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