PEOPLE / LEGACY
To inherit a name is not to retrace the past. It means opening the next chapter of kabuki, each in their own colours.
The Thirteenth
いちかわ だんじゅうろう
A kabuki actor who succeeded to 'Ichikawa Danjūrō', the hereditary name of the Ichikawa Sōke (Naritaya), and is engaged in carrying forward and developing kabuki, one of Japan's traditional performing arts. Head of the house whose art is aragoto and the Kabuki Jūhachiban.
The Fourth
いちかわ ぼたん
The eldest daughter of the Naritaya house, on stage as a dancer.
The Eighth
いちかわ しんのすけ
The eldest son of the Naritaya house, who took his name on the same stage as his father.
The Eighth
おのえ きくごろう
A kabuki actor who carries Onoe Kikugorō, the principal name of the Otowaya house, having taken the eighth generation of it in May 2025. He heads the house whose art is the Shinko Engeki Jisshu, established by Kikugorō V.
The Fourth
おのえ しょうろく
A kabuki actor who carries Onoe Shōroku, a hereditary name of the Otowaya house, having taken the fourth generation of it in 2002. He is also head of the Fujima school of Japanese dance.
The Fifteenth
かたおか にざえもん
A kabuki actor who carries Kataoka Nizaemon, the principal name of the Matsushimaya house, having taken the fifteenth generation of it in 1998. He was recognised as a Living National Treasure in 2015 and received the Order of Culture in 2025.
The First
かたおか たかたろう
A kabuki actor of the Matsushimaya house. The eldest son of Kataoka Nizaemon XV, he took the name Kataoka Takatarō I at his stage debut in 1973.
The Sixth
かたおか あいのすけ
A kabuki actor who carries Kataoka Ainosuke, a hereditary name of the Matsushimaya house, having taken the sixth generation of it in 1992. He is also the fourth head of the Umemoto school of Kamigata dance.
The Fourth
いちかわ えんのすけ
A kabuki actor who carries Ichikawa Ennosuke, the principal name of the Omodakaya house, having taken the fourth generation of it in 2012. The house's arts are the Omodaka Jisshu and the En'ō Jisshu.
The Ninth
いちかわ ちゅうしゃ
A kabuki actor who carries Ichikawa Chūsha, a hereditary name of the Omodakaya house. In 2012, at the age of forty-seven, he made his kabuki debut and took the ninth generation of the name in the same production. He is also known in film and television under his own name, Kagawa Teruyuki.
The Fifth
いちかわ だんこ
A kabuki actor who carries Ichikawa Danko, a hereditary name of the Omodakaya house. He took the fifth generation of it at his stage debut in 2012, in the same production in which his father succeeded to his own name.
The Fifth
なかむら かろく
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Karoku, a hereditary name of the Harimaya house, having taken the fifth generation of it in 1981. He was recognised as a Living National Treasure in 2023.
The Third
なかむら またごろう
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Matagorō, a hereditary name of the Harimaya house, having taken the third generation of it in 2011. He previously performed as Nakamura Kashō III.
The Fourth
なかむら かしょう
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Kashō, a hereditary name of the Harimaya house. He took the fourth generation of it in 2011, in the same production in which his father succeeded as Nakamura Matagorō.
The Second
さわむら とうじゅうろう
A kabuki actor who carries Sawamura Tōjūrō, a hereditary name of the Kinokuniya house, having taken the second generation of it in 1976. The house art is the Kōga Jisshu, named after the haiku name of Sawamura Sōjūrō VII.
The Tenth
まつもと こうしろう
A kabuki actor who carries Matsumoto Kōshirō, the principal name of the Kōraiya house, having taken the tenth generation of it in 2018. He is also head of the Matsumoto school of dance.
The Second
まつもと はくおう
A kabuki actor who carries Matsumoto Hakuō, a hereditary name of the Kōraiya house, having taken the second generation of it in 2018. He was elected to the Japan Art Academy in 2009 and received the Order of Culture in 2022.
The Eighth
いちかわ そめごろう
A kabuki actor who carries Ichikawa Somegorō, a hereditary name of the Kōraiya house. He took the eighth generation of it in 2018, in the same run in which his father and grandfather also succeeded to new names.
The Sixth
なかむら かんくろう
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Kankurō, a hereditary name of the Nakamuraya house, having taken the sixth generation of it in 2012. He is the eldest son of Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII.
The Second
なかむら しちのすけ
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Shichinosuke, a hereditary name of the Nakamuraya house, taken at his stage debut in 1987. He is the second son of Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII.
The First
なかむら まんじゅ
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Manju, a hereditary name of the Yorozuya house. In June 2024 he laid down the name Nakamura Tokizō V and became Manju I.
The Second
なかむら しどう
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Shidō, a hereditary name of the Yorozuya house, taking the second generation of it at his stage debut in 1981.
The Second
なかむら きんのすけ
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Kinnosuke, a hereditary name of the Yorozuya house, having taken the second generation of it in 2007. The first holder was Yorozuya Kinnosuke, who established the house name itself.
The Eighth
なかむら しかん
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Shikan, the principal name of the Narikomaya house, having taken the eighth generation of it in 2016. He heads the house whose art is the Yodogimi-shū, gathering the signature roles of Nakamura Utaemon V.
The Ninth
なかむら ふくすけ
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Fukusuke, a hereditary name of the Narikomaya house, having taken the ninth generation of it in 1992. He is the eldest son of Nakamura Shikan VII.
The Fourth
なかむら がんじろう
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Ganjirō, the principal name of the Narikomaya (Ganjirō) house, having taken the fourth generation of it in 2015. He heads a Kamigata house whose art is the Ganjirō Jūnikyoku, gathering the signature roles of Ganjirō I.
The Third
なかむら せんじゃく
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Senjaku, a hereditary name of the Narikomaya (Ganjirō) house, having taken the third generation of it in 1995. He is the second son of Sakata Tōjūrō IV and the younger brother of Nakamura Ganjirō.
The Fifth
なかむら じゃくえもん
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Jakuemon, the principal name of the Kyōya house, having taken the fifth generation of it in 2016. Both his succession roles were princesses — this is the name of a house that hands down the art of the onnagata.
The Sixth
なかむら とうぞう
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Tōzō, the principal name of the Kagaya house, having taken the sixth generation of it in 1967. He was recognised as a Living National Treasure in 2016.
The Second
なかむら かいしゅん
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Kaishun, a hereditary name of the Kagaya house, having taken the second generation of it in 2002. The Directory records that Kaishun was the haiku name of his adoptive father, Nakamura Utaemon VI, taken up a year after his death.
The Fourth
なかむら ばいぎょく
A kabuki actor who carries Nakamura Baigyoku, the principal name of the Takasagoya house, having taken the fourth generation of it in 1992. He was recognised as a Living National Treasure in 2022.
The Sixth
いちかわ おめぞう
A kabuki actor who carries Ichikawa Omezō, the principal name of the Takinoya house, having taken the sixth generation of it in 2003. He is the eldest son of Ichikawa Sadanji IV.
The Seventeenth
いちむら かきつ
A kabuki actor who carries Ichimura Kakitsu, a hereditary name of the Tachibanaya house, having taken the seventeenth generation of it in 1967. The Directory calls it a considerable name, bound up with the Ichimura-za of the Edo sanza.