zagashira
座頭
ざがしらthe leading actor at the head of a troupe
INSTANT ANSWER
The zagashira is the actor at the head of a troupe—supreme in both artistry and standing, who in the Edo period wielded authority over the stage and the company alike.
The zagashira is the highest-ranking actor performing at a theatre. Popularity alone did not suffice: the position demanded the artistic authority to lead an entire company.
In the Edo period the zagashira is said to have held sweeping authority, engaged not only in staging but in the management of the playhouse itself; actors contracted with a theatre year by year, and the zagashira was the keystone of the company. Today the word may also honour an actor capable of the great roles the zagashira historically played—Benkei in Kanjinchō above all.
The reading holds a small trap: the same characters read zatō form an entirely different word, one rank among blind professionals in the Edo period—the tōdōza guild of biwa players and masseurs is said to have graded its members kengyō, bettō, kōtō, and zatō. The head of a kabuki troupe is always zagashira.
Zagashira names an institution of kabuki as a whole. That Benkei in Kanjinchō—the very archetype of a zagashira's role—belongs to the Kabuki Jūhachiban of the Ichikawa Sōke speaks to the weight the name Danjūrō has carried in Edo kabuki.
Plays Where You Can See It
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These words meet on the same stage. Knowing one makes the next easier to see.
- 立役tachiyakuTachiyaku are the male roles of kabuki—and the actors who specialize in them—forming the counterpart to the onnagata female-role specialists.Read
- 千両役者senryō yakushaA senryō yakusha is an actor whose popularity commanded a yearly salary of a thousand ryō—Ichikawa Danjūrō II is counted among the first to earn the title.Read
- 顔見世kaomiseKaomise is the annual "face-showing" production that introduced a theatre's newly assembled troupe—once the most important event of the kabuki year.Read
- 名題nadaiNadai is the senior rank of kabuki actors, attained through a qualifying examination and a formal promotion; other actors are called nadai-shita.Read
Sources & Supervision
- Author
- KABUKI Universe Editorial Team
- Supervision
- Ichikawa Danjūrō
- Published
- Aug 16, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 9, 2026
Supervision means Ichikawa Danjūrō has reviewed this page's intent and key points. The text is the editorial team's writing, not Ichikawa Danjūrō's own statements. Editorial responsibility rests with the team, which corrects any error. Read the editorial policy