Tenkatsu Shokyokusai

Tenkatsu Shokyokusai
Tenkatsu Shokyokusai, from a picture postcard.
Born	Katsu Nakai 21 May 1886 Tokyo
Died	11 November 1944
Other names	Madame Tenkatsu
Occupation(s)	Actress, magician

Tenkatsu Shokyokusai (松旭斎 天勝, 21 May 1886 – 11 November 1944), also known as Katsu Kanazawa, was a Japanese magician and actress.

Katsu Nakai was born in Tokyo. After her father's pawn-shop business failed, she worked as an apprentice at a tempura shop belonging to then-famous magician Ten'ichi Shokyokusai (1853-1912), of whom she later became an assistant.^[1] From 1901^[2] to 1903, they performed on tour in the United States, where teenaged Tenkatsu was described as a "dainty Japanese beauty"^[3] and as a geisha.^[4] She was sometimes referred to as Tenichi Shokyokusai's wife or widow,^[5] or as his stepdaughter, perhaps because of the difference in their ages.^[6]

Shokyokusai became a well-known magician in her own right.^[5] She headed her own troupe of performers, Tenkatsu Ichiza. The company staged adaptations of Western plays, including Shakespeare's The Tempest and Oscar Wilde's Salome, with herself in the title role.^[7][8] "Madame Tenkatsu" toured with her company in the United States in 1924 and 1925,^[9][10][6] including shows in Hawaii^[11] and at the Hippodrome in New York.^[12] She is said to have introduced American jazz to Japan in 1925, when she brought a group of Chicago-based musicians home to tour with her.^[13][14]

Shokyokusai appeared in several films, including Tenkatsujo no Hagoromai (Feather Cloak Dance of Miss Tenkatsu, 1906).^[15] She was said to have a diamond embedded in one of her teeth.^[16]

Shokyokusai retired from the stage in 1936, and she died in 1944, aged 58 years. A biography of Shokyokusai appeared in Japanese in 1968, by Gashō Ishikawa.^[17]

• Tenkatsu Shokyokusai at IMDb