Career
Taking the name Hakuō upon retirement, he was known as Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII for much of his career. Like most Kabuki actors, Hakuō had a number of stage names (gō) over the course of his career. Originally appearing on stage as Matsumoto Sumizō II, he later took the names Ichikawa Somegorō V and Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII.
After making his first stage appearance in 1925, at the age of fifteen, under the name Matsumoto Sumizō II, he took the name Ichikawa Somegorō V in 1931.
In 1949, when Somegorō was 39, his father, Kōshirō VII, died, and the actor took his father"s name at a shūmei (naming ceremony) a few months later, becoming the eighth Matsumoto Kōshirō.
The ceremony was held at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo, and featured the play Kanjinchō, in which Kōshirō VIII played Benkei and Higuchi Jirō Kanemitsu. His film credits include Emperor Hirohito in Japan"s Longest Day (日本のいちばん長い日, Nihon no ichiban nagai hi), in which famous actor Toshirō Mifune played General Korechika Anami, Ii Naosuke in Samurai Assassin (侍, Samurai), and a number of other jidaigeki (samurai period films).
Kôshirō was named a Living National Treasure (Japan) in 1975, a rare and very illustrious honor awarded to those who embody, promote, and preserve traditional culture. Hakuō died the following year, on 11 January 1982.