke he had been consoling himself in the company of geisha for more years than he cared to remember Neither had ever forgotten the intensity of their first meeting as children Their friendship as adults was touched with the magic of that innocent love It had never soured They had been wrenched apart in spite of themselves 1 251 252 Although it was not uncommon for married men to seek out and maintain mistresses this was usually done in secret For Momosuke and Yakko to live and travel together so openly then and to even dare to flirt with each other in public in a time when kissing or even nearly kissing was considered shockingly erotic still strictly reserved for the bedroom would stir a large public scandal Apart from anything else geisha knew that their job was to take the pressure off a man s marriage The geisha code was never to try and tear a man away from his wife It was Yakko not Momosuke who risked disgrace Even if she chose not live out her days as a nun she ought to have married not taken someone else s husband By opting for love she forfeited respectability 1 252 254 Despite the criticism they received for their relationship she and Momosuke supported one another s continuing careers she now starring in roles of her own choosing such as Tosca and Salome 1 255 256 and Momosuke embarking on several business ventures Finally in September 1917 Yakko announced her retirement her last performance being the lead in Aida 1 261 The home she and Momosuke would build together in Futaba now part of Nagoya was restored and moved to Shumoku cho in Higashi Ward and is now a museum dedicated to them 6 She built two homes in Tokyo the House of Peach Water a few blocks from the Imperial Palace 1 274 which she would sell in the late 1920s and a luxurious residence built in Kawada cho an exclusive Millionaires Row in the north of Tokyo 1 278 Although retired from acting Sada having given up her stage and geisha names involved herself in establishing the Kawakami Silk Company a textile business near their home 1 266 that would last until she closed it following the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 In December 1924 she also established the Kawakami Children s Music and Drama School in Tokyo eventually closing it soon after Momosuke retired in 1928 1 278 In 1933 the pair decided that Momosuke now being sixty five and in poor health he should move back to his house and wife in Shibuya and end their relationship They held a solemn ceremony to mark the end of an era They had been together more than twenty years Sada had never hoped for or expected so much happiness in the second half of her life 1 278 For her part Sada decided to sell their home in Futaba and use the proceeds to build a temple Teishoji next to the River Kiso tei being written with the same characters as her name meaning chastity constancy and sho meaning to shine 1 282 She dedicated the temple to Fudo Myo o her guardian deity and built a storehouse on its grounds to house costumes personal effects and other important mementos from her life Nearby she would build a large villa named Bansho en the Garden of Evening Pines after a villa she had lived in with Otojiro following their tours 1 282 283 Death edit Sada s life now revolved around her three homes Kawado cho in Tokyo which would unfortunately burn in the city s fire bombing during World War II 1 286 the Garden of Evening Pines and a small villa in the hilly semitropical seaside spa resort of Atami where she went in winter to take the health giving mineral rich waters 1 284 Soon after Japan surrendered Sada discovered that she had cancer of the liver which had spread to her throat and tongue Her adopted daughter Tomiji and granddaughter Hatsu came to Atami to take care of her sitting by her bedside moistening her lips with cotton wool dipped in water as Sada was soon unable to eat or drink 1 286 She died on December 7 1946 aged 75 Her last words were to Tomiji I ll watch over you Three years later her bones were interred at Teishoji in a tomb she had previously set aside in a secluded hollow in the hillside behind the main building shaded by groves of maple and bamboo 1 283 286 See also editList of dancers Tsukitani Hatsuko contemporary ceramic artist who also lived in NagoyaReferences edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc Downer Leslie 2003 Madame Sadayakko The Geisha Who Bewitched the West Gotham Publishing ISBN 978 1 59240 050 8 Garelick Rhonda K Electric Salome Loie Fuller s Performance of Modernism Princeton Princeton University Press 2007 ISBN 9780691017082 a b Wearing J P 1981 The London stage 1900 1909 a calendar of plays and players Metuchen New Jersey ISBN 0 8108 1403 X OCLC 7172689 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Theatre programme Criterion Theatre 18 June 1901 Mein Heimatland PDF badische heimat de Retrieved 22 November 2023 Cultural Path Futaba Museum website futabakan city nagoya jp accessed May 2 2015 Further reading editDowner Leslie February 2004 2003 Madame Sadayakko The Geisha Who Bewitched the West Gotham p 16 ISBN 978 1 59240 050 8 1906 interview with Sada Yacco conducted by Japanese writer Yone Noguchi Futaba Museum website former residence of Sada Yacco and Momosuke Fukuzawa Biography of Sada Yacco at Futaba Museum website Berg Shelley C Sada Yacco the American Tour 1899 1900 Dance Chronicle 16 2 1993 147 196 Havemeyer Louisine W Sixteen to Sixty Memoirs of a Collector New York Ursus Press 1993 ISBN 9781883145019 Kano Ayako Acting Like a Woman in Modern Japan Theater Gender and Nationalism New York Palgrave 2001 ISBN 9780312292911 Kendall Elizabeth Where She Danced New York Knopf 1979 ISBN 9780394400297 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kawakami Sadayakko Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sada Yacco amp oldid 1211836862, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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