Nomura Mansai II (二世野村萬斎, ''Nisei Nomura Mansai''; born Takeshi Nomura (野村武司); April 5, 1966) is a Japanese ''

kyōgen is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside '' Noh'', was performed along with ''Noh'' as an intermission of sorts between ''Noh'' acts on the same stage, and retains close links to ''Noh'' in the modern day; there ...

'' and film actor. He played Abe no Seimei in '' Onmyoji'' and '' Onmyoji 2'', an original work by

Baku Yumemakura is a Japanese science fiction and adventure writer. His works have sold more than 20 million copies in Japan spread across more than 280 titles and adapted into a variety of formats including feature films, television shows, movies and comic boo ...

. He received the Best Actor prize at the

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan, established in 1950 by , established under the name of the "Association of Tokyo Film Journalists Award", which was formed mainly by film reporters from th ...

for his work in '' Onmyoji''.

Career

His debut was at the age of three in the drama, ''Quiver of The Monkey''. Since then he has also been cast in the dramas: in ''Aguri'' in 1997, for which he played dadaist poet Eisuke Yoshiyuki and had won many awards, and in ''Hana no Ran'' in 1994. He also had a supporting role in

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

's last epic motion picture '' Ran'', as the blind flute playing hermit boy, Tsurumaru. He portrayed

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

through

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

in '' Shin Godzilla''. Mansai was nominated by the Japanese Academy for best actor for his performance in '' The Floating Castle''. In March 2013, he appeared at the Japan Society and the Guggenheim Museum Rotunda in two productions: Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'' adapted to the noh and kyogen traditions with five actors, performed in Japanese with English subtitles and ''Sanbaso, Divine Dance''. On July 30, 2018, Mansai was appointed chief executive creative director of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

. Between July 2018 and December 2020, he oversaw planning for opening and closing ceremonies of both Games, before stepping down from the role as the original ceremony team disbanded. On December 27, 2024, it was announced that Mansai would appear as a special guest at the ice show Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata 2025, hosted by professional figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu. In addition to performing in a collaboration, he also serves as the program director.

Filmography

Film

*'' The Yin Yang Master'' (2001), Abe no Seimei *'' The Yin Yang Master 2'' (2003), Abe no Seimei *'' The Floating Castle'' (2012), Narita Nagachika *'' The Wind Rises'' (2013), Giovanni Battista Caproni (voice) *'' Shin Godzilla'' (2016), Godzilla through motion capture *'' Flower and Sword'' (2017), Ikenobō Senkō *''Whistleblower'' (2019), Tamio Yasumi *''Revolver Lily'' (2023), Takita *''What If Tokugawa Ieyasu Became Prime Minister?'' (2024),

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

Television

*''

Hana no Ran was the 33rd Taiga drama to be broadcast on the NHK network in Japan. It premiered on 3 April 1994 and its finale aired on 25 December of the same year. Plot The story takes place during the Muromachi period of Japan, in the midst of the Ōnin ...

'' (1994), Hosokawa Katsumoto *''Aguri'' (1997), Eisuke *'' Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon'' (2021), Hachisuka Ryutaro *'' What Will You Do, Ieyasu?'' (2023), Imagawa Yoshimoto *''Antihero'' (2024), Taisuke Datehara

References

External links

* 1966 births Living people Male actors from Tokyo Noh {{Japan-film-actor-stub