Tamura Nariyoshi (田村成義)
Nariyoshi TAMURA (March 11, 1851 - November 8, 1920) was a show manager for kabuki theaters and was given the nickname of 'Tamura Shogun' (Shogun Tamura).
He was born in a doctor family, the Fukui family of Daiku-cho, Nihonbashi, Edo (Tokyo) and adopted by a prison guard Kintaro TAMURA. His childhood name was Inosuke. The year he changed his name is unknown.
He resigned from his post as prisoner inspector of Tokyo Prefecture either in 1869 or in 1870.
After carrying on a sword rental business for theaters and a tea making business, he studied law and received a lawyer's license in 1877.
After that, he became a legal advisor for Kanya MORITA, the 12th director of the Shintomi-za Kabuki Theater.
He joined the Liberal Party in July 1883. How far and how long he was involved in the party are unknown. During that period, he opened law offices in Ginza and in Yokohama.
He formed a good relationship with Kikugoro ONOE (the fifth) and when Kikugoro moved to the Meiji-za Kabuki Theater in 1886, he became involved in the management of the theater and also participated in production of plays including 'Shisenryo Koban no Umenoha.'
After the Kabuki-za Theater's open in November of 1889, he was involved in the management of the theater under the name of the chief show master and so on, together with Ochi FUKUCHI and Katsugoto CHIBA.
He cancelled his lawyer registration in 1895. After that, he committed himself deeply into show production and management of the theater.
He also obtained the managing right of the Ichimura-za Theater in 1908, and after the Kabuki-za Theater went under the management of Matsutake Gomei Sha (present Shochiku Co., Ltd.), Tamura concentrate on the management of the Ichimura-za Theater.
At the Ichimura-za Theater, he selected and trained Kikugoro ONOE (the sixth) and Kichiemon NAKAMURA, and the theater became highly popular. He built the so-called 'Kiku-Kichi Jidai' (the age of Kikugoro and Kichiemon) and 'Nicho-machi Jidai' (the age of Nicho-machi [the town the theater was located) against the Teikoku-gekijo Theater and the Kabuki-za Theater.
One of his hobbies was Kouta (a form of short song) and he became friends with Teru TAMURA, the founder of the Tamura school of Kouta.
He died of a kidney infection.
After Tamura's death, his son Toshijiro TAMURA took over the management (Nariyoshi was called Otamura [Big Tamura] and Toshijiro was called Shotamura [Little Tamura], however, because Kichiemon and Mitsugoro BANDO (the seventh) left the theater, the Ichimura-za Theater gradually lost its appeal and declined (in 1928 the Ichimura-za Theater went under the management of Matsutake, however after it was burnt down in 1932, it was not rebuild).
Literary Work
"Zokuzoku Kabuki Nendaiki, Ken" (A sequel to the Sequel to Kabuki Chronicle, the first volume) in 1922: As a sequel to "Kabuki Nendaiki" (Kabuki Chronicle) by Enba TATEKAWA and to "Zoku Kabuki Nendaiki" (The Sequel to Kabuki Chronicle) by Hokaishi, this book includes the reputations of Kabuki from the end of the Edo period to the middle of the Meiji period.
He also prepared a draft for 'Kon' (the second volume) including the reputations of kabuki from 1904 to 1920, however it was burnt at the Great Kanto Earthquake.
"Geikai Tsushin Musen Denwa" (Correspondences with Show Business by Radiophone) (Seiabo Publishing, 1975)