Tatsuya Nakadai
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Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代 達矢, Nakadai Tatsuya; born Motohisa Nakadai; December 13, 1932 – November 8, 2025) was a Japanese actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Japanese cinema, he collaborated extensively with many of Japan's best-known and acclaimed directors. In his over seven decade career, he appeared in more than 160 films, and received numerous accolades. He was honored with a Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1996 and Japan's Order of Culture in 2015. Nakadai rose to prominence starring in Masaki Kobayashi's films, with his breakthrough being the protagonist of the epic anti-war trilogy The Human Condition (1959–1961). He won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for his performance as the vengeful ronin in Harakiri (1962), a role he considered his finest. Nakadai collaborated on eleven films with Kobayashi—including Kwaidan (1964) and Samurai Rebellion (1967)—and five with Akira Kurosawa, most notably as the tragic warlord in Ran (1985), a performance that earned global acclaim. His other notable credits included Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961), The Sword of Doom (1966), The Face of Another (1966), Goyokin (1969), Kagemusha (1980), and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013). A lifelong stage actor, he founded the Gendai Nohgaku-kai troupe in 1975 and continued performing on stage into his nineties. Description above from the Wikipedia article Tatsuya Nakadai, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Credits
High and Low (1963)
as Chief Detective Tokura
Seven Samurai (1954)
as Samurai Wandering through Town (uncredited)
Harakiri (1962)
as Hanshiro Tsugumo
Ran (1985)
as Lord Hidetora Ichimonji
Kagemusha (1980)
as Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
as Charcoal-maker Old Man (voice)
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)
as Kaji
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)
as Kaji
Yojimbo (1961)
as Unosuke, gunfighter
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
as Tatewaki Asano
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)
as Kaji
Sanjuro (1962)
as Hanbei Muroto
After the Rain (2000)
as Tsuji Gettan
Kwaidan (1965)
as Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Final Yamato (1983)
as Narrator
Hachiko (1987)
as Shujiro Ueno
Kurosawa (2000)
as Self
Solar Eclipse (1975)
as Yasuo Hoshino, the Chief Cabinet Secretary
The Sword of Doom (1966)
as Ryunosuke Tsukue
The Face of Another (1966)
as Mr. Okuyama
Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
as The Devil (voice)
Port Arthur (1980)
as Maresuke Nogi
Tenchu! (1969)
as Hanpeita Takechi
Giovanni's Island (2014)
as Older Junpei Senou (voice)
Four Days of Snow and Blood (1989)
as Sugiyama
Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die! (1968)
as James Elfego
Yamato (2005)
Actor
Wicked City (1992)
as Daishu
The Daphne (1966)
Actor
Goyokin (1969)
as Magobei Wakizaka
Inn of Evil (1971)
as Sadashichi
The Battle of Okinawa (1971)
as Colonel Hiromichi Yahara
The Last Judgment (1965)
as Jiro
Human Revolution II (1976)
Actor
Will to Conquer (1970)
as Yoshida Tōyō
Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather (1982)
as Masagoro Kiryuin - Onimasa
Kill! (1968)
as Genta
13 Assassins (1990)
as Shinzaemon Shimada
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
as Narrator (voice)
Battleship Yamato (1990)
as Vice Admiral Seiichi Itō
Another Way: D-Kikan-Joho (1988)
as Shimamura
Love Under the Crucifix (1962)
as Ukon Takayama
Three Yakuza (1965)
Actor
Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2014)
as Self
Fireflies in the North (1984)
as Takeshi Tsukigata
Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron (1978)
as Kumokiri Nizaemon
Wish Upon a Star (2005)
as Takanori Wakamiya
The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai (2022)
as Makino Tadayuki
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2016)
as Self (archive footage)
Murder of the Inugami Clan (2006)
as Sahei Inugami
The Fox Dancing in the Dusk (1984)
Actor
The Empty Table (1985)
as Nobuyuki Kidoji
Admiral Yamamoto (1968)
as Narrator (voice)
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
as Kenichi Komatsu
Willful Murder (1981)
as Yashiro
Cash Calls Hell (1966)
as Oida
Gun Woman (2014)
as Hamazaki
Queen Bee (1978)
as Ginzo Daidoji
Ôban (1957)
as Shin Don
Hunter in the Dark (1979)
as Gomyo Kiyoemon
Black River (1957)
as Joe
The Taika Reforms (2005)
as Minabuchi no Syôan
Until the Break of Dawn (2012)
as Sadayuki Akiyama
Sugata Sanshiro (1977)
as Yano
I Am a Cat (1975)
as Kushami
Heat Wave (1991)
as Tsunejiro Murai
Legacy of the 500,000 (1963)
as Mitsura Gunji
The Inheritance (1962)
as Kikuo Furukawa
Blood Type: Blue (1978)
as Minami
Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (1970)
as Ronin
Faraway Sunset (1992)
as Kobayashi
The Corporation (1976)
as Tadashi Iki
Odd Obsession (1959)
as Kimura
Get 'em All (1960)
as Tsubota
The Human Bullet (1968)
as Narrator (voice)
The Blue Beast (1960)
as Yasuhiko Kuroki
Immortal Love (1961)
as Heibei
Daughters, Wives and a Mother (1960)
as Kuroki Shingo
The Family (1974)
as Teppei Manpyo / Keisuke Manpyo
Untamed Woman (1957)
as Kimura
The Beast Shall Die (1959)
as Kunihiko Date
Floating Weeds Diary (1955)
as Union Member
Conflagration (1958)
as Tokari
Pressure of Guilt (1963)
as Ichiro Hamano
Basara: The Princess Goh (1992)
as Oribe Furuta
Battle Anthem (1983)
as Narrator (voice)
The Human Trust (2013)
as Nobuhiro Sasakura
Fort Graveyard (1965)
as Sakuma
Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)
as Major Genjiro Akashi
Jubaku: Spellbound (1999)
as Hideaki Sasaki
The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan (1970)
as Naojiro Kataoka
The Wolves (1971)
as Seji Iwahashi
The Other Woman (1961)
as Minami
Haru's Journey (2010)
as Tadao Nakai
The Age of Assassins (1967)
as Shinji Kikyo
Return from the River Kwai (1989)
as Major Harada
Vengeance for Sale (2002)
as Umetaro Katakura
Love on Rainbow Island (1956)
as Yûji Wada
The Ambitious (1970)
as Shintaro Nakaoka
Oban kanketsu hen (1958)
as Shin Don
Battle Cry (1975)
as Hijikata Toshizo
Zatoichi: The Last (2010)
as Tendo
The Phoenix (1978)
as Jingi the Conqueror, leader of the Takamagahara
A Dangerous Hero (1957)
as Reporter Imamura
All About Marriage (1958)
as Akira Nakayama
Nakadai Tatsuya: to Live for Acting (2015)
as Self
Like Asura (2003)
as Kotaro Takezawa
The Naked Sun (1958)
as Jiro Maeda
Let Him Rest in Peace (1989)
Actor
The Fir Trees Remain (1983)
Actor
Farm Girls (1962)
as Kenichi
Lear on the Shore (2017)
as Kuwahata Chokichi
Kojiro (1967)
as Musashi Miyamoto
Teenage Sazae (1957)
as Norisuke
Duel at Fort Ezo (1970)
as Daizennokami Honjo
Summer of the Moonlight Sonata (1993)
Actor
Lone Wolf and Cub: The Final Conflict (1993)
as Yagyu Retsudo
Futari no shikeishû - saishin imada hirakarezu (2015)
as Narrator (voice)
Sleeping Village (2019)
as Narrator (voice)
Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS (2002)
as Matsushita (Matsushita Denki Co.)
The Gate of Youth (1975)
Actor
A Duel Tale (2015)
as Sanosuke Shoji
The Human Revolution (1973)
as Nichiren
Tatsuya Nakadai on 'The Human Condition' (2009)
as Self
The Legend of Sayo (1982)
as Otozo
Safari 5000 (1969)
as Masaomi Takeuchi
To Dance with the White Dog (2002)
as Eisuke Nakamoto
Rise, Fair Sun (1973)
as Sakuzo
Kin chan no Cinema Jack (1993)
Actor
Making of Ran (1985)
as Self
Challenge at Dawn (1971)
as Tsukagoshi
Henkan kōshōjin: Itsuka, Okinawa o torimodosu (2018)
as Narrator (voice)
Who Is Gomez? (1967)
as Sakamoto
Michi (1986)
as Seiji Tajima
A Woman's Life (1963)
as Takashi Akimoto
Before The Leaves Fall (2015)
as Kenichiro Miya
A. K. (1985)
as Self
The Thick-Walled Room (1956)
as Prisoner (uncredited)
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'High and Low' (2002)
as Self
Through the Mist (2009)
as (archive footage)
The Limit (2025)
as Narrator (voice)
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Kagemusha' (2002)
as Self
Great evil does not go to sleep: The counterattack of the special investigation unit prosecutor (2016)
as Yohei Tachibana
Tange Sazen: The Million Ryo Pot (1982)
as Sazen Tange
Listen to My Heart (2009)
as Kyozo Hayami
Shadow Hunters (1983)
Actor
The Life and Love of Kenji Miyazawa (1996)
as Seijiro Miyazawa
Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen (1957)
as Shin don
The Return (2019)
as Unokichi
Atami Murder Case (1986)
as Denbei Nikaido
Phoenix (1956)
as Keiichi Naganuma
Tatsuya Nakadai on Five Japanese Masters (2017)
as self
The Mandarin Room (1956)
as Ando
A Town and a Tall Chimney (2019)
as Hyoma Sekine
Magistrate of the Floating World (1981)
Actor
As the Clouds Scatter (1961)
as James Kimura
Pilgrimage at Night (1959)
as Kaname
Trinacria: Porsche 959 (1987)
Actor
Blood End (1969)
as Sentaro
How the Bell of Liberty Rings (1954)
as (uncredited)
The Law of Hell (1982)
as Ikuzô
The Journey (1967)
as Yuichiro
Taikoki (1987)
as Narrator (voice)
Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen (1957)
as Shindon
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Sanjuro' (2002)
as Self
Miren (1963)
as Ryôta Kinoshita
The Gion Tempest (1958)
as Masaki
The King (1973)
as Kinjiro Sekine
Go and Get It (1958)
as Hara
Diary of an Elegant Hot Spring (1958)
as Kazuo Shimada
Japan's Tragedy (2012)
as Fujio Murai
Illusion of Blood (1965)
as Iyemon Tamiya
Portrait of Hell (1969)
as Yoshihide
Promise: The Nabari Poisoned Wine Case, The Life of a Death-row Inmate (2013)
as Masaru Okunishi
Sazae-san (1956)
as Norisuke
Ant Hell War (1964)
Actor
Madame Aki (1963)
as Tatsumi
Oración (1988)
as Heihachiro Wagu
Kampai! Miai Kekkon (1958)
as Kunihiko Sasada
Skin-Colored Moon (1957)
as Jirô Taki
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Ran' (2002)
as Self
Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell (1992)
as Hamakichi
East Meets West (1995)
as Kaishu Katsu
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Yojimbo' (2002)
as Self
A Boy and Three Mothers (1958)
as Kensaku, the Engineer
Gaku (2012)
as Kazama Shin-ichi
Mr. Giant's Victory Flag (1964)
Actor
Kurosawa: The Last Emperor (1999)
as Self
The Shadow Daughter (1957)
as Motohashi
Life Work of Akira Kurosawa (2022)
as Self
Three Dolls in Ginza (1959)
as Kyosuke Tamura
NORIN TEN inadzukagonjirō monogatari (2015)
as Gonjiro Inazuka
Florence My Love (1991)
Actor
Elegy (1976)
as Setsuo Katsuragi