Nakamura Utaemon V

was a Japanese kabuki performer and "dean of kabuki actors at 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.

Life and career

Utaemon V was the artistic heir of Nakamura Utaemon IV. He was born in the fifth generation of a line of famous Kabuki actors. In the conservative Kabuki world, stage names are passed from father to son in a formal system which converts the kabuki stage name into a mark of accomplishment.

Lineage of Utaemon stage names Nakamura Utaemon I (1714–1791) Nakamura Utaemon II (1752-1798) Nakamura Utaemon III (1778-1838)

In a long career, he played many roles; but he was best known for his oyama or onnagata roles.

1950 — OCLC 033711674 1935 — . OCLC 44435876