Unlike many kabuki actors, who specialize in a single type of role, Shichinosuke plays both male (tachiyaku) and female (onnagata) parts.

His family can trace their lineage back, within the kabuki world, at least seven generations, to Onoe Kikugorō III and Ichimura Uzaemon XI, who performed in the early 19th century.

He has performed Kabuki in numerous international theaters, often alongside his father and brother, as part of the Heisei Nakamura-za.

Nakamura graduated from high school in March 2002 and the following year he played the role of Emperor Meiji in Edward Zwick's movie The Last Samurai.

The subsequent controversy after the arrest barred Nakamura from participating in the celebration of his father's shūmei (naming ceremony) in March 2005.