was a Japanese actor,

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

performer and costume designer. He was a so-called Living National Treasure. Nakamura Kichiemon was a formal kabuki stage name. The actor's grandfather first appeared using the name in 1897; and Nakamura Kichiemon I continued to use this name until his death.Leiter, Samuel. (2006). Kichiemon I was the maternal grandfather of Kichiemon II.母方の祖父 (maternal grandfather)
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.

Early life

Nakamura was born as Tatsujirō Namino in

Kōjimachi is a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo. History Prior to the arrival of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the area was known as . The area developed as townspeople settled along the Kōshū Kaidō. In 1878, the Kōjimachi area became , a ward of the city of Tokyo. I ...

Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profile< ...

. His elder brother is

Matsumoto Kōshirō IX Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of the c ...

. His father was Ichikawa Somegorō V, later known as Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII, and finally as

Matsumoto Hakuō I , born , was a Japanese kabuki actor, regarded as the leading '' tachiyaku'' (specialist in male roles) of the postwar decades; he also performed in a number of non-kabuki venues, including Western theatre and films. Taking the name Hakuō upon r ...

. His mother was Seiko Fujima, Nakamura Kichiemon I's daughter and only child. According to Kichiemon II himself, his grandfather was "furious" and could not accept that his only child was a girl (because in Kabuki there are no actresses it meant that he could not give his name to his daughter), and treated her like a boy during her childhood. As a result, when she got married, Seiko promised her father that she would have at least two sons: the first would have carried his husband's traditions, while the second would have carried his name. She kept her promise and gave to adoption Kichiemon II to his grandfather. Unlike the most of Kabuki actors, who are only formally adopted when joining an acting family, he was legally adopted by his grandfather. He attended Waseda University. His ''yagō'' is "Harimaya" and his crest is the ''ageha-no-chō'' butterfly of the

Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided ...

Career

Active in

and television, Kichiemon is famous in the role of Musashibō Benkei, whom he has portrayed on stage in '' Kanjinchō'' and ''

Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura ''Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura'' (義経千本桜), or ''Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees'', is a Japanese play, one of the three most popular and famous in the Kabuki repertoire. Originally written in 1747 for the jōruri puppet theater by ...

''. He also played the title character in the NHK '' jidaigeki'' series ''Musashibō Benkei.'' Another heroic role was Ōboshi Yuranosuke (the historical Ōishi Kuranosuke) in '' Kanadehon Chūshingura, the story of the

Forty-seven Ronin 47 (forty-seven) is the natural number following 46 and preceding 48. It is a prime number. In mathematics Forty-seven is the fifteenth prime number, a safe prime, the thirteenth supersingular prime, the fourth isolated prime, and the sixth L ...

. He assumed the television role of Hasegawa Heizō("Onihei") in the

Shōtarō Ikenami was a Japanese author. He wrote a number of historical novels. He won the Naoki Award for popular literature in 1960. Many of his historical novels were adapted for TV and cinema. Early life Born on January 25, 1923 in Sintencho, Asakusa-ku, T ...

series '' Onihei Hankachō''. It ran through nine series, from 1989 to 2001, and has recurred in short series until 2016. His father had previously played Onihei.

Later life

He died on 28 November 2021, at the age of 77.

Selected works

Nakamura's published writings encompass 25 works in 34 publications in 3 languages and 543 library holdings. * 2000 —
OCLC 48917600
* 1996 —
OCLC 36046366

Honors

Japan Art Academy is the highest-ranking official artistic organization in Japan. It is established as an extraordinary organ of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkacho) in the thirty-first article of the law establishing the Ministry of Ed ...

, 2002.中村
* Living National Treasure, 2011 *

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

, 2017

Filmography

Notes

References

* Leiter, Samuel L. (2006)
''Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre.''
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
OCLC 238637010
* Scott, Adolphe Clarence. (1955)
''The Kabuki Theatre of Japan.''
London: Allen & Unwin
OCLC 622644114

External links

(in Japanese) *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Kichiemon 02 1944 births 2021 deaths Male actors from Tokyo Kabuki actors Living National Treasures of Japan Persons of Cultural Merit People from Chiyoda, Tokyo