During the month of September, the Kabukiza in Tokyo is presenting a special program comprising four well-known plays and two famous dance numbers in memory of Utaemon Nakamura V, the onnagata actor who died in 1940 at the age of 75.
Trained under Shikan Nakamura IV, Utaemon V's great talent meant he was soon allowed to play important onnagata roles opposite such prominent kabuki actors as Danjuro Ichikawa IX and Kikugoro Onoe V. He succeeded to the prestigious stage name of Utaemon Nakamura V in 1911 and reigned over the kabuki theater even after he became partially paralyzed by the poisonous white lead in his stage makeup.
This month's event is presided over by Shikan Nakamura VII, 72, the son of Fukusuke V and the nephew of Utaemon VI, leading his sons, Fukusuke and Hashinosuke. On this occasion, Fukusuke's 6-year-old son, who has been given the stage name of Kotaro, and Hashinosuke' sons Kunio, 4, and Muneo, 2, are making their debuts as kabuki actors. The three boys are introduced to the audience in a charming dance number titled "The Three Colts Trotting on a Fine Autumnal Day," which was included in the evening program.