Stage names:

Nakamura Kanzaburô XIII
Nakamura Denzô III

Line number: JÛSANDAIME (XIII)

Existence: 1828 ~ 19 October 1895

Connections:

Great-great-great-great-grandfather: Nakamura Kanzaburô I

Great-great-great-grandfather: Nakamura Kankurô I

Great-great-grandfather: Nakamura Kanzaburô VI

Great-grandfather: Nakamura Kanzaburô VIII

Grandfather: Nakamura Kanzaburô XI

Father: Nakamura Kanzaburô XII

Brother: Nakamura Jusaburô II

Brothers-in-law: Iwai Hanshirô VIII, Nakamura Nakazô III (Kanzaburô XIV)

Son: Nakamura Akashi V (Nakamura Kanzaburô XV)

Granddaughter: Nakamura Fujiko (Nakamura Kanzaburô XVI)

Disciples: Nakamura Jusaburô III, Nakamura Kiyosaburô IV

Career:

1828: born in Edo.

6th day of the 10th lunar month of 1841 ^[1]: a fire breaks out from the backstages of the Nakamuraza in the district of Sakai-chô. It spreads and destroys the Ichimuraza and the Nakamuraza.

20th day of the 10th lunar month of 1841 ^[2]: the Edo authorities forbid the reconstruction of the destroyed theaters in Sakai-chô.

19th day of the 12th lunar month of 1841 ^[3]: the Nakamuraza, Ichimuraza and Kawarasakiza are ordered to move to the remote district of Asakusa Saruwaka-chô.

10th lunar month of 1842: the newly-built Nakamuraza opens with an auspicious sanbasô performed by his father Nakamura Kanzaburô XII in the role of Okina. He makes his first stage appearance, receiving the name of Nakamura Denzô III and playing the role of Sanbasô.

4th lunar month of 1850: Nakamura Kanzaburô XII gives his name to his son Nakamura Denzô III, who becomes Nakamura Kanzaburô XIII, and retires; the new Kanzaburô celebrates his shûmei at the Nakamuraza, performing in the dances "Kadomatsu", "Shinbochi Taiko" and "Saruwaka".

11th day of the 10th lunar month of 1851: his father Nakamura Kankurô III dies.

5th day of the 11th lunar month of 1854: a big fire breaks out in the district of Seiten-chô and reduces to ashes the Nakamuraza.

2nd day of the 10th lunar month of 1855: the Ansei Edo Earthquake (Ansei Edo Jishin) destroys Edo, killing many people and tearing down all the theaters.

9th lunar month of 1865: Kanzaburô plays at the Nakamuraza in the dances "Kadomatsu" [print], "Tsuri Gitsune", "Saruwaka" and "Shinbochi Taiko".

February 1875: Kanzaburô can't manage anymore the heavy burden of the Nakamuraza debt and entrust the management of the theater to his son-in-law Nakamura Nakazô III, who refuses to take the name of Kanzaburô.

31 December 1876: a fire breaks out in Edo in Asakusa and destroys the Nakamuraza.

1877: the new zamoto is Hirano Gihei, who rebuild the theater and rename it Miyakoza, the name of one of the hikae yagura of the Nakamuraza during the Edo period.

July 1878 ~ December 1878: the Miyakoza opens, runs for a few months and quickly goes bankrupt.

July 1879: the theater reopens under the name of Saruwakaza; his new zamoto is Iwai Kumesaburô IV, the adopted son of Kanzaburô's brother-in-law Iwai Hanshirô VIII.

1883 ~ October 1884: the Saruwakaza is closed.

November 1884: the theater is rebuilt in the district of Asakusa Torigoe-chô and takes the name of Saruwakaza.

23 January 1885: a fire breaks out in the Saruwakaza and reduces it to ashes.

June 1886: the theater is rebuilt, renamed Nakamuraza and reopens.

Summer 1891: the Nakamuraza goes bankrupt.

January 1892: the theater reopens and is renamed Torigoeza.

22 January 1893: a fire breaks out in the district of Torigoe-chô and reduces to ashes the Torigoeza. Kanzaburô can't find the money to rebuild it, putting an end to a 269 years long history.

Comments:

Nakamura Kanzaburô XIII was the official zamoto of the Nakamuraza from 1850 to 1875, the last one to hold this prestigious nameand always struggling to keep the business afloat. As an actor, he sometimes appeared on stage to perform in auspicious dances like "Saruwaka", a dance created by his great-great-great-great-grandfather Nakamura Kanzaburô I. He officially retired in February 1875 but kept on supervising from behind the scenes his theater and helping the successive zamoto like Nakamura Nakazô III, Iwai Kumesaburô IV (1879~1882), Nakamura Akashi V or Nakamura Shigejirô. His theater moved or changed its name several times (Miyakoza, Saruwakaza, Torigoeza) up to its final destruction by fire in January 1893. Out of business, Kanzaburô settled in the district of Asakusa Matsuba-chô and opened a Go club.

[1] The 6th day of the 10th lunar month of the 12th year of the Tenpô era was the 18th of November 1841 in the western calendar.

[2] The 20th day of the 10th lunar month of the 12th year of the Tenpô era was the 2nd of December 1841 in the western calendar.

[3] The 19th day of the 12th lunar month of the 12th year of the Tenpô era was the 30th of January 1842 in the western calendar.

Nakamura Kanzaburô XIII playing the role of Tarôkaja in the dance "Kadomatsu", which was staged in the 9th lunar month of 1865 at the Nakamuraza (print made by Utagawa Kunisada II)

Print made by Utagawa Kunisada in 1865

The Nakamura Denzô line of actors

The Nakamura Kanzaburô line of actors and theater managers