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 Senbon 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 Kushida Kazuyoshi. 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 was made up of "Sumidagawa Gonichi no Omokage" (commonly called "Hôkaibô") and starred 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 produced the play "Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura" in which he played 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 produced 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 produced 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 was 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) [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 produced the drama "Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami" [casting].

July 2008: first edition of the Heisei Nakamuraza in Matsumoto (Nagano Prefecture); Nakamura Kanzaburô produced 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 produced 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 starred 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 produced the drama "Sumidagawa Gonichi no Omokage" (commonly called "Hôkaibô").

September 2009: Heisei Nakamuraza in Nagoya; the temporary koshibai look-alike theater was built in the precincts of the Nagoya Castle. There was a matinée, which was made up of "Hôkaibô", and an evening program, which gathers "Domo Mata", "Yudono no Chôbê" and "Genroku Hanami Odori". The main actors were Nakamura Kanzaburô, Nakamura Hashinosuke, Nakamura Senjaku, Bandô Yajûrô, Kataoka Kamezô, Sasano Takashi, Nakamura Kantarô and Nakamura Shichinosuke [more details].

July 2010: Heisei Nakamuraza in Matsumoto; "Sakura Giminden" was staged with the actors Nakamura Kanzaburô, Nakamura Hashinosuke, Nakamura Senjaku, Bandô Yajûrô, Kataoka Kamezô, Sasano Takashi and Nakamura Shichinosuke [more details].

October 2010: Heisei Nakamuraza in Ôsaka (first month) [more details].

November 2010: Heisei Nakamuraza in Ôsaka (second month) [more details].

November 2011: first month of a 6-month project for the Heisei Nakamuraza, which was built in Tôkyô in the popular district of Asakusa within the Sumida Park [more details].

December 2011: Heisei Nakamuraza in Asakusa (second month) [more details].

January 2012: Heisei Nakamuraza in Asakusa (third month) [more details].

March 2012: Heisei Nakamuraza in Asakusa (fourth month) [more details].

April 2012: Heisei Nakamuraza in Asakusa (fifth month) [more details].

May 2012: Heisei Nakamuraza in Asakusa (sixth month) [more details].

July 2014: third Heisei Nakamuraza performances in New York City, from the 7th to the 12th of July at the Rose Theater (in the Lincoln Center) [more details].

March 2015: Heisei Nakamuraza in Kanazawa at the Kagekiza [more details].

April/May 2015: Heisei Nakamuraza in Asakusa [more details].

October/November 2015: Heisei Nakamuraza in Ôsaka for the 3rd time [more details].

June 2017: Heisei Nakamuraza in Nagoya for the 3rd time [more details].

November 2018: Heisei Nakamuraza in Asakusa to commemorate the 6th anniversary (7th memorial services) of the passing away of late Nakamura Kanzaburô XVIII [more details].

November 2019: Heisei Nakamuraza in Kitakyûshû in Fukuoka Prefecture; first time since the end of the Heisei era and first time in Kyûshû [more details].