Nakamura Nakazō I (初代中村仲蔵 - from 11/1760 to 10/1785 and again from 11/1786 to 4/23/1790) (actor 1736 – 1790)

Nakayama Kojūrō VI (六代目中山小十郎 - from 11/1785 to 10/1786)
Nakamura Ichijūrō (中村市十郎 - from 1743 to 10/1745)
Nakayama Manzō (中山万蔵 - he held this name until 1743)
Shūkaku (poetry name - 秀鶴)
Nakamura Nakazō (中村仲蔵 - from 11/1745 to 10/1760)
Shigayama Mansaku VIII (dance name - 八代目志賀山万作)

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Biography:

This actor held this name from 11/1761 to 10/1785 and again from 11/1786 to 4/1790. He was adopted by Nakayama Kojūrō V. His adopted son was Nakayama Kojūrō VII (1768-1798). Nakazō he studied with Nakamura Kanzaburō VIII (1719-77). His adopted son became Nakayama Kojūrō VII (1768-98).

Nakazō I was born in Edo in the Fukugawa district. His father, Saitō, was a rōnin or homeless samurai. In 1740 he was adopted by a dance master, Oshun, who was married to a music master of Nagauta. This is when he was given the name Nakayama Manzō.

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This actor appears in prints by Shunko, Shunsho, Shun'ei and Kiyonaga.

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Samuel L. Leiter wrote in Impressions in 2010 in "Edo Kabuki: The Actor's World" on page 118:

In the two-and-a-half centuries of Edo kabuki, only two actors lacking distinguished family roots rose from the lower ranks to become actor-managers. One was Nakamura Nakazō I (1736-1790), who achieved the position in 1776. Nakazō did not come from theatrical stock, but he was adopted by a secondary actor and his wife, a professional dancer. The other actor-manager from an unconventional background was the Edo-born Ichikawa Kodanji IV (1812-1866), who first made his mark in Osaka before returning to Edo in 1847 and rising to stardom.
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