New-York tribune., 1899-06-11
ACTORS COMING.
THEY WILL. GIVE PERFORMANCES IN
AMERICAN CITIES.
KAwAKAMI THE LEADER CALLED THE IRVfN1
OF JAPAN-MME. YAcco WHO WAS ONE ~
THE MOST CELEBRATED GEfsHAs

steamship Gaelic there arrived recently rom
the orient a Japanese theatrical company'
which intends to give performances IN ths
country until next spring, when 1t Will 20 %
/ the Paris Exposition. The leading members u
the company are Otto Kawakami, known as the
Japanese Irving and Nine. Yacco. one OF the
most famous geishas OF Toxic. who has no"
abandoned professional dancing and singing ipr
the dramatic stage The company in all num-
hers twenty-five players, Of whom two are
women II has been engaged by Yumito kushi-
biki proprietor Of the japanese tea garden IN
Atlantic city NJ J.. and after giving short sea
sons here and in Chicago and New-York II IS
expected the company will play at the tea gar
den. After this Kawakami and his company
will go to London and the leading cities or the
Continent. bringing their tour to an end at the
Worlds Fair in Paris.
In this city next month at the California
Theatre the company will give two weeks
season Of japanese drama, under the manage
ment of s. X. Misuse and George ,. oah'
Kawakami has made his name famous IN japan
by his skill in depicting the heroic events ot
japanese history in drama When he had es-
tablished himself he made trip to PARIS 70
get ideas about the construction OF theatre
and the arrangement Of the stage. on MS re-
turn he built the largest and finest playhouse N
Toxic which is called the Kawakami Theatr".
lie endeavored to make his plays educational
and to insti into the people the sentiment ot
Patriotism Some Of his famous dramas are
| "Kojma Takanori." "Kusumaka Masahige'
and "Nishin sense" Besides his ability as
tragic actor, he has made a reputation for his
comedy dance. which he calls the "Oppeka
dance" and which he will give here Like nv
ing he gives great attention to the costumes
and setting Of his dramas. and in this respect
his plays will be a revelation Of the richness OF
Oriental effects.
Mr. Misuse has translated Kawakamfs plays
into English. with the assistance Of I. Hayash!.
Editor of the San Francisco Japanese daily
newspaper The New World" Lee johnson
las put the japanese songs into English. The
scenery has been painted by a Japanese artist
Takahoshi.
The leading female member of the troop Mime.
Yacco was formerly Of the most noted
geshas Of Toxic. The true geisha only lends
her services in singing and dancing to great en-
tertainments for a large price. and she must
not be confOunded with the common tea-hGuse
dancers and singers. who wrongly called
geishas Mr. Misuse. will be seen from his
stories OF his stars and their adventures. has
]
ciient OF Nine. Yacco he says:
She is a first-cass geisha in every respect,
and Of the best type OF japanese beauty. Her
manner Of dancing is like fury. now like
an angel. Her voice in singing is like the night
ingale 1t was no easy matter To secure her for
this company as she had great vogue as
gesha Any one desiring TO see her play in
Toxic has TO pay several thousand dollars for
the time it takes to consume incense stick
about twenty minutes. 1t was the fashion 20
lave her appear at great entertainments. Two
years ago she determined to change her posi-
ton and enter the career Of actress Her
aim was not only to educate girls, but to
store the honor of the geisha, whom the world
misunderstood. So Nine Yacco appeared on the
stage Of the Kawakami Theatre in Toxic. where
she has met with decided success since her first
appearance She played with Kawakami in all
his great roles.
Nine. Yacco bears a strong resemblance in
contour OF face and in coioring to the italian
style of beauty. She has large. brilliant eyes
and face of great expressiveness and charm.
She is extremely graceful in every movement.
The only other female member Of the troupe is
the niece Of Kawakam who is an accomplished
actress
Kawakami is not only playwright and actor
OF the first rank but he is also politician and
the publisher of a weekly magazine called The
New World" He recently tried TO secure eec-
ton to the Japanese Parliament from the
Fourth Ward OF Toxic. but failed. as his party
was in the minority He is eloquent speaker.
and has given much time to the study OF social
and political questions Some idea OF the inn
ulsiveness of the japanese character and OF