(born 6 December 1977) is a Japanese Kabuki, film and television actor, and stage producer. He is the eldest son and successor of the kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjà «rà  XII. He is known as a tachiyaku (actor specializing in male roles). In particular, he specializes in aragoto rolesâÂÂa family tradition since 1660, beginning with his ancestor and founder of the Naritaya acting house, Ichikawa Danjà «rà  I.
Prior to assuming his current title, Danjà «rà  was known as , the eleventh holder of the Ebizà  name.
Danjà «rà  is a member of the acting guild Naritaya, founded by Ichikawa Danjuro I, which dates back to the 17th century. Born into the Ichikawa family, he is the heir to Ichikawa Kabuki. Like all Kabuki actors, his name is also a Yagà  (stage name), to which succeeded from his father in 2004. He previously went by the stage name Ichikawa Shinnosuke VII. His father, Ichikawa Danjà «rà  XII, died in 2013; in January 2019, he announced that he would adopt the name of Danjà «rà Â, thus becoming Ichikawa Danjà «rà  XIII, in May 2020. The name change was postponed when Kabuki shows were cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Danjà «rà  assumed his current title on 31 October 2022 ahead of performances starting the following week. At the same time, his son, Kangen Horikoshi, took the name Ichikawa Shinnosuke VIII (the first name his father Ebizà  used when he started acting in kabuki theater) and made his kabuki debut.
Currently, he is the thirteenth actor to bear the name Ichikawa Danjà «rà Â; previously, he was the eleventh to bear the name Ichikawa Ebizà  and the seventh to bear the name Ichikawa Shinnosuke.
Although he is the thirteenth Ichikawa Danjà «rà Â, he is the third Ichikawa Danjà «rà  of the modern era, and comes from a different lineage of actors than the original lineage (which ran from Ichikawa Danjà «rà  I to Ichikawa Danjà «rà  IX):
Danjà «rà  is cousin of some of today's top Kabuki actors, such as Matsumoto Hakuà  II and Nakamura Kichiemon II (sons of Matsumoto Hakuà  I), Onoe Tatsunosuke I/Onoe Shà Âroku III (son of Onoe Shà Âroku II), Matsumoto Koshirà  X (son of Matsumoto Hakuà  II and nephew of Nakamura Kichiemon II) and Onoe Shà Âroku IV (grandson of Onoe Shà Âroku II and son of Onoe Tatsunosuke I/Onoe Shà Âroku III).
At a very young age, Danjà «rà  began rigorous training: voice training to master the unusual vocalizations that characterize Kabuki, and physical training to prepare for the stylized movements and poses demanded on the stage. As Ichikawa Ebizà  XI, he appeared on stage for the first time at age five in 1983 at the Kabuki-za, in the role of Harumiya in The Tale of Genji. In 1985, he received the stage name Ichikawa Shinnosuke VII, an honorific name in the Ichikawa lineage, and made his full stage debut in the performance of Uiro-uri, also at the Kabukiza. In 1994, he made his first television appearance in the NHK Taiga drama, Hana no Ran, which starred his father Ichikawa Danjuro XII. In 2003, he was cast as the leading role Miyamoto Musashi, in the NHK Taiga drama Musashi.
In 2011, Ichikawa Ebizà  XI starred in the film ', which premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. He won Best Actor at the 37th Japan Academy Film Prize for performing the title role in the 2013 biographical film Ask This of Rikyu. The following year, he starred in the film Over Your Dead Body. In 2017 he appeared in a supporting role in the Japanese samurai film Blade of the Immortal, which also premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. He has appeared numerous times at the Kabuki-za, Osaka Shochikuza, Minami-za, and many other theaters in Japan.
In recent years, Danjà «rà  has been engaged in reintroducing the values of traditional Japanese art to the contemporary generation in projects. Since 2012, Danjà «rà  has produced the performance Invitation to the Classics to make Kabuki more accessible to smaller cities in rural Japan. Also, between 2013 and 2017, he self-produced a project called "ABKAI" to introduce original contemporary kabuki. On 28 November 2019, Danjà «rà  starred as Kairennosuke in the stage production ; his son Kangen Horikoshi portrayed a younger version of Kairennosuke in the play's third act.
During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremonies, he performed kabuki moves in traditional dress accompanied by the jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara.
On 22 May 2022, Danjà «rà  conducted a kabuki performance with his nirami glare atop the roof of Tokyo Skytree to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the tower's opening.
He has toured outside Japan, including performances in Paris in 2004, London and Amsterdam in MayâÂÂJune 2006, at the Paris Opera in March 2007, the Monaco Opera in September 2009, London and Rome in June 2010, Singapore in November 2014 and October 2015, and the UAE in February 2016. He also appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York City in February 2016, in collaboration with noh and kyà Âgen performances.
Danjà «rà  became the first kabuki actor to hold commemorative performances at the Théâtre national de Chaillot in Paris, and he earned a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for his work on the London stage in 2006. In 2007, France made him a member of theàOrdre des Arts et des Lettres in appreciation of his work.
On 19 November 2009, he announced his engagement to news presenter Mao Kobayashi in a written statement and the couple later held a press conference at a local hotel for an official announcement on 29 January. Their wedding took place on 30 July 2010 and was televised by Nippon TV.
On 25 July 2011, his daughter, Reika, was born. On 22 March 2013, his son and successor Kangen Horikoshi (now Ichikawa Shinnosuke VIII) was born.
In 2016, he was ordained as a Shingon Buddhist monk at Narita-san Shinshà Â-ji temple.
On 22 June 2017, his wife Mao Kobayashi died after a protracted battle with breast cancer.