Kabuki actor Nakamura Shido appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) on May 26th. He spoke about the teachings of his uncle, Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and memories of his father, who did not become a Kabuki actor.
He says that what Kinnosuke told him, "Don't act with your face. Act with your heart," "made a very strong impression on me." He cherished these words and was praised by the late Nakamura Kanzaburo. He says that when he was playing a role in the crowd, he was called to the corner of the rehearsal room, and Kanzaburo, who was like a god to him and with whom he had never properly spoken, "praised him. He told me that it was good to have heart in my acting and to keep doing it that way."
He was given the opportunity to play the role that Kanzaburo would normally play in the main performance at the Heisei Nakamura-za. "That was my first leading role in Kabuki," he says. However, he recalls, "All of my apprentices are very talented. I, as the main character, couldn't really show my true abilities, or rather, I was completely helpless, so there were times when I thought I wouldn't make it. But during the actual performance, the audience cheered, 'Shido, do your best,' and gave me thunderous applause like I'd never heard before. I was saved by the audience's enthusiasm."
His grandfather was the third Nakamura Tokizo, a renowned female impersonator in Kabuki. His father was the third son and left the Kabuki world to work as a company employee. The reason for this is explained: "He and his brothers were all performing together in a large group, but apparently, a senior actor scolded his younger brothers. At that time, he must have been trying to act cool, because he threw away his wig and said he was quitting, and he never returned to the Kabuki world again. I think he was probably around elementary school age. No matter how much his grandmother, Ogawa Hina, tried to persuade him, or how much Shochiku tried to persuade him, he said he didn't want to do it anymore and just quit. He was very stubborn."
He explained his situation by saying, "I do have the blood of a kabuki actor, but since my parents aren't in the kabuki world, I can't become an apprentice, so I'm in a very awkward position." He entered the kabuki world because he loved it, but when he was 18 or 19, while talking about his future, he was told, "Shido-san, it's difficult for you to take on leading roles."
Regarding his son pursuing Kabuki, his father said, "It's not that I'm against it, but I'm free to do it, but I'm not a part of the Kabuki world, so I can't help him."
"My father never saw me perform on stage, not even when I made my debut," he said with a laugh. "But one day, when I was given the opportunity to play the lead role, the curtain rose and even though I hadn't done anything yet, there was someone applauding with incredible enthusiasm. I thought, 'Wow, that must be a really enthusiastic fan,' and when I looked, it was my father." He recalled, "He was such a sweet father; he would even brag to the audience sitting next to him, 'That's my son!'"
