Nakamura Kichiemon I

Nakamura Karoku III (father)

RelativesNakamura Karoku I (grandfather)
Nakamura Tokizō III (younger brother)
Nakamura Kanzaburō XVII (younger brother)
Masako Fujima (daughter)
Matsumoto Hakuō I (son-in-law)
Matsumoto Hakuō II (grandson)
Nakamura Kichiemon II (grandson/adoptive son)
Matsumoto Koshirō X (great-grandson)^[b]
Kio Matsumoto (great-granddaughter)^[c]
Takako Matsu (great-granddaughter)^[d]
Yoko Namino (great-granddaughter)^[e]
Ichikawa Somegorō VIII (great-great-grandson)^[f]
Mio Matsuda (great-great-granddaughter)^[g]
Onoe Ushinosuke VII (great-great-grandson)^[h]

Nakamura Kichiemon I (初代中村吉右衛門, Shodai Nakamura Kichiemon, March 24, 1886 – September 8, 1954) was a Japanese actor and kabuki performer. In 1945, he became the senior living kabuki actor in Japan.^[1]

Biography

Kichiemon construed his career in terms of "lifelong study" (gei) of that which cannot be seen in an actor's performance.^[2]

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.^[3]

He was the maternal grandfather of Nakamura Kichiemon II.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7]

1946 — "Kabuki geki no susumu beki michi" ("The way kabuki drama must advance"). Tögeki, Tokyo Gekijö program. May 7, 1946
1951 — Diary of Kichiemon (吉右衞門自傳, Kichiemon jiden). OCLC 33707206
1956 — Kichiemon Diary (吉右衛門日記, Kichiemon nikki) OCLC 033708328

Honors

Japan Art Academy^[1]
Order of Culture, 1951 ^[4]

Gallery

Nakamura Kichiemon I Takebe Genzō, in Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami, March 1943.
Nakamura Kichiemon I as Matsuō-maru, in Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami, July 1951.

Notes

^ While the stage names of all kabuki actors have retained traditional order (Surname-Givenname) on Wikipedia, birth names of those born after the Meiji Restoration are in Western order (Givenname-Surname).
^ Son of Matsumoto Hakuō II
^ Daughter of Matsumoto Hakuō II
^ Daughter of Matsumoto Hakuō II
^ Daughter of Nakamura Kichiemon II
^ Son of Matsumoto Koshirō X
^ Daughter of Matsumoto Koshirō X
^ Son of his great-granddaughter Yoko Namino (daughter of Nakamura Kichiemon II) and kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke V (son of famous Kabuki actor Onoe Kikugorō VII)

^ ^a ^b Scott, Adolphe C. (1999). The Kabuki Theatre of Japan, p. 184., p. 184, at Google Books
^ Leiter, Samuel. (2002). A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance, p. 367, p. 367, at Google Books
^ Leiter, Samuel. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre, p. 260., p. 260, at Google Books
^ ^a ^b 母方の祖父 (maternal grandfather) Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
^ Scott, p. 159., p. 159, at Google Books
^ Japan Arts Council, 中村 Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
^ WorldCat Identities: 中村吉右衛門 1886-1954.

References

Leiter, Samuel L. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5527-4; OCLC 238637010
__________. ( 2002). A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance. ISBN 9780765607041; ISBN 9780765607058; OCLC 182632867
Scott, Adolphe Clarence. (1955). The Kabuki Theatre of Japan. London: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 622644114

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nakamura Kichiemon I.

Japan Art Academy (in Japanese)
Find-A-Grave: Kichiemon Nakamura, Aoyama Cemetery, Tokyo
Art Institute of Chicago: "Portrait of Nakamura Kichiemon" (1947) by Junichiro Sekino, 1914–1988