Nakamura Utaemon VI
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January 20, 1917
Nakamura Fukusuke VI
Nakamura Shikan VINakamura Utaemon VI | |
|---|---|
 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 |
| Children | Nakamura Baigyoku IV (adopted son) Nakamura Kaishun II (adopted son) |
| Father | Nakamura Utaemon V |
| Relatives | Nakamura Fukusuke V (older brother) |
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 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]
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 a 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]
His two adopted sons, Nakamura Baigyoku IV (四代目 中村梅玉)[a] and Nakamura Kaishun II (二代目 中村魁春)[b] are also Kabuki actors (just like his father, Utaemon VI's eldest son, Nakamura Baigyoku IV is currently a Living National Treasure[c]).[12]
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[13]
- 2006 – Meiboku sendai hagi: sanmaku goba (伽羅先代萩: 三幕五場) ISBN 9784835615981; OCLC 70233503
- 1993 – Kagamiyama kokyō no nishikie: tōshi kyōgen yonmaku rokuba (鏡山旧錦絵: 通し狂言四幕六場) OCLC 054923943
- 1989 – Banchō sarayashiki: hitomaku niba (番町皿屋敷: 一幕二場) OCLC 029849646
- 1984 – Daikyōji mukashigoyomi: osan mohee nimaku sanba (大経師昔暦: おさん茂兵衛二幕三場) OCLC 054925804
Honors
- Japan Art Academy, 1963 [14]
- Order of Culture, 1979 [1]
- Praemium Imperiale, 1995 [15]
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1996 [1]
