Kabuki actor Nakamura Shido (36) believes in putting his acting before anything else, but will today take time off to preside over a wake for his late father. Ogawa Mikio died of stomach cancer at his Tokyo home on October 11. He was 79. Nakamura has been appearing in the stage production “Kurobe no Taiyo” in Osaka and wasn’t able to be with his father when he passed away. He has continued his twice-daily appearances until today, which was a scheduled day off. In the show, he plays the lead role of legendary actor Ishihara Yujiro and said he was intent on putting everything into the role even if it meant separation from his ailing father. Ogawa was diagnosed with cancer at the end of last year and was in and out of hospital. Nakamura had to deal with that at the same time as a dragged-out divorce from actress Takeuchi Yuko, which finally ended in February. The son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizo, Ogawa was the first to take the stage name of Shido but quit at an early age to become a producer at the Toei movie studio. “Kurobe no Taiyo” is about the filming of the blockbuster movie of the same name in 1968. It is also the title of a Fuji TV drama re-make that stars SMAP (profile) member Katori Shingo (32). Filming started recently and the drama will air next spring as part of Fuji’s 50th anniversary celebrations.