TOKYO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Revered Japanese Kabuki actor Kataoka Hidetaro II died at the age of 79, local media cited Kabuki production firm Shochiku Co. as saying Thursday.

Kataoka, who rose to prominence after debuting on stage in 1946 and was widely credited with passing on western Japan's distinctive Kamigata style of acting to younger performers in Tokyo, passed away at his home in Osaka Prefecture on Sunday.

According to Shochiku Co., Kataoka, who was designated as a living national treasure in Japan in 2019 and was a recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2021, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Kataoka will be remembered as one of Kabuki's finest "onnagata" -- a male actor who plays female roles -- who took on and excelled in playing a wide range of characters in the all-male Kabuki arena.

In 1997, the Shochiku Kamigata Kabuki school was opened in western Japan for young people from regular families rather than those from an elite Kabuki lineage.

The iconic performer also taught "onnagata" acting to children at a school in Tokyo's prestigious Kabukiza Theater in Ginza, the largest such theater in Japan.

Kataoka, whose real name was Yoshihito Kataoka, last performed as Lady Fuji in "Kumagai Jinya" at the Minamiza Theater in Kyoto in December 2020. Enditem

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