Nakamura Utaemon I

Nakamura Utaemon I (中村歌右衛門 (初代); 1714–1791) was a Japanese kabuki performer. He was the progenitor of a family of kabuki actors from the Keihanshin region.^[1] He was the son of a provincial doctor. As a youth, he decided to join a troupe of actors; and this was the beginning of a long career.^[2]

Nakamura Utaemon I
Nakamura Utaemon I, a caricature published in Osaka in 1780
Born	1714 (1714) Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan
Died	1791 (aged 76–77)
Children	Nakamura Utaemon III (son) Nakamura Utanosuke II (adopted son)
Relatives	Kagaya Hashinosuke I (grandson) Nakamura Shikan III (great-grandson) Nakamura Tamashichi I (great-great-grandson) Nakamura Tsurusuke V (great-great-grandson)

Nakamura Utaemon was a stage name with significant cultural and historical connotations.^[3]

Life and career

In 1782, Utaemon presented the name Utaemon II to a favored apprentice; but the name was later retrieved (or abandoned) in 1790. Then the name was bestowed on his son, who kept it.^[4] Utaemon III was the natural son of Nakamura Utaemon I.^[2]

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]

Lineage of Utaemon stage names

• Nakamura Utaemon I (1714–1791) ^[2]
• Nakamura Utaemon II (1752-1798) ^[4]
• Nakamura Utaemon III (1778–1838) ^[1]
• Nakamura Utaemon IV (1798–1852) ^[1]
• Nakamura Utaemon V (1865–1940) ^[1]
• Nakamura Utaemon VI (1917–2001) ^[6]

See also

• Shūmei