Tatsuya Nakadai

Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代 達矢, Nakadai Tatsuya, born

Motohisa Nakadai; December 13, 1932) is a Japanese Tatsuya Nakadai
film actor.[1] 仲代 達矢

He was featured in 11 films directed by Masaki

Kobayashi, including The Human Condition trilogy,
wherein he starred as the lead character Kaji, plus
Harakiri, Samurai Rebellion and Kwaidan.

Nakadai worked with some of Japan's best-known

filmmakers—starring or co-starring in five films
directed by Akira Kurosawa, as well as being cast in
significant films directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara (The
Face of Another), Mikio Naruse (When a Woman
Ascends the Stairs), Kihachi Okamoto (Kill! and The
Sword of Doom), Hideo Gosha (Goyokin), Shirō
Toyoda (Portrait of Hell) and Kon Ichikawa (Enjō and
Odd Obsession).

Nakadai in 2009
Biography Born Motohisa Nakadai (仲代 元久)
December 13, 1932
Nakadai grew up in a very poor family and was unable Tokyo, Japan
to afford a university education, prompting him to take
Occupation Actor
up acting. He picked up a liking of Broadway
musicals, and travelled once a year to New York City Years active 1952–present
to watch them. Nakadai was working as a shop clerk in
Tokyo before a chance encounter with director Masaki Kobayashi led to him being cast in the film The
Thick Walled Room. The following year, he made a brief and uncredited cameo in Akira Kurosawa's
Seven Samurai where he is seen for a few seconds as a samurai walking through town.[2] Nakadai's role
in Seven Samurai was technically his debut as The Thick-Walled Room's release was delayed for three
years due to controversial subject matter. His major breakthrough as an actor came when he was given the
part of Jo, a young yakuza in Black River, another film directed by Kobayashi. Nakadai continued to
work with Kobayashi into the 1960s and won his first Blue Ribbon Award for his role in Harakiri (his
personal favorite among his own films) as the aging rōnin Hanshiro Tsugumo.

Nakadai appeared in two more Kurosawa films from the 1980s. In Kagemusha Nakadai plays both the
titular thief turned body-double and the famous daimyō Takeda Shingen whom the thief is tasked with
impersonating. This dual role helped him win his second Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor. In Ran
Nakadai plays another daimyo, Hidetora Ichimonji (loosely based on King Lear from Shakespeare's play
King Lear and inspired by the historical daimyo Mōri Motonari).
He taught and trained promising young actors including Kōji Yakusho, Mayumi Wakamura, Tōru
Masuoka, Azusa Watanabe, Kenichi Takitō and others.[3]
In 2015, he received the Order of Culture.[4][5]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes Ref.

Masaki Released 1956;

1953 The Thick-Walled Room Prisoner
Kobayashi uncredited
Samurai Wandering
1954 Seven Samurai Akira Kurosawa Uncredited
Through Town

Hi no tori Keiichi Naganuma Umetsugu Inoue

Senkichi
Hadashi no Seishun Yūji Wada
1956 Taniguchi
Sazae-san Norisuke Namino Nobuo Aoyagi

Oshidori no Ma Andō Keigo Kimura

Masaki
Black River Joe
Kobayashi

Oban Shin-don Yasuki Chiba

Untamed Kimura Mikio Naruse

Shūe
Hikage no Musume Motohashi
Matsubayashi
1957
Zoku Oban: Fuun hen Shin-don Yasuki Chiba

A Dangerous Hero (Kiken na

Imamura Hideo Suzuki
eiyu)
Zokuzoku Oban: Dotou hen Shin-don Yasuki Chiba

Sazae's Youth (Sazae-san no

Norisuke Namino Nobuo Aoyagi
seishun)

A Boy and Three Mothers Kensaku Seiji Hisamatsu

All About Marriage (Kekkon no Kihachi
Akira Nakayama
subete) Okamoto

1958 Go and Get It (Buttsuke

Hara Kozo Saeki
honban)

Enjō Togari Kon Ichikawa

Naked Sun Jirō Maeda Miyoji Ieki

1959 The Human Condition: No Masaki

Kaji Lead role
Greater Love Kobayashi

Odd Obsession Kimura Kon Ichikawa

The Human Condition: Road to Masaki
Kaji Lead role
Eternity Kobayashi

Yaju shisubeshi Kunihiko Date Eizo Sugawa Lead role

 Three Dolls in Ginza (Ginza no
Kyōsuke Tamura Toshio Sugie
onéchan)
An'ya Kōro Kaname Shirō Toyoda

When a Woman Ascends the

Kenichi Komatsu Mikio Naruse
Stairs

Daughters, Wives, and a

Shingo Kuroki Mikio Naruse
Mother (Musume tsuma haha)
1960
Hiromichi
The Blue Beast (Aoi yaju) Yasuhiko Kuroki
Horikawa

Get 'em All ("Minagoroshi no

Tsubota Eizō Sugawa
uta" yori kenju-yo saraba!)

As a Wife, As a Woman
Minami Mikio Naruse
(Tsuma to shite onna to shite)
Yojimbo Unosuke Akira Kurosawa

The Human Condition: A Masaki

Kaji Lead role
1961 Soldier's Prayer Kobayashi

Heinosuke
Kumo ga chigieru toki James Kimura
Gosho
Keisuke
Immortal Love Heibei
Kinoshita

Sanjuro Muroto Hanbei Akira Kurosawa

Love Under the Crucifix

Takayama Ukon Kinuyo Tanaka Lead role
(Oginsama)
Masaki
1962 The Inheritance (Karami-ai) Kikuo Furukawa
Kobayashi

Masaki
Harakiri Tsugumo Hanshirō Lead role
Kobayashi

Madame Aki Uojirō Tatsumi Shirō Toyoda

High and Low Chief Detective Tokura Akira Kurosawa

Pressure of Guilt (Shiro to Hiromichi

Ichirō Hamano Lead role
kuro) Horikawa

1963 Legacy of the 500,000 Mitsuru Gunji Toshiro Mifune

Miren Ryōta Kinoshita Yasuki Chiba

A Woman's Life (Onna no

Takashi Akimoto Mikio Naruse
rekishi)

Takashi
Arijigoku sakusen Ishiki Lead role
Tsuboshima
1964
Masaki
Kwaidan Minokichi Lead role
Kobayashi

Hiromichi
Saigo no shinpan Jirō Lead role
Horikawa

1965 Kihachi
Fort Graveyard (Chi to suna) Sakuma
Okamoto
Illusion of Blood Iemon Shirō Toyoda Lead role
 Cash Calls Hell (Gohiki no
Oida Hideo Gosha Lead role
shinshi)
Kihachi [6]
The Sword of Doom Ryunosuke Tsukue Lead role
1966 Okamoto

Hiroshi
The Face of Another Mr. Okuyama Lead role
Teshigahara

The Daphne (Jinchoge) Professor Kanahira Yasuki Chiba

The Age of Assassins (Satsujin Kihachi
Shinji Kikyo Lead role
kyo jidai) Okamoto

Kojiro Miyamoto Musashi Hiroshi Inagaki

1967 Masaki
Samurai Rebellion Asano Tatewaki
Kobayashi
Kihachi
Japan's Longest Day Narrator
Okamoto

Today We Kill, Tomorrow We

James Elfego Tonino Cervi
Die!

Kihachi
Kill! Genta Lead role
Okamoto
1968
Admiral Yamamoto Narrator Seiji Maruyama [7]

Kihachi
The Human Bullet Narrator
Okamoto

Goyokin Magobei Hideo Gosha Lead role

Eiko's 5000 Kilograms (Eiko e Koreyoshi

Takeuchi
no 5,000 kiro) Kurahara
Battle of the Japan Sea Akashi Motojiro Seiji Maruyama
1969
Hitokiri Takechi Hanpeita Hideo Gosha

Satsuo
Blood End (Tengu-to) Sentarō Lead role
Yamamoto
Portrait of Hell Yoshihide Shirō Toyoda Lead role

Duel at Ezo (Ezo yakata no Kengo

Daizennokami Honjo
ketto) Furusawa

Bakumatsu Nakaoka Shintarō Daisuke Itō

The Scandalous Adventures of Masahiro
Kataoka Naojirō
1970 Buraikan Shinoda

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire

Ronin Kenji Misumi
Festival

Will to Conquer (Tenka no

Yoshida Tōyō Seiji Maruyama
abarembo)
Masaki
Inn of Evil (Inochi boni furo) Sadashichi Lead role
Kobayashi

1971 Colonel Hiromichi Kihachi

Battle of Okinawa Lead role
Yahara Okamoto

The Wolves (Shussho Iwai) Seji Iwahashi Hideo Gosha Lead role
1973 Hiromichi
Osho Sekine
Horikawa
 The Human Revolution Nichiren Toshio Masuda
Rise, Fair Sun Sakuzo Kei Kumai Lead role

Satsuo
1974 Karei-naru Ichizoku Teppei Manpyō Lead role
Yamamoto

The Gate of Youth (Seishun no

Jūzō Ibuki Kirio Urayama
mon)
Kihachi
Tokkan Hijikata Toshizō
Okamoto
1975
I Am a Cat (Wagahai wa neko
Kushami Chin'no Kon Ichikawa Lead role
de aru)

Satsuo
Kinkanshoku Yasuo Hoshino Lead role
Yamamoto
Yoshisuke
Banka Setsuo Katsuragi
Kawasaki

1976 Zoku ningen kakumei Nichiren Toshio Masuda

Satsuo
Fumō Chitai Tadashi Iki Lead role
Yamamoto
Kihachi
1977 Sugata Sanshiro Shōgorō Yano
Okamoto

Kihachi
Blue Christmas Minami
Okamoto

1978 Queen Bee (Jo-oh-bachi) Ginzo Daidoji Kon Ichikawa

Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron Kumokiri Nizaemon Hideo Gosha Lead role

Hi no Tori (Hi no tori) Ninigi Kon Ichikawa

Hunter in the Dark (Yami no

1979 Gomyo Kiyoemon Hideo Gosha Lead role
karyudo)
Takeda Shingen /
Kagemusha Akira Kurosawa Lead role
Kagemusha
1980
The Battle of Port Arthur (also General Nogi [8]
Toshio Masuda Lead role
known as 203 kochi) Maresuke

1981 Willful Murder Yashiro Kei Kumai Lead role

1982 Onimasa Masagoro Kiryuin Hideo Gosha Lead role

1984 Fireflies in the North Takeshi Tsukigata Hideo Gosha Lead role

Lord Hidetora
Ran Akira Kurosawa Lead role
Ichimonji
1985
The Empty Table (Shokutaku Masaki
Nobuyuki Kidoji Lead role
no nai ie) Kobayashi

Kazuo
1986 Atami satsujin jiken Denbei Nikaido Lead role
Takahashi

1987 Hachiko Monogatari Hidejiro Ueno Seijirō Kōyama Lead role

Andrew V.
Return from the River Kwai Major Harada
McLaglen
1988
Shigemichi
Oracion (Yushun) Heihachiro Wagu
Sugita
 Four Days of Snow and Blood
1989 Hajime Sugiyama Hideo Gosha
(Ni-ni-roku)
Heat Wave (Kagero) Tsunejiro Murai Hideo Gosha
1991
Florence My Love Sakazaki Seiji Izumi

Daishu (Yuen Tai

The Wicked City Mak Tai-Kit
Chung)
1992 Basara – The Princess Goh Hiroshi
Furuta Oribe
(Goh-hime) Teshigahara

Tōki Rakujitsu Sakae Kobayashi Seijirō Kōyama

Lone Wolf and Cub: Final

Yagyu Retsudo Akira Inoue
Conflict
1993
Summer of the Moonlight
Kazama (postwar) Seijirō Kōyama
Sonata (Gekko no natsu)

Kihachi
1995 East Meets West Katsu Rintarō
Okamoto

1996 Miyazawa Kenji sono ai Seijirō Miyazawa Seijirō Kōyama

After the Rain Tsuji Gettan Takashi Koizumi
1999
Spellbound Hideaki Sasaki Masato Harada

Vengeance for Sale Kihachi

2001 Umetaro Katakura
(Sukedachi-ya Sukeroku) Okamoto
To Dance With the White Dog Takashi
Eisuke Nakamoto Lead role
(Shiroi inu to Waltz wo) Tsukinoki
2002
Dawn of a New Day: The Man
Konosuke Matsushita Kiyoshi Sasabe
Behind VHS

Yoshimitsu
2003 Like Asura Kotaro Takezawa
Morita
Katsumi Kamio (75
2005 Yamato Junya Sato
years old)

2006 The Inugamis Sahei Inugami Kon Ichikawa

2009 Listen to My Heart Kyozo Hayami Shinichi Mishiro

Masahiro
Haru's Journey Tadao Nakai Lead role
2010 Kobayashi

Zatoichi: The Last Tendo Junji Sakamoto

Yūichirō
2012 Until The Break Of Dawn Sadayuki Akiyama
Hirakawa
2013 Human Trust Nobuhiko Sasakura Junji Sakamoto

Mineko
2015 Yuzuriha no koro Kenichiro Miya
Okamoto

Masahiro
2017 Lear on the Shore Chōkitsu Kuwabatake Lead role
Kobayashi
The Negotiator: Behind The Tsuyoshi
2018 Narrator
Reversion of Okinawa Yanagawa

The Pass: Last Days of the [9]

2022 Makino Tadayuki Takashi Koizumi
Samurai
Animated film

Year Title Role Director Notes

Kanashimi no
1973 The Devil Eiichi Yamamoto
Belladonna

Tomoharu Katsumata / Yoshinobu Nishizaki /

1983 Final Yamato Narrator
Takeshi Shirado / Toshio Masuda
The Tale of Princess Sumiyaki no
2013 Isao Takahata
Kaguya Roujini

Junpei Senō
2014 Giovanni's Island[10] (Old)
Mizuho Nishikubo

Theater

Year Title Role Director Notes

1964 Hamlet Hamlet Koreya Senda

1968 Yotsuya Kaidan Tamiya Iemon Eitaro Ozawa

1971 Othello Othello Koreya Senda

1974 Richard III Richard Toshikiyo Masumi

1975 The Lower Depths Satine Toshikiyo Masumi

1978 Oedipus Rex Oedipus Tomoe Ryu (Yasuko Miyazaki)

1982 Macbeth Macbeth Tomoe Ryu (Yasuko Miyazaki)

1990 Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano de Bergerac Tomoe Ryu (Yasuko Miyazaki)

2000 Death of a Salesman William "Willy" Loman Kiyoto Hayashi

2001 The Merry Wives of Windsor John Falstaff Kiyoto Hayashi

2005 Driving Miss Daisy Hoke Ikumi Tanno

2008 Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes Ikumi Tanno

2010 John Gabriel Borkman John Gabriel Borkman Tamiya Kuriyama

2013 Bluebeard's Castle The Bard Michiyoshi Inoue

2014 Barrymore John Barrymore Ikumi Tanno

2014 Romeo and Juliet Father Lawrence Ikumi Tanno

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.

1971 Shin Heike Monogatari Taira no Kiyomori Lead role, Taiga drama

1977 Castle of Sand Eitaro Imanishi Lead role

1990 13 Assassins (Jusan-nin no Shikaku) Shimada Shinzaemon Lead role

1995 Daichi no Ko Kōji Matsumoto Lead role

1996 Hideyoshi Sen no Rikyū Taiga drama [11]

2004 Socrates in Love Kentarō Matsumoto Special appearance

2007 Fūrin Kazan Takeda Nobutora Taiga drama [12]

2014 Zainin no Uso Kenzō Haneda

Haretsu Kuraki
2015
Hatashiai Sanosuke Lead role, TV movie

Kyoaku wa Nemurasenai Yōhei Tachibana

2016
Cold Case

2017 Henkan Kōshōnin Narrator TV movie

2020 The Return Unokichi Lead role, TV movie

Honours
Chevalier De L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1992)
Medal with Purple Ribbon (1996)
Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2003)
Person of Cultural Merit (2007)
Asahi Prize (2013)
Kawakita Award (2013)
Toshiro Mifune Award (2015)
Order of Culture (2015)[4]
Honorary citizen of Tokyo (2024)[13]

References
1. "Tatsuya Nakadai" (https://archive.today/20131008230113/http://movies.nytimes.com/perso
n/1668496/Nakadai-Tatsuya). Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the
original (https://movies.nytimes.com/person/1668496/Nakadai-Tatsuya) on 2013-10-08.
2. Stephens, Chuck. "The Eighth Samurai: Tatsuya Nakadai" (http://www.criterion.com/current/
posts/393-the-eighth-samurai-tatsuya-nakadai). Current. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
3. "無名塾公演「おれたちは天使じゃない」 @ウェスタ川越 大ホール" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20160304065744/http://ark.on.arena.ne.jp/westa/Mumeijyuku20151122.html). ARK.
Archived from the original (http://ark.on.arena.ne.jp/westa/Mumeijyuku20151122.html) on
March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
4. "仲代達矢に文化勲章 高倉健さん以来の俳優5人目" (https://www.sanspo.com/article/201510
31-4LQA2576KFKR5HDLU7A2H7PY3U/). Sanspo. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
5. "Tokyo: Tatsuya Nakadai Set to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor" (https://www.hollywoo
dreporter.com/news/tatsuya-nakadai-set-receive-tokyo-film-festival-lifetime-achievement-ho
nor-1249965). The Hollywood Reporter. 24 October 2019.
6. Stuart Galbraith IV (16 May 2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete
Filmography (https://books.google.com/books?id=f7o8pq6G_dYC&pg=PA168). Scarecrow
Press. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-4616-7374-3.
7. "連合艦隊司令長官 山本五十六" (https://eiga.com/movie/40135/). eiga.com. Retrieved
May 8, 2023.
 8. The Battle of Port Arthur (203 Kochi) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080316/) in the Internet
Movie Database
9. "峠 最後のサムライ" (https://eiga.com/movie/89738/). eiga.com. Retrieved February 21,
2021.
10. "Full Trailer for I.G's Hand-Drawn Anime Film Giovanni's Island Posted" (http://www.animene
wsnetwork.com/news/2013-12-18/full-trailer-for-i.g-hand-drawn-anime-film-giovanni-island-p
osted). Anime News Network. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
11. "秀吉の出演者・キャスト一覧" (https://thetv.jp/program/0000936094/cast/). The Television.
Retrieved June 8, 2024.
12. "風林火山" (https://haiyaku.web.fc2.com/07-taiga.html). Haiyaku Jiten. Retrieved June 8,
2024.
13. "仲代達矢、名誉都民の顕彰式に出席「思いがけない栄誉。これからも頑張って生きていき
たい」小池百合子都知事から称号記を贈られる" (https://hochi.news/articles/20241001-OHT
1T51040.html?page=1). Sports Hochi. Retrieved 1 October 2024.

Further reading
Dowsing, Martin. The Face of an Actor - The Life and Films of Tatsuya Nakadai. Testudines,
2021. ISBN 9798476336891

External links
The Eighth Samurai: Tatsuya Nakadai (https://web.archive.org/web/20071213170923/http://
www.criterion.com/asp/in_focus.asp?id=15) at the Wayback Machine (archived December
13, 2007) by Chuck Stephens
Tatsuya Nakadai (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0619938/) at IMDb
Tatsuya Nakadai (http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0280570.htm) at the Japanese Movie
Database (in Japanese)
http://www.criterion.com/explore/195-tatsuya-nakadai
http://www.tohokingdom.com/people/tatsuya_nakadai.htm
https://www.amc.com/talk/2008/06/an-evening-with

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