The Heisei Nakamuraza is a Kabuki troupe, which was founded in 2000 by Nakamura Kankurô, one of Japan's leading Kabuki actors. The troupe uses temporary outdoor theaters in an attempt to recreate in the present Heisei Period the kind of atmosphere of the small, intimate Kabuki theaters of old like the Nakamuraza of the Edo period. Until now this series has presented traditional Kabuki play including "Yoshitsune Sembon Zakura", "Kagamiyama Gonichi no Iwafuji", "Benten Musume Meo no Shiranami", "Honchô Nijûshikô", "Ninjô Banashi Bunshichi Mottoi" and "Sumidagawa Gonichi no Omokage", all in contemporary versions directed by the contemporary theater director Kazuyoshi Kushida. The first overseas performance of this series was held in a temporary outdoor theater set up in the square in front of the Lincoln Center in New York in 2004, recreating the same facility that had been used for the in a Tôkyô performance on the banks of the Sumida River.
Source for this introduction

November 2000: first edition of the Heisei Nakamuraza, in Tôkyô in the district of Asakusa, close to the banks of the Sumida River. The program is made up of "Sumidagawa Gonichi no Omokage" (commonly called "Hôkaibô") and stars Nakamura Kankurô, Nakamura Hashinosuke, Nakamura Fukusuke, Nakamura Senjaku and Bandô Yajûrô.

November 2001: second edition of the Heisei Nakamuraza in Tôkyô, in the district of Asakusa, close to the banks of the Sumida River. Kankurô produces the play "Yoshitsune Sembon Zakura" in which he plays 3 great roles: Taira no Tomomori, Igami no Gonta and the fox Tadanobu/Genkurô.

November 2002: first edition of the Heisei Nakamuraza in Ôsaka; Nakamura Kankurô produces the plays "Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami" and "Sumidagawa Gonichi no Omokage".

October 2003: third edition of the Heisei Nakamuraza in Tôkyô, in the district of Asakusa, close to the banks of the Sumida River. Nakamura Kankurô produces the dramas "Kagamiyama Gonichi no Iwafuji", "Benten Musume Meo no Shiranami" (the "Hamamatsuya" and "Inasegawa" scenes), "Ninjô Banashi Bunshichi Mottoi" and the dance "Kitsunebi".

July 2004: first edition of the Heisei Nakamuraza abroad. Nakamura Kankurô and his troupe (including Nakamura Hashinosuke, Nakamura Senjaku, Bandô Yajûrô, Kataoka Kamezô and Nakamura Shichinosuke) perform in Boston (8~10 July, Cutler Majestic Theatre), New York City (17~25 July, Lincoln Center) and Washington DC (28 July, Warner Theater). In Boston and Washington, the troupe presents the dances "Bô Shibari" and "Renjishi". In New York, an Edo 545-seat traditional theater is built within the Lincoln Center and the troupe successfully presents the great Kamigata drama "Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami".

24~27 September 2006: short stay in Nagoya for the Heisei Nakamuraza as part of the big September Kabuki tour in the Western Provinces [more details].

July 2007: second Heisei Nakamuraza tour in the USA, in New York (Lincoln Center, 16~22 July) and Washington (Warner Theatre, 26 July); Kanzaburô plays in New York the roles of the Lion father and Hôkaibô in "Renjishi" and "Sumidagawa Gonichi no Omokage". He also plays in Washington the roles of Togashi Saemon and Ukyô in "Kanjinchô" and "Migawari Zazen" [more details].

May~June 2008: first Heisei Nakamuraza tour in Europe, in Berlin at the The House of World Cultures (Germany) from the 14th to the 21st of May 2008 and in Sibiu (Rumania) from the 29th of May to the 1st of June 2008 for the International Theatre Festival; Nakamura Kanzaburô produces the drama "Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami" [casting].

July 2008: first edition of the Heisei Nakamuraza in Matsumoto (Nagano Prefecture); Nakamura Kanzaburô produces at the Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre the drama "Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami" with the same casting as the tour in Europe.

October 2008: fifth edition of the Heisei Nakamuraza in Tôkyô, in the district of Asakusa, close to the banks of the Sumida River; Nakamura Kanzaburô produces for the first time the classic "Kanadehon Chûshingura", in four different programs with the very rare production of the second act of this drama in one program (the "Rikiya Jôshi" and "Matsukiri" scenes). This edition stars for the very first time Kataoka Nizaemon.

November 2008: sixth edition of the Heisei Nakamuraza in Tôkyô, in the district of Asakusa, close to the banks of the Sumida River; Nakamura Kanzaburô produces the drama "Sumidagawa Gonichi no Omokage" (commonly called "Hôkaibô").