Bandō Mitsugorō VIII (八代目 坂東 三津五郎) (19 October 1906 – 16 January 1975) was one of Japan's most revered kabuki actors from the 1930s until his death. He was a renowned and, specializing in particular in the style. He was officially designated as a "Living National Treasure" by the Japanese government in 1973.

Lineage

8th in the line of, he was adopted by ; his son and grandson would go on to take the name as well, becoming ninth and tenth in the line respectively.

Early life

made his stage debut at the age of 7 in 1913 as III. He would take the name VI in 1928, at the theatre.

Career

later tried to adapt The Tale of Genji to the stage, but was prohibited from doing so by the authorities. After a few years in a kabuki troupe run by the company, he moved to ; he lived there for nearly 20 years, performing in and other venues, and taking part in the final performances at the, which closed and became a department store in 1958. In 1962, following his return to Tokyo, and the death of his adopted father VII, celebrated a (naming ceremony) alongside his son-in-law,, and grandson, , taking the name VIII himself. Four years later, he performed at the opening ceremonies for Tokyo's National Theater. He performed as in (The Tale of the 47 Ronin) in December 1974 at the National Theater. This was among his final performances, as he died the following month at age 68.

Death

In January 1975, visited a Kyoto restaurant with friends and ordered four portions of, or puffer fish liver. The liver is one of the most toxic parts of the fish, and its sale was prohibited by local ordinances (it was banned nationally in 1984). Claiming that he could survive the fish's poison, he ate the livers and died following eight hours of gradual paralysis and breathing difficulties.