was a Japanese kabuki performer, known both for his work and for his place in the lineage of a family of kabuki actors in Edo during the Edo period. He was the son of Iwai Hanshirō IV.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005).

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.Scott, Adolphe C. (1999). This actor assumed the mantle of his father's stage name in 1804.Leiter, Samuel L. (2006).

Lineage of Iwai stage names Iwai Hanshirō I (1652–1699)Leiter, Iwai Hanshirō II (d. 1710) Iwai Hanshirō III (1698–1760) Iwai Hanshirō IV (1747–1800) Iwai Hanshirō V (1776–1847) Iwai Hanshirō VI (1799–1836) Iwai Hanshirō VII (1804–1845) Iwai Hanshirō VIII (1829–1882)Scott, Iwai Hanshirō IX (1882–1945) Iwai Hanshirō X (1927-2011)Scott, Iwai Hanshiro (2021 - ) 岩井半四郎、襲名披露に「感無量です」 コロナ禍で2度延期、その間に夫を亡くすも - Sport Houchi(06/26/2022)

See also Shūmei

Notes

References Leiter, Samuel L. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ; OCLC 238637010 Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 48943301 Scott, Adolphe Clarence. (1955). The Kabuki Theatre of Japan. London: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 622644114