Nakamura Utaemon VI


Nakamura Utaemon VI was a Japanese kabuki performer and an artistic director of the Kabuki-za in Tokyo. He was a prominent member of a family of kabuki actors from the Keihanshin region.
Nakamura Utaemon was a stage name with significant cultural and historical connotations. 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.

Life and career

Utaemon VI was the son of Nakamura Utaemon V. The actor's name was Fujio Kawamura when he was born in the sixth generation of a line of famous Kabuki actors. 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. The name Utaemon VI was formally proclaimed in a 1951 ceremony at the Kabuki theater in Tokyo.
; Lineage of Utaemon stage names
In a long career, he acted in many kabuki plays; but he was best known for his oyama roles.

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."

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