Kabuki actor who specialized in playing villains. He was the son of a female dancer of the Shigayama school and began his career performing at the Nakamura-za (Nakamura Theatre). His 1853 performance of Komori Yasu in Yowa nasake ukina no yokogushi was so widely acclaimed that he continued to play the role throughout his career.

Because Nakamura was not particularly handsome, he often played older male villains and jitsuaku (“inveterate rogues”—not necessarily unsympathetic characters). He helped to teach some of the great actors of his time, including Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and Onoe Kikugorō V. He also wrote two autobiographical works, Temae miso and Zekku chō.