Kataoka Hidetaro, a Kabuki actor and living national treasure in
Hidetaro, who died at his home in
Popular Kabuki actor Kataoka Ainosuke is his adopted son.
Hidetaro made his stage debut in 1946 and later made his name as a superb onnagata, a male actor who specializes in female roles, as he excelled in playing a wide variety of women including prostitutes and housewives, and from young to old.
He was known as a champion of the Kamigata style of acting originating in the
At the Shochiku Kamigata Kabuki school opened in 1997, Hidetaro taught Kabuki acting for youth from ordinary families in the
His last performance was at the
Hidetaro was designated as a living national treasure in 2019 and received the Order of the
==Kyodo
© Kyodo News International, Inc., source