Iwai Hanshirō VIII
Iwai Hanshirō VIII was a Japanese kabuki performer, known both for his own work and for his place in the lineage of a family of kabuki actors.
He was the son of Iwai Hanshirō VII.
Iwai Hanshirō was a stage name with significant cultural and historical connotations.
In the conservative Kabuki world, stage names are passed from father to son in formal system which converts the kabuki stage name into a mark of accomplishment. This actor assumed the mantle of his father's stage name in 1872.
woodblock print by Yōshū Chikanobu 1882
; Lineage of Iwai stage names
