Umewaka Minoru I

Umewaka Minoru I, also Umewaka Rokurō LII, was a leading actor in the Kanze school of Noh in late Edo and early Meiji period Japan. A prolific teacher of Noh in the Meiji period, he taught a variety of people including the painter Kōgyo, the writer Ezra Pound, and the scholar and art collector Ernest Fenollosa. His diary, published under the title Umewaka Minoru Nikki, spans much of his life, and records in great detail his activities and the world of Noh in the Meiji period.

Biography

He was born in Kanda Gincho, Edo, as the second son of Kujirai Heizaemon, a purveyor to the Rinnoji Temple in Ueno. His childhood name was Kamejiro. In 1836, he was adopted by Umewaka Rokuro Ujiaki. After his adoption, he changed his name to Rokunojo and succeeded him as head of the family in 1839 He married in 1853 and changed his name to Rokuro Ujizane.
During the turbulent period of the Meiji Restoration, when the head of the Kanze school moved to Shizuoka with shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, Noh theatre declined. However, Umewaka built Noh theatres, performed on the stage of his own home, and opened previously private Noh performances to the public for a fee. He is credited with reviving Noh theatre during the Meiji period and is known as one of the "Three Masters of the Meiji Period", along with Hōshō Kurō and Sakurama Banma.