Stage names:

Nakamura Baigyoku II
Nakamura Fukusuke III
Mimasu Tanin VII
Nakamura Tamazô
Nakamura Kikutarô
Fujioka Kikutarô

Real name: Sasaki Norikazu

Guild: Takasagoya

Line number: NIDAIME (II)

Poetry name: Sanjaku

Existence: 28th day of the 12th lunar month of 1841 ^[1] ~ 8 June 1921

Connections:

Masters: Nakamura Fukusuke II, Nakamura Tamashichi I, Fujioka Sengiku

Adoptive father: Mimasu Daigorô V

Adopted son: Nakamura Baigyoku III

Disciples: Nakamura Tamashichi II, Nakamura Fukuen, Nakamura Fukunosuke IV

Career:

1848: he started his career in hama shibai as a disciple of the onnagata actor Fujioka Sengiku and received the name of Fujioka Kikutarô.

1850: he became disciple of the actor Nakamura Tamashichi I, who gave him the name of Nakamura Kikutarô.

1854: he took the name of Nakamura Tamazô.

15th day of the 2nd lunar month of 1860 ^[2]: his master Nakamura Tamashichi I died.

1865: Mimasu Daigorô V, who has lost his only son, adopted Tamazô and gave him the name of Mimasu Tanin VII.

1867: he became disciple of Nakamura Fukusuke II, who had just settled in Ôsaka.

6th day of the 8th lunar month of 1867 ^[3]: his master Nakamura Fukusuke II died.

3rd lunar month of 1868: Mimasu Tanin VII took the name of Nakamura Fukusuke III (Takasagoya guild). An adopted son of Nakamura Shikan IV, belonging to the Narikomaya guild, took the same name and the same line number in Edo at the same time. This unusual situation was validated by the Kabuki world and the two Fukusuke lines coexisted for more than 100 years, from 1868 to 1969, from the third to the fifth generations.

October 1873: premiere at the Chikugo no Shibai of Katsu Genzô II's drama "Kimi-wa-Fune Nami no Uwajima"; Fukusuke played the roles of Yanbe Seibê and the yakko Dôsuke [casting].

1 November 1873: his adopted father Mimasu Daigorô V died.

October 1881: premiere at the Ebisuza of Katsu Genzô III's drama "Ogasawara Shorei no Oku no Te"; Fukusuke played the roles of Ogasawara Haito, the yakko Kikuhei (in reality the fox of Mt. Myôjin) and Ohaya [casting].

June 1898: the play "Rôben Sugi no Yurai", which was originally written for the puppet theater and staged for the first time in February 1887 in Ôsaka, was adapted for Kabuki for the first time and staged at the Minamiza; Fukusuke played the role of Rôben's mother Nagisa-no-Kata [more details].

October 1907: Nakamura Fukusuke III and his adopted son Nakamura Masajirô II took the respective names of Nakamura Baigyoku II and Nakamura Fukusuke IV in Ôsaka at the Kadoza; the new Baigyoku played the roles of Sakuramaru and Chiyo in the classic "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami". Baigyoku was a haimyô used by the great star Nakamura Utaemon III. Premiere at the Kadoza of Watanabe Katei's chûshinguramono "Tsuchiya Chikara"; Baigyoku played the role of Takarai Kikaku [more details].

June 1921: Baigyoku appeared on stage for the last time, in Kôbe at the Chûô Gekijô.

8 June 1921: Baigyoku died.

Comments:

Nakamura Baigyoku II was a kaneru yakusha, excelling in both jidaimono and sewamono. He performed a lot with the Kamigata stars Jitsukawa Enjaku I and Nakamura Ganjirô I.

[1] The 28th day of the 12th lunar month of the 12th year of the Tenpô era was the 8th of February 1841 in the western calendar.

[2] The 15th day of the 2nd lunar month of the 7th year of the Ansei era was the 7th of March 1860 in the western calendar.

[3] The 6th day of the 8th lunar month of the 3rd year of the Keiô era was the 3rd of September 1867 in the western calendar.

Nakamura Baigyoku II playing the role of the warrior Kumagai Jirô Naozane in the drama "Genpei Sakigake Tsutsuji", commonly called "Ôgiya Kumagai" (Kôbe 1915)

The Mimasu Tanin line of actors

The Nakamura Fukusuke line of actors

The Nakamura Baigyoku line of actors