Stage names:

Nakamura Jûzô II	|
Ogurayama Sentarô

Guild: Hiranoya

Line number: NIDAIME (II)

Poetry name: Koyû

Existence: 1740 ~ 12th day of the 6th lunar month of 1788 ^[1]

Connections:

Father: Ogurayama Hyakumatsu II

Adoptive father: Nakamura Kichiemon I

Disciples: Nakamura Iwazô, Nakamura Iwamatsu, Nakamura Jûmatsu, Nakamura Hikosaburô, Nakamura Daizaburô, Ogurayama Senzô

Career:

1740: born in Kyôto. He was the son of the dôkegata actor Ogurayama Hyakumatsu II.

1st lunar month of 1748: recorded for the first time in a hyôbanki; he performed as an iroko in Kyôto and his stage name was Ogurayama Sentarô.

12th day of the 11th lunar month of 1756 ^[2]: his father Ogurayama Hyakumatsu II died.

1st lunar month of 1758: first Kabuki adaptation of the puppet theater drama "Gion Sairei Shinkôki", which was simultaneously produced at the Minamigawa no Shibai [casting] and the Kitagawa no Shibai [casting]. It used its real title at the former theater but it was entitled "Keisei Niwatoriyama" at the latter theater; Sentarô played in the former theater the role of Miyoshi Shurinotayû Masayasu.

11th lunar month of 1759: Nakamura Jûzô I and his disciple Ogurayama Sentarô respectively took the names of Nakamura Kichiemon I and Nakamura Jûzô II at the Minamigawa no Shibai, performing together in the kaomise drama "Hônen no Miyako Mutsuki no Kotobuki", which was produced by Sawamura Kunitarô I and also celebrated the shûmei of Matsuya Shinjûrô and Yamanaka Heijûrô II.

1st lunar month of 1764: Jûzô played at the Minamigawa no Shibai the roles of Murakoshi Sanjûrô and Môri Terumoto in Namiki Shôzô I's ni-no-kawari drama "Keisei Hana no Shiroyama", which was produced by Arashi Matsunojô III.

17th day of the 6th lunar month of 1770 ^[3]: his adoptive father Nakamura Kichiemon I died.

Fall 1771: Jûzô went to Edo.

11th lunar month of 1771: Jûzô played at the Moritaza the role of Fuwa Banzaemon [illustration] in the kaomise drama "Fukikaete Tsuki no Yoshiwara", which celebrated the arrival of the new zagashira Ichikawa Danjûrô V.

1st lunar month of 1772: Jûzô played in the same theater the role of Soga Gorô Tokimune in the new year sogamono drama "Hatsu Akebono Niwatori Soga"; the roles of Soga Jûrô Sukenari and Kudô Saemon Suketsune were played by Ichikawa Danjûrô V and Nakamura Tomijûrô I.

11th lunar month of 1773: Jûzô played at the Moritaza the roles of the shichô Matagorô (in reality Asahara Hachirô) [illustration] and Akita Jônosuke [illustration] in the kaomise drama "Onna Aruji Hatsuyuki no Sekai".

1st lunar month of 1774: Jûzô played in the same theater the role of Kudô Saemon Suketsune in Horikoshi Saiyô's new year sogamono drama "Kite Hajime Hatsugai Soga"; the roles of Soga Gorô Tokimune and Soga Jûrô Sukenari were played by Ichikawa Yaozô II and Bandô Mitsugorô I.

Fall 1774: Jûzô went back to Ôsaka.

11th lunar month of 1774: Jûzô performed at the Naka no Shibai in the drama "Gosho Zakura Horikawa no Youchi".

1st lunar month of 1775: Jûzô was listed in the Ôsaka hyôbanki in the "kanjiku sanpukutsui" section (a trio of kanjiku tachiyaku actors), along with Arashi Kichisaburô I and Nakayama Raisuke I. Their rank was one black stroke above jô-jô-(hanshiro)kichi (superior - superior - (half-white) excellent) [visual].

4th lunar month of 1775: premiere in Ôsaka at the Naka no Shibai of Nagawa Kamesuke I's drama "Hade Kurabe Ise Monogatari"; Jûzô played the role of Ariwara no Yukihira [more details].

Fall 1775: Jûzô went to Kyôto.

11th lunar month of 1775: Jûzô played in Kyôto the role of Aoto Saemon Fujitsuna in the kaomise drama "Kono Hana Sakae Hachinoki"; his stage partners were Onoe Kikugorô I, Nakamura Jûzô II, Onoe Shinshichi I, Onoe Matsusuke I, Arashi Tôjûrô, Arashi Shichigorô II, Somematsu Shichisaburô II (who celebrated his shûmei), Arashi Koroku II (who celebrated his shûmei), Fujikawa Sango, Asao Toyozô I, Matsuyama Kogenji (who celebrated his shûmei), Sakata Raizô, Nakamura Shôgorô (who also celebrated his shûmei), Asao Kunigorô I and Arashi Shigenoi.

1st lunar month of 1776: Jûzô's rank in the Kyôto hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was one black stroke above jô-jô-(hanshiro)kichi (superior - superior - (half-white) excellent) [visual]. He was the kanjiku for tachiyaku actors.

11th lunar month of 1776: Jûzô performed in Kyôto at Hoteiya Umenojô's theater in the kaomise drama "Saiwai Gura Manpô no Irifune", which was produced by Ogurayama Toyosaki.

1st lunar month of 1777: Jûzô's rank in the Kyôto hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was jô-jô-(hanshiro)kichi (superior - superior - (half-white) excellent) [visual].

11th lunar month of 1778: Jûzô performed at the Kitagawa no Shibai in the kaomise drama "Ume no Nazorae Azuma Hyakkan", which was produced by Somematsu Shichisaburô II.

11th lunar month of 1779: Jûzô performed in Kyôto in the kaomise drama "Kaikei Kikkegawara", which was produced by Somematsu Shichisaburô II.

1st lunar month of 1780: Jûzô's rank in the Kyôto hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was one black stroke above jô-jô-(hanshiro)kichi (superior - superior - (half-white) excellent) [visual]. He was the sôkanjiku. Namiki Gohê's drama "Kinmon Gosan no Kiri" was produced for the first time in Kyôto; Jûzô played the roles of Hayakawa Takakage and Mashiba Hisayoshi [casting].

11th lunar month of 1780: Jûzô performed in Kyôto in the kaomise drama "Hoshi Matsuri Fukki no Kurairi", which was produced by Nakayama Ihachi I.

1st lunar month of 1781: Jûzô's rank in the Kyôto hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was two black strokes above jô-jô-(hanshiro)kichi (superior - superior - (half-white) excellent) [visual].

Summer 1781: tour in Nagoya, Matsuzaka and Ise.

11th lunar month of 1781: Jûzô performed at the Kitagawa no Shibai in the kaomise drama "Shin Yakata Fukki no Ishizue", which celebrated the shûmei of Hanagiri Tomimatsu I and Yamamoto Giemon and welcomed back in Kyôto the star Nakamura Tomijûrô I.

Summer 1782: Jûzô went to Edo.

8th lunar month of 1782: Jûzô performed at the Moritaza in the drama "Koko ga Otoko no Tatehiki Tokoro".

Fall 1782: Jûzô went to Kyôto.

11th lunar month of 1782: Jûzô played in Kyôto the roles of Katô Saemon Shigeuji and Araki Saemon in the kaomise drama "Gosekkyô Suehiro Keizu", which celebrated the shûmei of Nakamura Utaemon II.

1st ~ 4th lunar months of 1784: tour in Nagoya with Nakamura Tomijûrô I.

End of 1784: Jûzô went to Edo.

11th lunar month of 1785: Jûzô played at the Kiriza the roles of Watanabe no Tsuna and Tawara Senju in the kaomise program "Otokoyama Furisode Genji", which celebrated the shûmei of Bandô Mitsugorô II.

11th lunar month of 1786: Jûzô performed at the Kiriza in the kaomise drama "Mutsu no Hana Izu no Hataage", which celebrated the shûmei of Nakamura Nakazô I.

Fall 1787: Jûzô went to to Kyôto.

11th lunar month of 1787: Jûzô performed in Kyôto at the Nishi no Shibai in the kaomise drama "Koko ni Kiwamaru Gojin no Sonae".

1st lunar month of 1788: Jûzô's rank in the Kyôto hyôbanki, tachiyaku section, was jô-jô-kichi (superior - superior - excellent) [visual].

2nd lunar month of 1788: premiere at the Ônishi no Shibai of the drama "Gishinden Yomikiri Kôshaku"; Jûzô played the roles of Ôboshi Yuranosuke and Nikki Tamon-no-Kami [more details]. It was supposed to be staged first in Kyôto at the beginning of the month at the Nishi no Shibai but the theater was destroyed by fire the 29th day of the 1st lunar month. The troupe went to Ôsaka to perform at the Ônishi no Shibai and to celebrate the shûmei of Kataoka Nizaemon VII.

3rd lunar month of 1788: Jûzô left the Ônishi no Shibai to perform at the Naka no Shibai.

5th lunar month of 1788: Jûzô appeared on stage for the last time, in Ôsaka at the Naka no Shibai, where he played the role of Masaki Otoemon in the drama "Takakiyabashi Kenka no Shôbuzuke".

12th day of the 6th lunar month of 1788 ^[1]: Jûzô died in Ôsaka.

Comments:

Nakamura Jûzô II was a talented and popular tachiyaku actor, who spent most of his career during the second half of the 18th century in Kamigata and made some successful stays in Edo. His two fields of excellence were wajitsu and budôgoto. He was said to be "personally charming and a brilliant actor" (according to "The Actor's Image").

[1] The 12th day of the 6th lunar month of the 8th year of the Tenmei era was the 15th of July 1788 in the western calendar.

[2] The 12th day of the 11th lunar month of the 6th year of the Hôreki era was the 3rd of December 1756 in the western calendar.

[3] The 17th day of the 6th lunar month of the 7th year of the Meiwa era was the 9th of July 1770 in the western calendar.

Nakamura Jûzô II playing the role of Kajiwara Heizô Kagetoki in the kaomise drama "Izu Goyomi Shibai no Ganjitsu", which was staged in the 11th lunar month of 1772 at the Moritaza (print made by Katsukawa Shunshô)

Prints & Illustrations

The Nakamura Jûzô line of actors