Stage names:

Nakamura Kanjaku III
Arashi Kakuzô I

Guild: Narikomaya

Line number: SANDAIME (III)

Poetry name: Shishô

Existence: 1841 ~ 3 February 1881

Connections:

Adoptive father: Nakamura Utaemon IV

Son: Nakamura Ganjirô I

Grandsons: Nakamura Ganjirô II, Hayashi Mataichirô II

Great-grandsons: Sakata Tôjûrô IV (Nakamura Ganjirô III), Nakamura Kikaku I

Great-great-grandsons: Nakamura Ganjirô IV, Nakamura Senjaku III, Nakamura Kikaku II

Great-great-great-grandsons: Nakamura Kazutarô, Nakamura Toranosuke

Disciples: Nakamura Shikaku I, Nakamura Kandô

Career:

1841 ~ 1852: born in Ôsaka. His father was a policeman. He joins a troupe of children-actors (kodomo shibai) at the age of 11, playing under the name of Arashi Kakuzô I.

1st lunar month of 1852: Kakuzô was adopted by Nakamura Utaemon IV.

17th day of the 2nd lunar month of 1852 ^[1]: his adoptive father Nakamura Utaemon IV died.

3rd lunar month of 1860: birth of his son. Kakuzô's lover Otae was the daughter and heir of the Ôgiya house, one of the most famous and prestigious brothels in Ôsaka. It was impossible for the couple to get married and Kakuzô had to leave Otae and his son.

1st lunar month of 1861 ^[2]: the actor Nakamura Kanjaku II died.

8th lunar month of 1863: Arashi Kakuzô I took the name of Nakamura Kanjaku III at the Ônishi no Shibai, playing the role of Hayase Genjirô in the drama "Tengajaya".

9th lunar month of 1868: Kanjaku played at the Kita-Horie Ichi-no-Gawa Shibai (Ôsaka) the role of Hachiman Tarô in the "Sodehagi Saimon" scene of the drama "Ôshû Adachi-ga-Hara"; his stage partners are Nakamura Sôjûrô (Sodehagi), Arashi Hinasuke VI (Abe no Sadatô) and Jitsukawa Enjaku I (Abe no Munetô). The same play was staged with the same casting in the 11th lunar month of 1868 at the Minamigawa no Shibai.

Winter 1870: Kanjaku settled in Tôkyô.

1st lunar month of 1871: Kanjaku played at the Moritaza the role of Miuranosuke in the drama "Kamakura Sandaiki".

10th lunar month of 1872: premiere at the Moritaza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's zangirimono "Tsuki no En Masu no Igaguri"; Kanjaku played the role of Seikichi [casting].

January 1875: premiere at the Moritaza of Kawatake Shinshichi II's drama "Ôgi Byôshi Ôoka Seidan" (commonly called "Ten'ichibô"); Kanjaku played the roles of the Kannôin servant Kyûsuke, Tokugawa Tsunaeda and Ikeda Daisuke [casting].

June 1875: Kanjaku performed at the Shintomiza in the drama "Meiji Nenkan Azuma Nikki".

Summer 1875 Kanjaku went back to Ôsaka.

March 1876: Kanjaku played at the Matsushima Shibai (Ôsaka) the role of Onoenosuke in the drama "Keisei Jidai Kagami".

1877: reunion with his son Tamatarô.

March 1878: his son took the name of Nakamura Ganjirô I, performing together with his father in the drama "Seinan Yume Monogatari" which was staged in Ôsaka at the Ebisuza.

April 1879: tour on Shikoku Island.

August 1879: second stay in Tôkyô; Kanjaku took part in the opening ceremony of the Hisamatsuza [details].

1880: Kanjaku went back to Ôsaka.

October 1880: Kanjaku achieved a great success at the Ebisuza playing 4 roles in the drama "Sensui no Tsuki Utsushi no Omokage".

January 1881: Kanjaku appeared on stage for the last time, in Kobe at the Kikusuiza, where he played the role of Ôoka Echizen in the drama "Ten'ichibô Ôoka Seidan". He suddenly fell ill and stopped acting.

3 February 1881: Kanjaku died in Ôsaka.

Comments:

Nakamura Kanjaku III was a talented Kamigata actor, who was able to play tachiyaku or onnagata roles and was equally at home in sewamono and jidaimono dramas. Wagotoshi or toshima roles were his forte.

[1] The 17th day of the 2nd lunar month of the 5th year of the Kaei era was the 7th of March 1852 in the western calendar.

[2] The 7th day of the 1st lunar month of the 2nd year of the Man'en era was the 16th of February 1861 in the western calendar.

Nakamura Kanjaku III playing the role of Chienai in the drama "Kiichi Hôgen Sanryaku no Maki" (print made by Toyohara Kunichika in 1880)

Print made by Toyohara Kunichika in 1874

The Nakamura Kanjaku line of actors