Nakanishi Hidenaga (中西秀長)
Hidenaga NAKANISHI (year of birth unknown - September 6, 1650) was a samurai of the Satsuma domain in the early Edo period. His imina (personal name) is Hidenaga. His common name is Yahei, Nagato no kami (Governor of Nagato Province). He is an expert at Noh (traditional masked dance-drama). He is a child of Obata Yahei Soi who was a descendant of a feudal lord in Obata-mura Village, Omi Province. His imina (personal name) is Hidenaga. At the age of 12, he served Hidetsugu TOYOTOMI, and came up to Kyoto after becoming ronin(masterless samurai). Then, he became a kimono fabrics dealer, and referred to Yago (family name) as Toraya. He referred to himself as Toraya or the Obata clan during the Keicho era. He referred to himself as `toraya,' even after he transferred to the Satsuma domain.
For this reason, the street on which the residence of Hidenaga NAKANISHI was located came to be called `Totaya no baba.'
Since he was an expert at Noh, later on, he served Tadatsune SHIMAZU receiving 300 koku (of rice). Thereafter, it increased to 1000 koku. He performed Noh when Sakurada hantei (residence maintained by a daimyo in Edo) in the Satsuma domain of Seitaishogun (commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force against the barbarians, great, unifying leader), Iemitsu TOKUGAWA completed. He passed down Yokyoku (Noh song) or dances which had been passed down to Konparu Hachiro tayu (entertainers serving shrines) 厳達 and Osaka Hongan-ji temple bokan (a priest who served for the Monzeki families) Shoshin hoin (the highest rank among Buddhist priests) to the Satsuma domain, and gave Tadatsune SHIMAZU instruction in Noh.
He was ordered to serve as sandai (a visit to the Imperial Palace) by kinri (Imperial Palace or residence), and was appointed to Shorokui (Senior Sixth Rank) and to Nagato no kami (Governor of Nagato Province). He changed his name into NAKANISHI during the Kanei era.
His tomb is 不断光院, the branch temple of Jodo (Pure Land) sect Chion-in Temple. His posthumous Buddhist name is Kuon-in en nichidai koji. From the standpoint of the graveyard, it seems that his religious doctrine is Jodo (Pure Land) sect. His sons are Bunemon NAKANISI (first, his name was Yazaemon. He was buried in the same tomb as his father) and Nagato Uemon Shojo NAKANISHI (his tomb is in Fukusho-ji Temple). His descendants took over Noh for generations.
Chronological list of the main events
In 1602, he served Tadatsune SHIMAZU.
In 1604, he was appointed to shorokui (Senior Sixth Rank) and to Nagato no kami (Governor of Nagato Province) by kinri (Imperial Palace or residence).
In 1620, his rice field increased to 1000 koku after gaining some.
On May 19, 1630, he performed Noh when Iemitsu TOKUGAWA visited the residence of Akita domain of the Satsuma domain.
According to `Sassyu Kagoshima shuchu residence cadastral register' established in 1636, "Naka Yashiki 3 tan (1 tan = length app 10.6m and width app. 34cm) 6 se (1 se = approximately 99.174 m.sq.) 20 bu NAKANISHI Nagato no kami (Governor of Nagato Province) dono" is described in "Nippori noue." The residence of Kamata Izumo-no-kami (chief of Izumo-no-kuni) 政統 was nearby.