Nakamura Utaemon VI
Nakamura Utaemon VI (中村歌右衛門 (6代目), January 20, 1917 — March 31, 2001) was a Japanese kabuki performer and an artistic director of the Kabuki-za in Tokyo.[1] He was a prominent member of a family of kabuki actors from the Keihanshin region.[2]
Nakamura Utaemon VI | |
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 Nakamura Utaemon in 1951 | |
| Born | Fujio Kawamura January 20, 1917 |
| Died | March 31, 2001 (aged 84) |
| Other names | Nakamura Kotaro III
Nakamura Fukusuke VI Nakamura Shikan VI |
| Years active | 1922-1996 |
| Known for | Onnagata-roles |
| Parent(s) |
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Nakamura Utaemon was a stage name with significant cultural and historical connotations.[3] The name Utaemon indicates personal status as an actor. Such a title can only be assumed after the death of a previous holder, under restrictive succession conventions.[4]
He was considered the greatest onnagata of the post-War period,[5] and was heralded as a "a divine messenger given to kabuki from heaven" during his naming ceremony.[6]
Life and career
Utaemon VI was the son of Nakamura Utaemon V.[7] The actor's name was Fujio Kawamura when he was born in the sixth generation of a line of famous Kabuki actors.[1] 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.[4] The name Utaemon VI was formally proclaimed in a 1951 ceremony at the Kabuki theater in Tokyo.[8]
- Lineage of Utaemon stage names
- Nakamura Utaemon I (1714–1791) [9]
- Nakamura Utaemon II (1752–1798) [10]
- Nakamura Utaemon III (1778–1838) [2]
- Nakamura Utaemon IV (1798–1852) [2]
- Nakamura Utaemon V (1865–1940) [11]
- Nakamura Utaemon VI (1917–2001)
In a long career, he acted in many kabuki plays; but he was best known for his oyama roles.[1]
Living National Treasure
In 1968, the government of Japan designated him a Living National Treasure, which was a title acknowledging him as a "bearer of important intangible cultural assets."[1] He was the youngest person in history to be recognised a such.[6]
Selected works
In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Nakamura Utaemon VI, OCLC/WorldCat encompasses roughly 6 works in 6 publications in 2 languages and 9 library holdings[12]
- 2006 — - (伽羅先代萩: 三幕五場, Meiboku sendai hagi: sanmaku goba) ISBN 9784835615981; OCLC 70233503
- 1993 — - (鏡山旧錦絵: 通し狂言四幕六場, Kagamiyama kokyō no nishikie: tōshi kyōgen yonmaku rokuba) OCLC 054923943
- 1989 — - (番町皿屋敷: 一幕二場, Banchō sarayashiki: hitomaku niba) OCLC 029849646
- 1984 — - (大経師昔暦: おさん茂兵衛二幕三場, Daikyōji mukashigoyomi: osan mohee nimaku sanba) OCLC 054925804
Honors
- Japan Art Academy, 1963 [13]
- Order of Culture, 1979 [1]
- Praemium Imperiale, 1995 [14]
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1996 [1]
See also
- List of people on stamps of Japan
- Shūmei
References
- Strom, Stephanie. "Nakamura Utaemon VI, 84, International Star of Kabuki", New York Times. April 4, 2001. Also posted at The Dallas Morning News
- Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia, p. 691., p. 691, at Google Books
- Kurkup, James. "Nakamura Utaemon VI," The Independent (London). April 6, 2001.
- Scott, Adolphe C. (1999). The Kabuki Theatre of Japan, p. 159., p. 159, at Google Books
- "Obituary: Nakamura Utaemon VI". The Japan Times. April 1, 2001.
- Kaneko, Takeshi. "A Man with the Brilliance of a Flower Nakamura Utaemon VI". Waseda Online. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- 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).
- Trumbull, Robert. "Kabuki Theatre Elevates Actor In Traditional Japanese Rites," New York Times. April 12, 1960.
- Leiter, Samuel L. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre, pp. 263-264., p. 263, at Google Books
- Leiter, Samuel L. (2002). A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance, p. 78, p. 78, at Google Books
- Utaemon Nakamura", New York Times. September 11, 1940.
- WorldCat Identities: 中村歌右衛門 6世 1917-2001; 中村歌右衛門 1917- .
- Leiter, p. 264., p. 264, at Google Books
- "Lloyd Webber Wins Prize," New York Times. June 16, 1995.
Bibliography
- Brandon, James R. "Myth and Reality: A Story of Kabuki during American Censorship, 1945-1949," Asian Theatre Journal, Volume 23, Number 1, Spring 2006, pp. 1–110.
- 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
- Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 48943301
- Scott, Adolphe Clarence. (1955). The Kabuki Theatre of Japan. London: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 622644114
- Takeshi Kaneko. "A Man with the Brilliance of a Flower; Nakamura Utaemon VI," Yomiuri Shimbun. Spring 2009.
External links
- Waseda University, Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum; Permanent exhibit, Nakamura Utaemon VI
- Online digitized photograph: "Nakamura Utaemon VI meets Rin-Tin-Tin" — Los Angeles, California, July 2, 1960
- Online digitized photograph: Yukio Mishima with Nakamura Utaemon VI, 1954
- World Digital Library: Nakamura Utaemon no Katō Masakiyo, woodblock print c. 1818–1830
- Find-A-Grave: Utaemon Nakamura, Aoyama Cemetery, Tokyo
- Japan Art Academy
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