Nakamura Kichiemon I


Nakamura Kichiemon I was a Japanese actor and kabuki performer. In 1945, he became the senior living kabuki actor in Japan.

Lineage

Born into a renowned Kabuki acting family, Kichiemon I comes from a long line of Kabuki actors with roots in the Kamigata region but who became most popular in Edo.
His grandfather, Nakamura Karoku I was a legendary onnagata actor who specialized in keisei roles and who was the first actor to bear the prestigious name Nakamura Karoku.
His father, Nakamura Karoku III was a renowned Kaneru yakusha whose specialty was jidaimono plays.
His uncle, Nakamura Karoku II, was an onnagata actor like Kichiemon I's grandfather, but he did not achieve the same level of fame as his father, brother, or nephews.
Kichiemon I was the eldest of three sons of Karoku III and like Kichiemon I, his two younger brothers were also legendary actors of the Kabuki theater during the Showa era: his middle brother, Nakamura Tokizō III was a legendary onnagata actor who was considered one of the greatest onnagata actors of the 20th century and who was the founder of the Yorozuya house and his younger brother Nakamura Kanzaburō XVII was a legendary Kaneru yakusha responsible for resurrecting many forgotten traditions of Kabuki theater and for being a renowned Kabuki dancer, being considered a of the greatest Kabuki dancers of the 20th century.

Biography

Kichiemon construed his career in terms of "lifelong study" of that which cannot be seen in an actor's performance.
Nakamura Kichiemon is a formal kabuki stage name. The actor first appeared using the name in 1897; and he continued to use this name until his death.
He was the maternal grandfather of Nakamura Kichiemon II. 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. In choosing to be known by the same stage name as his grandfather, the living kabuki performer honors his family relationships and tradition.
In a long career, he acted in many kabuki plays, including the role of Matsuō-maru in the July 1951 production of Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami.

Selected works

In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Nakamura Kichiemon I, OCLC/WorldCat encompasses roughly 10+ works in 20+ publications in 2 languages and 80+ library holdings.
  • 1946 — "Kabuki geki no susumu beki michi". Tögeki, Tokyo Gekijö program. May 7, 1946
  • 1951 — Diary of Kichiemon.
  • 1956 — Kichiemon Diary

Honors