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