Nakamura Utaemon III

Who was Nakamura Utaemon III?

Nakamura Utaemon III was a Japanese kabuki performer. He was a prominent member of a family of kabuki actors from the Keihanshin region.

Nakamura Utaemon was a stage name with significant cultural and historical connotations.

Utaemon III was the natural son of Nakamura Utaemon I. In 1782, his father presented the name Utaemon II to a favored apprentice; but the name was later retrieved in 1790. Then the name was bestowed on his son, who kept it and later passed it on to his son who became Utaemon IV. In the conservative Kabuki world, stage names are passed from father to son in formal system which converts the kabuki stage name into a mark of accomplishment.

⁕Nakamura Utaemon I

⁕Nakamura Utaemon II

⁕Nakamura Utaemon III

⁕Nakamura Utaemon IV

⁕Nakamura Utaemon V

⁕Nakamura Utaemon VI

In a long career, he acted in many kabuki plays, including the role of Seno-o no Tarō in the September 1824 production of Heike Nyōgo-ga-shima at Osaka Sumi-za.