Born into a former samurai family at Matsushiro, Nagano; her real name was Kobayashi Masako.
She moved to Tokyo.
She entered the drama school of Tsubouchi Shōyō's Bungei Kyōkai, aiming to become an actress.
She played Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House to great acclaim.
With Shimamura Hōgetsu she founded the Geijutsuza theatre company.
Performing Tolstoy's Resurrection, she sang "Katyusha's Song", which became a huge hit.
Shimamura Hōgetsu died of the Spanish flu.
Two months after Hōgetsu's death, she took her own life.
Tsubouchi ShōyōShimamura HōgetsuNakayama Shinpei
Kitahara HakushūMushanokōji SaneatsuOsugi SakaeHiratsuka RaichōYamada KōsakuHagiwara SakutarōTanizaki Jun'ichirōNakayama Shinpei
People of the Taishō period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.