Kinnosuke Yorozuya

Who was Kinnosuke Yorozuya?

Yorozuya Kinnosuke was a Japanese kabuki actor. Born Kin'ichi Ogawa, son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizō III, he entered kabuki and became the first in the kabuki tradition to take the name Nakamura Kinnosuke. He took on his guild name Yorozuya as his surname in 1971.

In addition to his kabuki activity, Kinnosuke had an extensive film career. A specialist in jidaigeki, Kinnosuke appeared in more than 140 films. These include a 1957 Mito Kōmon and a 1961 appearance as the title character in the Toei Company's Miyamoto Musashi series. A versatile actor, he has played as many as seven characters in a single film. In various productions of Chūshingura, he also portrayed Oyamada Shōzaemon, Asano Naganori, Wakisaka Awaji no Kami, and Ōishi Yoshio. Other appearances include Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Tokugawa Iemitsu, Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen, Sakamoto Ryōma, Matsudaira Katamori, and Oda Yūrakusai.

Kinnosuke portrayed Yagyū Munenori multiple times, first on television as the star of the year-long 1971 NHK Taiga drama Haru no Sakamichi, then on the Big Screen in the 1978 film Shogun's Samurai.