Nakamura Ganjirō II
Nakamura Ganjirō II was a Japanese kabuki and film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1941 and 1980, directed by notable filmmakers such as Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, and Mikio Naruse.
Lineage
Born into a renowned Kabuki acting family from Kansai, Ganjirō II was the youngest son of Nakamura Ganjirō I, one of the most celebrated Kabuki actors from the 1870s to the 1930s and grandson of Nakamura Kanjaku III, one of the most outstanding kaneru yakusha in the history of Kabuki theater.His older brother, Hayashi Mataichirō II was a Kabuki actor like him and was known for his spectacular and outstanding skills as a Kabuki dancer.
Ganjirō II was the second in the line of actors to inherit the prestigious name Nakamura Ganjirō and his son and his eldest grandson would also inherit the name, being known respectively as Nakamura Ganjirō III and Nakamura Ganjirō IV.
Before being known as Nakamura Ganjirō II, he was known as Nakamura Senjaku I and his son and youngest grandson would inherit the name Nakamura Senjaku, being known respectively as Nakamura Senjaku II and Nakamura Senjaku III.
His two great-grandsons are also Kabuki actors, Nakamura Kazutarō and Nakamura Toranosuke. Due to the fact that he is the son and heir of Ganjirō IV and the eldest great-grandson of Ganjirō II, Kazutarō is expected to become the head of the Kamigata branch of the Narikomaya house and inherit the name Nakamura Ganjirō V in a near future.