Sally Nakamura

Region: Vancouver British Columbia
Generation: Nisei
Born 1908, Vancouver British Columbia
Died 1992

Bio

Satoshi (Sally) Nakamura was born on Powell Street in Vancouver. He enjoyed a varied artistic life as a singer, actor and entertainer. In Vancouver, he took voice training with Gideon Hicks, a well-known baritone, conductor, and music teacher.  He also loved to sing popular songs and would entertain at the Japanese language school. He could be heard on the radio as well. He teamed with Roy Kumano and performed comic skits around the community. They were Kuraku Geburo and Robato Teraimon.

In 1940, he went to Japan to try to become a professional singer. He held his first recital at the Nippon Seinen Kaikan in Tokyo. Fellow Japanese Canadian, Saita Aiko, sang in support. Later that year, he appeared in Carmen, held at Kabukiza Theatre. Also that year he studied film acting at the Nikkatsu Academy of Motion Pictures.  Unfortunately, December 7th, 1941, brought everything came to an end.

He was stranded in Japan and could not work for any opera company because of his lack of citizenship. Fortunately, he could work as a film actor and signed to the Toho Movie Company. He worked for them until his retirement. He continued singing throughout the rest of his life.

He tried to move his family back to Canada in 1964 but decided it wasn’t for them so he moved back to Tokyo. He lived there until his death in 1992.