Noh is a performing art originally developed by and for the samurai class that has continued without a break for 700 years — a mighty span through which Umewaka Rokuro Gensho, as the 56th-generation head of the Rokuro Umewaka family, can trace his lineage.
One of noh's most famous lead actors (shite-kata) of his generation, for many years Rokuro Gensho was known as Rokuro Umewaka VXVI. However, in 2008 he revived the name of Gensho, the patriarch of the Umewaka family, and began styling himself anew to retain its useage.
What really sets this artist apart, though, is the way he has long striven to revive near-forgotten works in this classical form of traditional theater and also to create unique new ones. Among the latter are a noh play based on the ballet "Giselle," one titled "Shiranui" ("Sea Fire") about Minamata Disease and another based on "Kurenai Tennyo" (literally, "Red Heavenly Maiden"), a popular manga. Meanwhile, the boundary-bending maestro has even shared a stage with the revered Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya.