Photo: 朝日新聞社 / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Nakamura Utaemon VI is the kind of artist whose achievement is hard to translate for anyone outside kabuki. He was an onnagata, a male performer specializing in female roles, and he did it at a level that brought him recognition as a Person of Cultural Merit in 1972, the Order of Culture in 1979, and the Praemium Imperiale in 1995. He also served as artistic director of the Kabuki-za in Tokyo, the city where he was born in 1917. He died in 2001. What moves me is the arithmetic of it: a lifetime spent refining gestures measured in centimeters, before audiences who know precisely what greatness looks like and cannot be fooled. Watch the surviving footage and you need no training at all to feel the room tighten when he moves a hand.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Nakamura Utaemon VI
- Name (Japanese)
- 六代目 中村歌右衛門
- Born
- January 20, 1917 – March 31, 2001
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Snake
- Origin
- Tokyo, Japan
- Occupation
- kabuki actor / onnagata / kabuki / actor / Theaterintendant
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 1979 Order of Culture
- 1995 Praemium Imperiale
- 1972 Person of Cultural Merit
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Nakamura Utaemon VI born?
January 20, 1917 – March 31, 2001.
Where is Nakamura Utaemon VI from?
Nakamura Utaemon VI is from Tokyo, Japan.
What does Nakamura Utaemon VI do?
Nakamura Utaemon VI works as kabuki actor, onnagata, kabuki, actor, Theaterintendant.
Kabuki actor — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-07-26
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.