Kenichi Enomoto, also known by his stage name Enoken, was a renowned Japanese singing comedian born on October 11, 1904, in Aoyama, Tokyo. His parents owned a rice cracker shop, and Enomoto was captivated by the stars of the Asakusa Opera, including Taya Rikizo and Fujiwara Yoshie.
Enomoto made his stage debut at the age of 18 in 1922 as a chorus member of the Asakusa Kinryukan Theatre. However, the devastating Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 severely impacted the opera world in Tokyo, prompting Enomoto to shift his focus to comic theatre.
He continued to play small roles in various comedy productions, eventually returning to the Asakusa stage in 1929 as part of the troupe Casino Folly. The following year, Enomoto launched his own troupe, Enoken Gekidan, which solidified his position as a leading figure in Tokyo's theatrical circles.
Enomoto's film career took off in 1934 with the movie Enoken no Seishun Suikoden (Enoken's Tale of Youth's Folly),which catapulted him to national fame. He went on to parody numerous Japanese historical figures, including Kondo Isami and Sakamoto Ryoma, in a series of "jidai-geki" (historical dramas) and "chanbara" (samurai drama) films directed by renowned directors such as Kajirō Yamamoto, Nobuo Nakagawa, and Akira Kurosawa.
In the 1950s, Enomoto was afflicted with necrosis of the right leg, which necessitated amputation, significantly curtailing his film and stage career. Nevertheless, he staged a remarkable comeback in 1963 at the Shinjuku Koma Theatre, performing with a prosthetic leg.
Kenichi Enomoto passed away on January 7, 1970, and is buried in Hase Temple in Nishi-Azabu, Minato, Tokyo, where his tombstone bears the inscription "The King of Comedy".
