Nakamura Kichiemon I

Nakamura Kichiemon I wearing the Grand Order of Culture

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

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]

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

• 1946 — "Kabuki geki no susumu beki michi" ("The way kabuki drama mustdvance"). 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.

See also

• List of people on stamps of Japan
• Shūmei

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Scott, Adolphe C. (1999). The Kabuki Theatre of Japan, p. 184. at Google Books
2. ^ Leiter, Samuel. (2002). A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance, p. 367 at Google Books
3. ^ Leiter, Samuel. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre, p. 260. at Google Books
4. ^ ^{a b} 母方の祖父 (maternal grandfather)
5. ^ Scott, p. 159. at Google Books
6. ^ Japan Arts Council, 中村
7. ^ 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. 10-ISBN 0810855275; 13-ISBN 9780810855274; OCLC 238637010
• __________. ( 2002). A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance. 10-ISBN 0765607042/13-ISBN 9780765607041; 10-ISBN 0765607050/13-ISBN 9780765607058; OCLC 182632867
• Scott, Adolphe Clarence. (1955). The Kabuki Theatre of Japan. London: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 622644114

External links

• 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

Persondata
Name	Nakamura, Kichiemon I
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1886
Place of birth
Date of death	1954
Place of death