NAKAMURA KANZABURÔ VI

29th day of the 11th lunar month of 1703:^[3] an earthquake hit Edo and the resulting fires destroyed the city. Kanzaburô's theater was burnt to ashes in this catastrophe which was later on nicknamed "Genroku Jishin Kaji" ('Genroku Earthquake and Fire'). Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the first time.

14th day of the 1st lunar month of 1706:^[4] a fire broke out in the district of Kanda Renjaku-chô, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the second time.

20th day of the 11th lunar month of 1706^[5]: a fire broke out in the district of Izumi-chô, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the third time.

8th day of the 3rd lunar month of 1707^[6]: a fire broke out in the district of Kodenma-chô, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the fourth time.

18th day of the 12th lunar month of 1710^[7]: a fire broke out in the somptuous palace of the daimyô Sanada, located in the district of Kanda Koyanagi-chô, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the fifth time.

23rd day of the 2nd lunar month of 1712^[8]: a fire broke out in the district of Horie-chô, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the sixth time.

22nd day of the 12th lunar month of 1713^[9]: a fire broke out in the district of Shitaya Byôbusaka, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the seventh time.

11th day of the 1st lunar month of 1716^[10]: a fire broke out in the district of Shitaya Ike-no-Hata, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the eighth time.

22nd day of the 1st lunar month of 1717^[11]: a fire broke out in the district of Koishikawa, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the ninth time.

11th lunar month of 1717: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Hachinoki Hônen Mitsugimono".

13th day of the 1st lunar month of 1720^[12]: a fire broke out in the district of Sakai-chô; the Nakamuraza was half-burnt. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the tenth time.

11th lunar month of 1720: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Michinoku Taiheiki".

1st lunar month of 1721: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the new year sogamono drama "Kichijô Ôtaka Soga".

11th lunar month of 1721: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Torisaka no Jô Tsuru no Sugomori".

10th day of the 12th lunar month of 1721^[13]: a fire broke out in the district of Kanda Tominaga-chô, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the eleventh time.

11th lunar month of 1722: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Hônen Taiheiki".

11th lunar month of 1723: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Sono Enpô Onna Migyôsho", which celebrated the arrival at the Nakamuraza of the Kamigata actors Yamashita Kinsaku I and Sanogawa Senzô.

11th lunar month of 1724: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Taiheiki Okuni Kabuki".

11th lunar month of 1725: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Oguri Chôseiden"^[16].

11th lunar month of 1726: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Kaomise Jûnidan".

27th day of the 11th lunar month of 1726^[14]: a fire broke out in the shibai jaya Maruya, located in the district of Fukiya-chô, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the twelfth time.

11th lunar month of 1727: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Yatsumune Taiheiki", which welcomed back in Edo the actor Ôtani Hiroji I (along with the Kamigata actor Kirinami Onoe) and celebrated the first stage appearance of Ichikawa Masugorô.

1st lunar month of 1728: he temporarily took the name of Saruwaka Kanzaburô for a few weeks. Then, he took back the name of Nakamura Kanzaburô VI.

11th lunar month of 1728: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Hoshi Kabuto Goban Tadanobu".

11th lunar month of 1729: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Ume Goyomi Konrei Nagoya".

11th lunar month of 1730: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Irifune Hiru-ga-Kojima", which welcomed in Edo the Kamigata actor Segawa Kikunojô I.

11th lunar month of 1731: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Wagô Ichiji Taiheiki".

11th lunar month of 1732: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Yamato Kotoba Imagawajô", which welcomed in Edo the Kamigata actors Anegawa Shinshirô I, Sakakiyama Koshirô I and Arashi Otohachi I (who celebrated his shûmei).

11th lunar month of 1733: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Nagi no Hana Asahi Genji".

11th lunar month of 1734: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Kyôganoko Secchû no Tamatori", which celebrated the arrival in Edo of the Kamigata actor Nakamura Shingorô I.

11th lunar month of 1735: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Tono Zukuri Shinoda-zuma".

11th lunar month of 1736: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Kuni no Tomi Sesshôseki".

11th lunar month of 1737: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Soga Monogatari Osana Nikki", which celebrated the arrival in Edo of the Kamigata actors Yamamoto Kyôzô, Yamamoto Hikogorô and Kaneko Mantoku.

11th lunar month of 1738: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Ume Yakata Inaba no Matsu", which celebrated the shûmei of Sawamura Yodogorô I.

11th lunar month of 1739: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Miyakozome Kaoru Hachinoki", which celebrated the shûmei of Nakamura Sukegorô I, Ichikawa Danzaburô II and Someyama Kijûrô II and welcomed in Edo the Kamigata actor Segawa Kikujirô I.

11th lunar month of 1740: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Miya Bashira Taiheiki", which celebrated the shûmei of Ichikawa Danzô III and Tomizawa Tatsujûrô.

11th lunar month of 1741: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza Hayakawa Denshirô's kaomise drama "En'ya Hangan Kokyô no Nishiki", which welcomed in Edo the actors Sanogawa Mangiku, Nakamura Shingorô I, Nakayama Shinkurô I and Nakamura Tomijûrô I.

7~9th days of the 8th lunar month of 1742^[15]: a violent typhoon hit Edo, causing floods in the city; the Nakamuraza had to stop its performances for a while.

11th lunar month of 1742: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Keisei Akazawayama".

11th lunar month of 1743: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Funayosooi Mitsugi Taiheiki", which celebrated the shûmei of Ôtani Oniji I.

11th lunar month of 1744: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Kachô Taiheiki".

11th lunar month of 1745: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Suehiro Izu Nikki", which celebrated the arrival in Edo of the Kamigata actor Fujikawa Heikurô and the shûmei of Ôtani Hiroemon II and Nakamura Denkurô II.

2nd lunar month (end of month) of 1746: a fire broke out in the district of Tsukiji, in the mansion of Tsubouchi Gonzaemon, which burnt down the Nakamuraza. Kanzaburô had to rebuild his theater for the thirteenth time.

11th lunar month of 1746: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza in the kaomise drama "Tenchi Taiheiki", which celebrated the arrival in Edo of the Kamigata actor Arashi Koroku I and also the shûmei of Hanai Saizaburô III, Sanjô Kantarô III and Matsushima Yaozô.

11th lunar month of 1747: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Izu Gunzei Sumô no Nishiki".

11th lunar month of 1748: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Onna Moji Heike Monogatari", which welcomed in Edo the Kamigata actor Nakamura Kumetarô I.

11th lunar month of 1749: Kanzaburô produced at the Nakamuraza the kaomise drama "Onnô Taiheiki", which celebrated the shûmei of Sakata Hangorô II and Ichikawa Yaozô I.

8th lunar month of 1750: Kanzaburô decided to give his name to his elder son and to retire; Nakamura Kanzaburô VI and his son Nakamura Akashi III respectively took the names of Nakamura Kankurô II and Nakamura Kanzaburô VII. Kankurô was no more the official head of the Nakamuraza but he unofficially kept on working as a zamoto up to 1751.

11th lunar month of 1750: Kankurô coproduced with Nakamura Kanzaburô VII and Nakamura Denkurô II at the Nakamuraza Tsuuchi Jihê II's kaomise drama "Wakaki no Ume Taira no Kiyomori".

Fall 1751: he definitively retired, shaving his head and taking the priest name of Raku.

25th day of the 11th lunar month of 1757^[1]: he died in Edo.

Comments:

Nakamura Kanzaburô VI was one of the most dynamic zamoto in the history of the Nakamuraza. He managed his theater for 50 years wihtout going bankrupt. As an actor, his career was very short because he stopped acting a few years after receiving the name of Nakamura Kanzaburô and the title of zamoto, appearing on stage only for kôjô.

[1] The 25th day of the 11th lunar month of the 7th year of the Hôreki era was the 4th of January 1758 in the western calendar.

[2] The 19th day of the 9th lunar month of the 14th year of the Genroku era was the 20th of October 1701 in the western calendar.

[3] The 29th day of the 11th lunar month of the 16th year of the Genroku era was the 6th of January 1704 in the western calendar.

[4] The 14th day of the 1st lunar month of the 3rd year of the Hôei era was the 26th of February 1706 in the western calendar.

[5] The 20th day of the 11th lunar month of the 3rd year of the Hôei era was the 24th of December 1706 in the western calendar.

[6] The 8th day of the 3rd lunar month of the 4th year of the Hôei era was the 10th of April 1707 in the western calendar.

[7] The 18th day of the 12th lunar month of the 7th year of the Hôei era was the 5th of February 1711 in the western calendar.

[8] The 23rd day of the 2nd lunar month of the 2nd year of the Shôtoku era was the 29th of March 1712 in the western calendar.

[9] The 22nd day of the 12th lunar month of the 3rd year of the Shôtoku era was the 6th of February 1714 in the western calendar.

[10] The 11th day of the 1st lunar month of the 6th year of the Shôtoku era was the 4th of February 1716 in the western calendar.

[11] The 22nd day of the 1st lunar month of the 2nd year of the Kyôhô era was the 4th of March 1717 in the western calendar.

[12] The 13th day of the 1st lunar month of the 5th year of the Kyôhô era was the 20th of February 1720 in the western calendar.

[13] The 10th day of the 12th lunar month of the 6th year of the Kyôhô era was the 26th of January 1722 in the western calendar.

[14] The 27th day of the 11th lunar month of the 11th year of the Kyôhô era was the 20th of December 1726 in the western calendar.

[15] The 7~9th days of the 8th lunar month of the 2nd year of the Kanpô era were from the 5th to the 7th of September 1742 in the western calendar.

[16] Literally 'Oguri in the Palace of Long Life'.

Nakamura Denkurô I (top/left), Nakamura Kanzaburô VI (top/right) and Nakamura Seigorô I (bottom/right) in a kôjô for the kaomise drama "Shinshun Niwatori Taiheiki", which was staged in the 11th lunar month of 1703 at the Nakamuraza

The Nakamura Kankurô line of actors and theater managers

The Nakamura Kanzaburô line of actors and theater managers