Stage names:

Nakamura Kangyoku
Nakamura Umemaru

Real name: Morimasa Takuma

Guild: Takasagoya

Birthday: 12 September 1996

Connections:

Adoptive father: Nakamura Baigyoku IV

Career:

January 2005: debut on stage (hatsubutai) in Tôkyô at the National Theatre, where he played the role of Saemon's page in the drama "Gohiiki Kanjinchô".

April 2006: he received the name of Nakamura Umemaru at the Kabukiza, playing the roles of the page Kamiya Shingo and the village boy Takekichi in the dramas "Hototogisu Kojô no Rakugetsu" and "Kanhasshû Tsunagi Uma", which were staged within a special program commemorating the 5th anniversary (6th memorial service) of the passing away of Nakamura Utaemon VI and also celebrating the shûmei of Nakamura Matsue VI, Nakamura Tamatarô V and Nakamura Shunka.

January 2007: Umemaru played at the Kabukiza the role of the sword-holder Otowaka in the dance-drama "Kanjinchô".

February 2008: Umemaru played at the Kabukiza the role of the spirit of a butterfly in the dance-drama "Kagami Jishi".

February 2009: Umemaru played at the Kabukiza the role of the sword-holder Otowaka in the dance-drama "Kanjinchô".

October 2009: Umemaru performed at the National Theatre in the newly-created drama "Kyô-o Midasu Uwasa no Kagizume", which dramatizes one of Edogawa Rampo’s most haunting and popular novels, "Ningenhyô" ("The Were-Panther"), about a man who has the lustful and bloodthirsty tastes of an animal and even resembles a panther, with glittering eyes, huge mouth and sharp teeth.

December 2009: Umemaru played at the Minamiza the roles of Sayuri and the sword-holder Otowaka in "Ichijô Ôkura Monogatari" and "Tsuchi-gumo".

October 2010: Umemaru performed at the National Theatre in the dramas "Tenpô Yûkyôroku" and "Shôgun Edo o Saru".

March 2011: Umemaru played at the Shinbashi Enbujô the role of Kôbê's daughter Oyuki in the drama "Fudeya Kôbê"; the role of Kôbê was played by Matsumoto Kôshirô.

November 2011: Umemaru played at the National Theatre the role of Princess Inada in Chikamatsu Monzaemon's drama "Nihon Furisode Hajime"; the role of Susanoo was played by his master Nakamura Baigyoku.

March 2012: Umemaru played at the Heisei Nakamuraza in the drama "Shibaraku", which was staged within a special program celebrating the shûmei of Nakamura Kankurô VI.

June 2012: Umemaru played at the Hakataza the role of Mitsuhide's sister Kikyô in the drama "Badarai no Mitsuhide", which was staged within a special program celebrating the shûmei of both Nakamura Matagorô III and his son Nakamura Kashô IV.

January 2013: Umemaru played at the Asakusa Kôkaidô the role of the courtesan Kewaizaka no Shôshô (Gorô's lover) in the drama "Soga no Taimen"; the role of Soga Gorô Tokimune was played by Onoe Matsuya.

October 2019: he was adopted by his master Nakamura Baigyoku IV.

November 2019: Nakamura Umemaru took the name of Nakamura Kangyoku at the Kabukiza, playing the role of the yakko Torazô, in reality Ushiwakamaru, in the drama "Kikubatake" [more details].

Comments:

Nakamura Kangyoku is the young heir of the Takasagoya guild.

Despite appearances to the contrary, Tôkyô’s Kabukiza, where tickets sell out day after day, is not quite a closed shop, despite its long tradition of acting families. Those wishing to tread the boards in traditional Japanese style might wish to read on, as we look at two ways of breaking into the world of Kabuki acting. The first is the direct method, involving sponsorship by an established performer. One such up-and-comer is Nakamura Umemaru, 13 years old and apprentice to Nakamura Baigyoku, 63 [..]. Umemaru’s parents both work in the publishing industry, but it was clear he was destined for other things when he became entranced by the splendor of Kabuki at the tender age of three, after a trip to the theater with his mother. "I realized I wanted to go on stage", he said. He first met mentor Baigyoku backstage at a performance at the age of six. "I let him help out backstage. I thought he would get tired of it, but he started to enjoy it more and more", Baigyoku recalls. [..]. "Acting and rehearsing is more fun than school", he says, and the problem is balancing the two. "In Kabuki, I play characters that don’t exist in modern times. It feels like another world" (from an article published in the Mainichi newspaper the 1st of November 2009)

The ideogram Kan in Kangyoku can also be read Tsubomi and the Tsubomikai was the name a famous study group led by the Shôwa star Nakamura Utaemon VI.

The mon of Nakamura Kangyoku