Background
Tsuruya Namboku V, originally named Magotarō Tsuruya, was born in 1796 in Fugakawa, Tokyo, Japan. He came from a family of kabuki playwrights, however his plays were not so good as were the works of his grandfather. He was the son of Matsumoto Saiemon, the owner of a chaya located within the precincts of the Hachiman Shrine. In 1800, he was adopted by Katsu Hyōzō II, the son of Tsuruya Namboku IV.
