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