Nakamura Nakazō
中村仲蔵・なかむらなかぞう
The story
Nakamura Nakazo, an actor from the humblest ranks with no family pedigree to back him, rises on the strength of his art alone to the top actor grade of nadai. Yet the only role he is handed is Ono Sadakuro, a shabby bit part in the fifth act of the great play Kanadehon Chushingura — a role that seems to offer no room for invention at all. Agonizing over it, one rainy day he catches sight of a rain-soaked ronin at a soba shop, and inspiration strikes.
What to listen for
Nakazo's single-minded devotion as he strains to breathe new life into a throwaway role, and the taut moment on opening night when, facing a silent house, he cannot tell whether he has triumphed or failed. A masterpiece about the art of acting and the price of a once-in-a-lifetime idea.
Background
Kanadehon Chushingura is the beloved kabuki play dramatizing the tale of the forty-seven loyal retainers; Ono Sadakuro is a minor villain in its fifth act. The real first Nakamura Nakazo (1736-1790) rose by talent alone, and his reinvention of Sadakuro as a rain-drenched masterless samurai became a template still followed today.
Notable performers
六代目三遊亭圓生立川談志