Stage names:

Nakamura Tomitaki
Onoe Kikujirô I
Ichikawa Takisaburô
Ichikawa Terunosuke

Guilds: Otowaya ^[1], Miyoshiya ^[2]

Poetry names: Senji, Senchô

Existence: ??? ~ 1834

Connections:

Masters: Nakamura Utaemon III, Onoe Kikugorô III, Ichikawa Omezô I, Ichikawa Aragorô I

Career:

1800s: disciple of Ichikawa Aragorô I; his first stage name was Ichikawa Terunosuke.

11th lunar month of 1809: he became wakaonnagata and performed at the Ichimuraza in Tsuruya Nanboku IV's drama "Misao no Hana Toba no Koizuka".

1812: he became a disciple of Ichikawa Omezô I.

11th lunar month of 1812: he received the name of Ichikawa Takisaburô and performed at the Ichimuraza in the drama "Gohiiki Megumi no Amagoi".

13th day of the 11th lunar month of 1813 ^[3]: his first master Ichikawa Aragorô I died in Edo.

Summer 1820: Takisaburô went on tour with Onoe Kikugorô III in Kamigata.

Fall 1820: Takisaburô went back to Edo.

11th lunar month of 1820: Takisaburô played at the Kawarasakiza the role of Hatsuse in the drama "Ise Heiji Ume no Mitegura", which celebrated the shûmei of Onoe Tamizô II, Ôtani Monzô II and Iwai Kiyotarô IV.

9th lunar month of 1821: premiere at the Kawarasakiza of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's drama "Kiku no En Tsuki no Shiranami"; Takisaburô played the role of the En'ya koshimoto Ukihashi (later the geisha Okyô) [more details].

2nd lunar month of 1822: he became a disciple of the star Onoe Kikugorô III and he received the name of Onoe Kikujirô I.

7th lunar month of 1822: premiere at the Kawarasakiza of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's drama "Reigen Kameyama Hoko"; Kikujirô played the role of Ishii Rokunoshin's nyôbô Onami [more details].

11th lunar month of 1822: Kikujirô played at the Ichimuraza the roles of Princess Yaehata and the courtesan Fudeji in the drama "Gohiiki Tsuwamono no Majiwari", which welcomed back Iwai Hanshirô V in Edo and celebrated the shûmei of Nakayama Kinsha.

1st lunar month of 1823: premiere at the Ichimuraza of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's new year sogamono drama "Yaegasumi Soga no Kumiito"; Kikujirô played the roles of the shukuba geisha izayoi, Okyô and Yoritomo's musume Princess Ô [casting].

1st lunar month of 1825: premiere at the Nakamuraza of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's new year sogamono drama "Okuni-iri Soga Nakamura"; Kikujirô played the roles of Danzaburô's nyôbô Izayoi and Gonpachi's sister Osai (later Miuraya Katsuyama) [casting].

7th lunar month of 1825: premiere at the Nakamuraza of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's ghost play "Tôkaidô Yotsuya Kaidan"; Kikujirô played the role of Kobotoke Kohei's wife Kobotoke Ohana [casting].

Fall 1825: Kikujirô went on tour with Onoe Kikugorô III in Kamigata.

11th lunar month of 1825: Kikujirô performed at the Kado no Shibai in the kaomise drama "Ume no Naniwa Hayazaki Genji", which celebrated the shûmei of Nakayama Bungorô II; his main stage partners were Onoe Kikugorô III, Fujikawa Tomokichi II, Arashi Koroku IV (who makes his last stage appearances) and Asao Kunigorô III.

1829: he became a disciple of Nakamura Utaemon III, who gave him the name of Nakamura Tomitaki.

Summer 1830: Tomitaki and Nakayama Tomisaburô II went together to Edo.

8th lunar month of 1830: Tomitaki played at the Kawarasakiza the roles of the shirabyôshi Yuri and the bathhouse girl Oteru in the drama "Ichikawaya Masago no Gohiiki", which celebrated the shûmei of Ichikawa Sumizô III.

11th lunar month of 1830: Tomitaki played at the Kawarasakiza the roles of the shirabyôshi Kumagai and Shigeyori's sister Kaoru in the drama "Ichiyô Raifuku Shibuya Tsuwamono".

1st lunar month of 1831: Tomitaki's rank in the Edo hyôbanki, wakaonnagata section, was two black strokes above jô-jô-(shiro)kichi (superior - superior - (white) excellent) [visual].

3rd lunar month of 1832: Tomitaki played at the Ichimuraza the roles of Onoe and Mankô in "Sumidagawa Hana no Goshozome" and "Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura".

4th lunar month of 1832: Tomitaki played in the same theater the roles of Ofude and Chidori in the drama "Hirakana Seisuiki". He also played the role of Minato in "Shinrei Yaguchi no Watashi". This was his last-recorded performance in ôshibai.

1832~1834: he went on tour along the Tôkaidô. No stage record afterwards.

7th day of the 6th lunar month of 1833 ^[4]: his second master Ichikawa Benzô II (Ichikawa Omezô I) died in Edo.

1834: Tomitaki died.

Comments:

Nakamura Tomitaki was an outstanding onnagata, who excelled in jidaimono dramas. All his masters were tachiyaku; two of them were among the best actors in Kabuki history (in the top 5 for the first half of the 19th century). He was outstanding in musume roles in his prime and toshima in his latter years.

[1] His yagô when he was Onoe Kikujirô I or Nakamura Tomitaki.

[2] His yagô when he was a member of the Ichikawa clan.

[3] The 13th day of the 11th lunar month of the 10th year of the Bunka era was the 4th of January 1814 in the western calendar.

[4] The 7th day of the 6th lunar month of the 4th year of the Tenpô era was the 23rd of July 1833 in the western calendar.

Nakamura Tomitaki playing the role of the chûrô Onoe in the drama "Sumidagawa Hana no Goshozome", which was staged in the 3rd lunar month of 1832 at the Ichimuraza (print made by Utagawa Kunisada I)

The Onoe Kikujirô line of actors