Kawatake Mokuami, born Yoshimura Yoshisaburo, was a Japanese kabuki playwright whose prolific and varied works included short dance pieces, period plays (jidaimono), contemporary genre pieces (sewamono), tragedies and comedies, as well as adaptations of Western stories. He was famous for his shiranamimono, plays featuring sympathetic or tragic rogues and thieves. Many of his protagonist roles were written for specific actors. His works, including Momijigari (Viewing the Autumn Foliage, 1887), continue to dominate the kabuki repertoire today.
See also KAWATAKE SHINSHICHI III; THEATER REFORM.
Historical dictionary of modern Japanese literature and theater. J. Scott Miller. 2009.