Mourners gathered Thursday at a Tokyo temple to bid farewell to Nakamura Kanzaburo, the late kabuki master whose talent as an actor and producer helped broaden the popularity of the traditional Japanese performing art.
The funeral for Kanzaburo, who died Dec. 5 at age 57 after a battle with cancer, at Tsukiji Honganji Temple was attended by many from the kabuki, entertainment and sports fields.
Prior to the funeral, his sons, Kankuro and Shichinosuke, both kabuki actors, along with other family members and friends visited Sumida Park in Asakusa, carrying the remains of Kanzaburo with them.
At the park, where Kanzaburo founded his Heisei Nakamuraza troupe in 2000, more than 700 people paid tribute to the kabuki star in a lively manner by carrying around a "mikoshi" portable shrine.
His sons and others also visited Kabuki-za to let Kanzaburo bid farewell to the principal theater, which is now undergoing reconstruction before reopening in April.
