Nakamura Karoku I (初代中村歌六) (actor 1779 – 1859)
Baidō (poetry name)Baishi (poetry name)
Shikin (poetry name)
Shūka (poetry name)
Nakamura Moshiho I (初代中村もしほ)
Links
Kabuki21Biography:
This actor held this name from 3/1804 to 7/1859. His sons were Nakamura Tsunejirō, Bandō Shūka II (aka Nakamura Karoku II) and Nakamura Karoku III (1849-1919). His sons-in-law were Arashi Rikan III (1812-63), Ichikawa Kodanji IV (1812-66), Kataoka Nizaemon VIII (1810-63) and Yamashita Sankatsu.
Karoku I was born in 1779 and died on the 1st day of the 7th lunar month of 1859.
Nakamura Karoku I was a great Kamigata onnagata actor, who excelled in keisei roles and was therefore nicknamed "Keisei Karoku".
"Nakamura Karoku, another onnagata of distinction, was the son of a clerk connected with the Mitsui Company in Ōsaka. He was a large, handsome man, and had blood relations with many actor families. His first wife died; he married a second half his age, and had altogether twelve children. One daughter married the third Arashi Rikan, another became the wife of Ichikawa Kodanji, while a third was the wife of Kataoka Nizaemon, the eighth. He had a habit of coughing when crossing a bridge near his home to let his household know of his approach, and was considered very extravagant because there were always two candles burning at the entrance to his house that a bright welcome should be waiting him when he returned from the theatre." (Zoë Kincaid in Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan)