was a Japanese

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

 performer. He was the progenator of a family of kabuki actors from the Keihanshin region. He was the son of a provincial doctor. As a youth, he decided to join a troupe of actors; and this was the beginning of a long career.

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

In 1782, Utaemon presented the name Utaemon II to a favored apprentice; but the name was later retrieved (or abandoned) in 1790. Then the name was bestowed on his son, who kept it. Utaemon III was the natural son of Nakamura Utaemon I.

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.

Lineage of Utaemon stage names

• Nakamura Utaemon I (1714–1791)
• Nakamura Utaemon II
  Nakamura Utaemon II
  was a Japanese kabuki performer in the lineage of a family of kabuki actors from the Keihanshin region. Nakamura Utaemon is a stage name.In 1782, Utaemon I presented this name to a favored apprentice, who was formerly known as Mizuki Tōzō or Nakamura Tōzō...
  
   (1752-1798)
• 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...
  
   (1778–1838)
• Nakamura Utaemon IV
  Nakamura Utaemon IV
  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....
  
   (1798–1852)
• Nakamura Utaemon V
  Nakamura Utaemon V
  was a Japanese kabuki performer and "dean of kabuki actors at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo. 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....
  
   (1865–1940)
• Nakamura Utaemon VI
  Nakamura Utaemon VI
  was a Japanese kabuki performer and an artistic director of the Kabuki-za in Tokyo. He was a prominent member of a family of kabuki actors from the Keihanshin region....
  
  (1917–2001)