Nakamura Ganjirō II
Sakata Tōjūrō IV (eldest son) Tamao Nakamura (youngest daughter) born Yoshio Hayashi, 17 February 1902 – 13 April 1983 was a Japanese Kabuki and film actor. He was one of the most influential Kabuki actors in the post-World War II era, and also appeared in more than 70 films between 1941 and 1980, directed by notable filmmakers such as Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, and Mikio Naruse. For his contributions to Kabuki, Nakamura was awarded the title of Living National Treasure by the Japanese government in 1967, one of several civil honours he received in his lifetime.
Also recorded as Ganjiro Nakamura · Ganjirou Nakamura
Nakamura Ganjirō II

大映 (Daiei Film Co. Ltd.) · Public domain
- Name
- Nakamura Ganjirō II
- Birth Name
- Yoshio Hayashi
- Born
- 17 February 1902
- Birthplace
- Osaka, Japan
- Died
- 13 April 1983
- Occupation
- Actor
- Nationality
- Japan · Empire of Japan
- Fields
- acting · kabuki
- Honours
- Medal with Purple Ribbon · Person of Cultural Merit · Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Supporting Actor
- Languages
- Japanese
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Sakata Tōjūrō IV (eldest son) Tamao Nakamura (youngest daughter) born Yoshio Hayashi, 17 February 1902 – 13 April 1983 was a Japanese Kabuki and film actor. He was one of the most influential Kabuki actors in the post-World War II era, and also appeared in more than 70 films between 1941 and 1980, directed by notable filmmakers such as Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, and Mikio Naruse. For his contributions to Kabuki, Nakamura was awarded the title of Living National Treasure by the Japanese government in 1967, one of several civil honours he received in his lifetime.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Nakamura Ganjirō II. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3095179 · wikipedia · Nakamura Ganjirō II
In this article
Biography
Biography
His son, Sakata Tōjūrō IV, was also a renowned kabuki actor.

『 小早川家の秋 』(1961年)。
キネマ旬報社 · 『 キネマ旬報 』1961年10月下旬号。 " Kinema Junpo ", Late October 1961 issue.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Nakamura Ganjirō II • Birth Name — Yoshio Hayashi • Born — 17 February 1902 • Birthplace — Osaka, Japan • Died — 13 April 1983 • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1906–1980 • Father — Nakamura Ganjirō I • Relatives — Nakamura Kanjaku III (grandfather) Hayashi Mataichirō II (brother) Nakamura Ganjirō IV (grandson) Nakamura Senjaku III (grandson) Nakamura Kazutarō (great-grandson) Nakamura Toranosuke (great-grandson) • Title — Living National Treasure • Children — Sakata Tōjūrō IV (eldest son) Tamao Nakamura (youngest daughter) born Yoshio Hayashi, 17 February 1902 – 13 April 1983 was a Japanese Kabuki and film actor. He was one of the most influential Kabuki actors in the post-World War II era, and also appeared in more than 70 films between 1941 and 1980, directed by notable filmmakers such as Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, and Mikio Naruse. For his contributions to Kabuki, Nakamura was awarded the title of Living National Treasure by the Japanese government in 1967, one of several civil honours he received in his lifetime. His son, Sakata Tōjūrō IV, was also a renowned kabuki actor.
Lineage
Lineage
Born into a renowned Kabuki acting family from Kansai, Ganjirō II was the youngest son of Nakamura Ganjirō I, one of the most celebrated Kabuki actors from the 1870s to the 1930s and grandson of Nakamura Kanjaku III, one of the most outstanding kaneru yakusha in the history of Kabuki theater. His older brother, Hayashi Mataichirō II was a Kabuki actor like him and was known for his spectacular and outstanding skills as a Kabuki dancer. Ganjirō II was the second in the line of actors to inherit the prestigious name Nakamura Ganjirō (the first being his father, Nakamura Ganjirō I) and his son and his eldest grandson would also inherit the name, being known respectively as Nakamura Ganjirō III (currently Sakata Tōjūrō IV) and Nakamura Ganjirō IV. Before being known as Nakamura Ganjirō II, he was known as Nakamura Senjaku I and his son and youngest grandson would inherit the name Nakamura Senjaku, being known respectively as Nakamura Senjaku II (currently Sakata Tōjūrō IV) and Nakamura Senjaku III. His two great-grandsons are also Kabuki actors, Nakamura Kazutarō (son of Nakamura Ganjirō IV) and Nakamura Toranosuke (son of Nakamura Senjaku III). Due to the fact that he is the son and heir of Ganjirō IV (eldest son of Sakata Tōjūrō IV and eldest grandson of Ganjirō II) and the eldest great-grandson of Ganjirō II, Kazutarō is expected to become the head of the Kamigata branch of the Narikomaya house and inherit the name Nakamura Ganjirō V (五代目 中村鴈治郎) in a near future.
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1979 — Hissatsu Shigotonin — Shikazo — Hissatsu series
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1902
Nakamura Ganjirō II born at Osaka.
1983
Nakamura Ganjirō II died.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Nakamura Ganjirō II was born in Osaka.
Birthplace
Osaka.
Birth place
Film
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1941 — The Life of an Actor • 1957 — An Osaka Story — Nihei • 1957 — Koto no tsume • 1957 — The Lower Depths — Rokubei (Osugi's husband) • 1957 — Onna goroshi abura jigoku — Father • 1957 — Floating Vessel — Emperor • 1958 — Tsukihime keizu • 1958 — Edokko matsuri — Hikozaemon Ôkubo • 1958 — Furisode matoi • 1958 — The Loyal 47 Ronin — Gorobei Kakimi • 1958 — Ôsaka no onna — Hanmaru Suzunoya • 1958 — Enjō — Tayama Dosen • 1958 — Summer Clouds — Wasuke • 1958 — Mito Kômon man'yûki — Tokugawa "Mito Kōmon" Mitsukuni • 1958 — Noren • 1958 — Musume no boken • 1959 — Kagerô-gasa — Tan'an Ogisu • 1959 — Odd Obsession — Kenji Kenmochi • 1959 — Denwa wa yugata ni naru • 1959 — The Birth of Japan — Emperor Keikō • 1959 — Floating Weeds — Komajuro (troupe leader) • 1959 — Hatsuharu tanuki goten — Tanuemon • 1960 — Jokyo — Gosuke • 1960 — When a Woman Ascends the Stairs — Goda • 1960 — The Demon of Mount Oe • 1960 — Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi • 1960 — Shirakoya Komako — Shôzaburô • 1960 — Tadanao kyo gyojoki • 1960 — Sen-hime goten — Tokugawa Ieyasu • 1960 — Futari no musashi — Shekishusai Yagyu • 1961 — Ginzakko monogatari — Seikichi Takarai • 1961 — Koshoku ichidai otoko • 1961 — Tokyo onigiri musume — Tsurukichi • 1961 — Iro no michi oshiemasu: Yume san'ya • 1961 — The End of Summer — Kohayagawa Manbei • 1961 — Buda — Ashoka • 1961 — Zoku akumyô — Boss of Matsushima • 1961 — Wakai yatsura no kaidan — Shôkichi • 1962 — Gan no tera — Nangaku Kishimoto • 1962 — The Outcast — Buddha priest • 1962 — Love Under the Crucifix — Sen no Rikyū • 1962 — Kaidan yonaki-doro • 1962 — Edo e hyaku-nana-jû ri — Sukezaemon Tsukagoshi • 1962 — Tateshi Danpei — Danpei Ichikawa • 1962 — Shin no shikôtei — Hsu Fu • 1962 — Nakayoshi ondo: Nippon ichi dayo • 1963 — An Actor's Revenge — Sansai Dobe • 1963 — Onsen geisha — Kesazô • 1963 — Nyokei kazoku — Uichi • 1963 — Gurentai junjyôha — Ganemon • 1963 — Echizen take-ningyô — Boatman • 1963 — Warera sarariman • 1964 — Shinobi no mono: Kirigakure Saizo — Ieyasu Tokugawa • 1964 — Kwaidan — Publisher — (segment "Chawan no naka") • 1964 — Onsen jôi — Tahei • 1964 — Gendai inchiki monogatari: Dotanuki • 1965 — Onna mekura monogatari • 1966 — The Pornographers — Elderly Executive From Hakucho Company • 1966 — Lake of Tears — Samezaemon • 1974 — Akumyo: shima arashi — Motojime • 1975 — Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director — Himself — Documentary • 1980 — Tokugawa ichizoku no houkai • 1982 — The Rape — Akiyama
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Nakamura Ganjirō II”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3095179: Nakamura Ganjirō II
General reference · Wikidata
Honors
• 1967 – Living National Treasure • 1968 – Medal with Purple Ribbon • 1974 – Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon • 1980 – Person of Cultural Merit • 1983 – Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd class, Gold and Silver Star (posthumous) • 1983 – Senior fourth rank (posthumous)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings Ganjiro Nakamura and Ganjirou Nakamura. His recorded language was Japanese. 2 children are recorded: Sakata Tōjūrō IV and Tamao Nakamura. II received Medal with Purple Ribbon, Person of Cultural Merit and Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Supporting Actor. Recorded as having received Medal with Purple Ribbon, Person of Cultural Merit and Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Supporting Actor.
Identity and origins
Recognition and collections
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,284 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Nair BelloPerson
- Najdat AnzourPerson
- Naji Abu NowarPerson
- Najibullah QuraishiPerson
- Nakamura Kichiemon IIPerson
- Nakamura Shichinosuke IIPerson
- Nakamura Shidō IIPerson
- Nakia BurrisePerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Nakamura Ganjirō II?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.