, was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

active in

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 ...

, other forms of live

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

and

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

. Kanzaburō was a versatile actor whose credits include

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...

period piece A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

s and Shin Kabuki.

Lineage

Kanzaburō was the eighteenth in the line of Nakamura Kanzaburō, his father the seventeenth. Kanzaburō actually traced his ancestry within the Nakamuraya kabuki guild back to his great-great-great grandfathers, if not further. Both his grandfathers were kabuki actors, as were their fathers. Kanzaburō was the younger brother of film actress Kuriko Namino. With his wife Yoshie, he had two sons, Nakamura Kankurō VI and

Nakamura Shichinosuke II (born May 18, 1983) is a Japanese Kabuki, theatre, TV, and film actor. He was born , the second son of famed Kabuki performer, Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII. Unlike many kabuki actors, who specialize in a single type of role, Shichinosuke plays both ...

. Both perform kabuki, and in other venues.

Life and career

He made his debut under the name Nakamura Kankurō V in April 1959 in the role of Momotaro. His kabuki credits under that name include roles in '' Kagami-jishi'', '' Kamiyui Shinza'' and ''

Yotsuya Kaidan , the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon, is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge. Arguably the most famous Japanese ghost story of all time, it has been adapted for film over 30 times and continues to be an influence on Japanese horro ...

''. In addition to performing at the

Kabuki-za in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional '' kabuki'' drama form. History The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and ...

and other kabuki venues, Kankurō helped establish the , a temporary kabuki stage erected for only one set of performances, in a variety of locations. He erected it, and performed on it, in

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History T ...

(Tokyo), Osaka, and, in 2004, on a US tour, performing in Boston, New York, and Washington DC. The Heisei Nakamura-za performed again in New York and Washington in 2007. He made his film debut at age four in '' Thus Another Day'' (1959), which also starred his father. Noteworthy television roles include

Imagawa Yoshimoto was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was known as . he was one of the three ''daimyōs'' that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto to become S ...

in the 1988 Taiga drama ''

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

'', Oishi Kuranosuke in the 1999 Taiga drama '' Genroku Ryoran'', Terumasa Ikeda in ''武蔵 MUSASHI'' (2003), and a TBS special ''Koyoi wa KANKURO''. Commercial endorsements include Contac,

Japan Post was a Japanese statutory corporation that existed from 2003 to 2007, offering postal and package delivery services, banking services, and life insurance. It's the nation's largest employer, with over 400,000 employees, and runs 24,700 post o ...

, JT,

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. It ...

and Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank. He took the name Kanzaburō at a ''

shūmei ''Shūmei'' (, "name succession") are grand naming ceremonies held in kabuki theatre. Most often, a number of actors will participate in a single ceremony, taking on new stage-names. These stagenames, most often those of the actor's father, gran ...

'' on March 3, 2005.

Illness and Death

In June 2011, Kanzaburō revealed to the public that he was suffering from esophageal cancer, and was receiving treatment. On December 5, 2012, Kanzaburō died from

acute respiratory distress Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin colo ...

, four months before the

re-opened in Tokyo.

Awards and honors

* 2002

Golden Arrow Award A Golden Arrow Award was an accolade presented by the members of the Japan Magazine Publishers Association (JMPA) to recognize excellence in domestic media, such as in film, television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecomm ...

* 2004

Kikuchi Kan Prize The honors achievement in all aspects of Japanese literary culture. It was named in honor of Kikuchi Kan. The prize is presented annually by the literary magazine '' Bungei Shunjū'' and the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature. Histo ...

* 2008 Medal of Honor with purple ribbon * 2012 Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (posthumous)

Notes

References

Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII at Kabuki21.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Kanzaburo 18 Kabuki actors Male actors from Tokyo 1955 births 2012 deaths Taiga drama lead actors