Mansai Nomura

Photo: Akihito Abe

Mansai Nomura

Born in 1966, the Kyogen actor Mansai Nomura is a son of the Kyogen actor Mansaku Nomura, who has been designated as Important Living Cultural Entity (“Living National Treasure”) by the Japanese government. He made his stage debut in 1970 with Utsubozaru. In addition to performing with the “Mansaku no Kai” Kyogen company, Mansai has also led the “Gozaru no Kai” since 1987 which presents biannual productions of “more familiar and easier to appreciate Kyogen.” He works to spread the art and appreciation of Kyogen by performing in halls and taking productions to festivals in Japan and overseas. At the same time he has worked to encourage a new fusion of traditional Japanese arts and contemporary theater through direction of highly acclaimed works like Yabu no Naka (In a Grove), Rashomon, Machigai no Kyogen, Atsushi – Sangetsuki, Meijinden and Kuninusubito. In 1994 he studied in the UK as the Agency for Cultural Affairs Overseas Study Program for Artist. As an actor he is active in television dramas, movies and as a stage actor he has performed in Jonathan Kent’s Hamlet and Yukio Ninagawa’s Oedipus Rex. Since 2002 he has served as artistic director of the Setagaya Public Theatre. In 2006 he won the Kinokuniya Drama Award for direction and composition of Atsushi – Sangetsuki, Meijinden. (Updated in June 2025)