Nakamura Shichinosuke II
Japanese actor
Nakamura Shichinosuke II (二代目 中村 七之助, Nidaime Nakamura Shichinosuke) (born May 18, 1983) is a Japanese Kabuki, theatre, TV, and film actor. He was born Takayuki Namino (波野 隆行, Namino Takayuki), the second son of famed Kabuki performer, Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII. Unlike many kabuki actors, who specialize in a single type of role, Shichinosuke plays both male (tachiyaku) and female (onnagata) parts.
Name and lineage
Nakamura, often represented as "Shichinosuke Nakamura" in reference to his American film career, is a member of the kabuki guild Nakamura-ya, and currently performs kabuki along with his brother Nakamura Kankurō VI. 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. As is the case with the names of all kabuki actors, "Nakamura Shichinosuke" is a yagō or stage name.
He is the second actor to inherit the name Nakamura Shichinosuke, as the first was actor Nakamura Kanzaburō IX (九代目 中村勘三郎), who used the name Nakamura Shichinosuke I (初代 中村七之助) from 1769 to 1770.
Life and career
In September 1986 he made his first appearance on stage at the Kabuki-za, taking the name Nakamura Shichinosuke the following year. Within a few years he was described as "one of the 21st Century's most promising young Kabuki Actors". He has performed Kabuki in numerous international theaters, often alongside his father and brother, as part of the Heisei Nakamura-za. He also performs annually in Asakusa Kabuki at the Asakusa Kōkaidō, a production aimed at attracting the younger generation and encouraging in them an interest in kabuki.
In 1994, Shichinosuke performed in the modern play "Sukapan".
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11365245. VIAF identifies the subject as 241263808. The Library of Congress control number is no2012047818. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983, 1769, 1770 and 1986.
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