Nakamura Utaemon III (三代目中村歌右衛門) (actor 03/03/1778 – 07/13/1838)
Nakamura Tamasuke (中村玉助: 1/1836 to 7/1838)Nakamura Baigyoku I (初代中村梅玉: for a few months in 1826)
Nakamura Shikan I (初代中村芝翫: 2/1818 to 10/1819)
Baigyoku (梅玉 - poetry name)
Shikan (芝翫 - poetry name)
Kagaya Fukunosuke I (初代加賀屋福之助: 3/1789-10/1791)
Kanazawa Ryūgoku I (pen name - 金沢龍谷)
Ōzeki Ichibei (大関市兵衛: til 2/1789)
Nakamura Utaemon III (三代目中村歌右衛門: from 1790 to 2/1818 and again 10/1819 to 1826 and once again 1826 to 1/1836)
Links
Kabuki21Kabuki theater terms
Biography:
Born in Osaka. This actor held/used the name Nakamura Utaemon III from 11/1791 to 12/1835. His father was Kagaya Kashichi I (1714-1791) aka Nakamura Utaemon I. His birth son was Kagaya Hashinosuke I (died in 1832). His great-grandsons were Nakamura Tamashichi I (1837-60) and Nakamura Tsurusuke V (1846-92). Among his adopted sons was Nakamura Utaemon IV who is represented in the Lyon Collection by about 18 prints. Another is Nakamura Shikan III who appears in 2 prints. Another adopted son was Nakamura Matsue IV who appears in 1 print.
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Nakamura Tamasuke was an outstanding kaneru yakusha, who won fame for himself first in Kamigata, then in Edo. He was also famous for his acting rivalries with Arashi Kichisaburō II in Ōsaka, then with Bandō Mitsugorō III and Matsumoto Kōshirō V in Edo. One of his fields of excellence was the hengemono dances. He performed up to 9 roles/costumes changes during the same dance.
Nakamura Tamasuke's best roles: Matsuōmaru ("Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami"), Kumagai Jirô Naozane ("Ichi-no-Tani Futaba Gunki"), Taira no Tomomori/Igami no Gonta/Tadanobu ("Yoshitsune Sembon Zakura") and Gotobei ("Yoshitsune Koshigoejō").
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It is worth noting that Nakamura Utaemon III was also a playwright, writing around 25 plays under the pen name of Kanazawa Ryūgoku. "The third Utayemon wrote his own plays, but did not have good luck in the sakusha whom he engaged to help him,--Nagawa Seisuke. He did his best with Nagawa's poor compositions, but the latter possessed inferior ability. On one occasion the playwright became angry because his ideas had not been carried out properly, and he drew his sword to kill Utayemon, when he was stopped."
Quoted from: Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan by Zoë Kincaid, p. 246.
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If you have a bit of time during your stay in Tōkyō, there is a place where you can pay your respect to Nakamura Utaemon III. A stone was erected after his death in the precinct of Jōshinji temple, in memory of his generosity. This stone is called Baigyoku no Hi, literally "the monument of Baigyoku".
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Andrew Gerstle wrote in 'Poetry in Osaka Actor Surimono and Prints', on page 150: "Utaemon, as we know from the work of Kaguraoka Yōko, was a master at self-promotion. His return from his first tour of Edo in late 1812 had a decisive impact on Osaka actor print production, which had until that time been almost exclusively in the hosoban format. His dramatic return and open rivalry with Rikan stimulated the creation of dynamic ōban actor prints. His return in late 1815, this time with the reinvented Ichikawa Ebijūrō I 市川蝦十郎 (Shinshō 新升, 1777-1827), again would lead to a change in the role of actor prints."
Rikan, a rival Osakan actor, wrote about Utaemon's return to that city with obvious irritation. Gerstle quoted him on page 153: "On returning to Osaka, he had a flotilla of boats [norikomi 乗込み], more than ever assembled before, greet him at Higashibori landing and then travel to Dōtonbori, alighting at the Naka Theater. The fireworks and bonfires on both sides of the river were truly like the Tenjin Festival. All the crowds gathered at the Naka Theater and there was nothing I could do about it." Not only did Shikan find that what Utaemon did was gauche, but he also complained that it left little attention for him to relish.
On page 154 Gerstle noted that Rikan complained about Utaemon's flashy quick-change performances which Shikan felt damaged the purity of kabuki performances. Besides, Utaemon's quick-change performances pulled viewers away from Rikan's more serious productions. Gerstle noted that drama theater productions in modern-day London and New York complained that musicals were making their crowds smaller. (ibid. page 155)