Arashi Shinpei IV (四代目嵐新平) (actor before 1817)
Links
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - an 1812 Kunisada triptych backstage at the Morita-za (they identify this actor as Shinbei III, a mistake)Biography:
Little is known of this Kamigata actor. His birth date is unknown. His first stage name was Arashi Tsunetarō. He took the name Shinpei IV in 11/1797. He went to Edo in 4/1801. He returned home in the 1810s and died in 1817 according to Kabuki21.
According to the Japan Arts Council Shinpei may have held his name only until 1815, because that year another actor became Shinpei V.
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Prints from this actor's lifetime often refer to him as Arashi Shinbei (or Shinpei) III. This is true of both the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Waseda University. Clearly other sources don't agree, but this may be due to the fact that one mistake can often be repeated by later sources. This is beyond our ability to resolve such confusion.
