O ff stage, kabuki actor is a tall, handsome and sensitive- looking man with white hair but a young face. On stage, the respected onnagata (male actor who specializes in female roles) can be anything from a sexy concubine to a faithful spouse.
Born Mitsuharu Ogawa in 1955, Nakamura made his debut at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo at age 5, as Nakamura Baishi. At age 6, he lost his father, the renowned onnagata Nakamura Tokizo IV, but thanks to the support of such eminent actors as Nakamura Utaemon VI, Onoe Baiko VII (father of prominent male lead Onoe Kikugoro), Nakamura Shikan (Utaemon VI's nephew) and Nakamura Kanzaburo XVII, he became well-versed in historical and realistic kabuki plays.
For example, the role of Princess Yaegaki in "Honcho Nijushiko (The 24 Models of Filial Piety: the Japanese Version)," considered the most important of the "three princesses" in kabuki, was taught to Nakamura by the late Nakamura Utaemon VI in 1971, when he was 16 years old.