was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Toshio Matsumoto's surreal ''Bara No Soretsu'' (a.k.a. ''

Funeral Parade of Roses is a 1969 Japanese drama art film directed and written by Toshio Matsumoto, loosely adapted from '' Oedipus Rex'' and set in the underground gay culture of 1960s Tokyo. It stars Peter as the protagonist, a young transgender woman, and features O ...

'') and

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

's '' Seven Samurai'' (as the firebrand farmer Rikichi) and ''

Red Beard is a 1965 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, in his last collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. Based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1959 short story collection, '' Akahige Shinryōtan'', the film takes p ...

'', and

Kihachi Okamoto was a Japanese film director who worked in several different genres. Career Born in Yonago, Okamoto attended Meiji University, but was drafted into the Air Force 1943 and entered World War II, an experience that had a profound effect on his l ...

's ''

Kill! is a 1968 Japanese comedy- chambara film directed by Kihachi Okamoto. The film had a screenplay written by Akira Murao and Okamoto, and is based on the story ''Torideyama no jushichinichi'' () in '' Yamamoto Shugoro zenshu'' (1964) by Shūgor� ...

''. He had a long-standing interest in

UFOs An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

and wrote several books on the subject. He preferred starring in

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

films, usually as aliens, or people possessed by them, in such films as ''

Battle in Outer Space is a 1959 Japanese science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Plot In 1965, a series of mysterious and devastating incidents are happening on Earth. These incidents range from a railroad bridge levi ...

'', '' Monster Zero'', and ''

Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features eleven monster ...

''.

Biography

Tsuchiya was born in Kofu, Yamanashi in 1927. His film debut was in the 1952

Shintoho was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios (which also included Daiei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, Toei Company, and Toho) during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company fol ...

film ''Murder Suspect'' (殺人容疑者). During the auditions for Akira Kurosawa's '' Seven Samurai'', Tsuchiya was watching, and was picked by Kurosawa although he originally had no intention of auditioning himself. ''Seven Samurai'' was filmed during the same time as ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

'', and Tsuchiya would frequently leave the set of ''Seven Samurai'' to see ''Godzilla'' being filmed. In an interview, Tsuchiya said "Because I was doing ''Seven Samurai'' I couldn't appear in the first Godzilla. That's why I insisted they put me in the sequel." Tsuchiya's wish was granted and he appeared in a role in ''

Godzilla Raids Again is a 1955 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. The film stars Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wa ...

''. Although Tsuchiya appeared in many films by Akira Kurosawa, he also appeared in many science fiction films, saying "Most actors get comfortable with a certain genre, and they stick to that. But as far as I was concerned, it was equally prestigious to appear in science-fiction films or in Kurosawa movies." Tsuchiya especially liked to play aliens (or people controlled by aliens). When originally given the role of one of the heroes in ''

The Mysterians is a 1957 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film begins with a giant fissure destroying an entire village. This leads to an investigation whereby the source is disc ...

'', he turned down the role in favor of the Mysterian leader, because he was only interested in playing "interesting, strong and/or twisted characters". When director

Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 44 feature films in a career spanning 59 years. The most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki, his films have had a significant influence on the film industry. Honda enter ...

told him that since the Mysterian leader wore a mask, his face would not be seen, Tsuchiya said "That's all right. I just want to play the alien!" He has a personal interest in space and even claims to have seen several UFOs. "At the time I was very interested in the Space Race, and belonged to an organization which promoted a mission to the moon. I got all my fellow actors to join - Mifune, Shimura. Then I learned that this organization was crooked and really wanted to divide up the moon and sell it as real estate! I was so outraged that in 'The Mysterians''when the earth scientists balk at giving the Mysterians some land on earth, I ad-libbed, 'But you're trying to divide up the moon and sell it!'" He lobbied for the title role in '' Tomei Ningen'' (1954), but was forced by the studio to play the leading man. Eventually realizing their mistake, he was cast in the title role in '' The Human Vapor''. He was originally cast to play the assassin Malness in '' Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'', but was unable to because he was filming

. In 1991, after a long absence from Toho monster films (his last was in the 1970 film

Space Amoeba is a 1970 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, written by Ei Ogawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and Fumio Tanaka, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, the film stars Akira Kubo ...

), Tsuchiya returned to the ''Godzilla'' series in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah as Shindo, a World War II veteran who met a pre-mutated Godzilla during the battle in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

. Tsuchiya died of lung cancer on February 8, 2017, at the age of 89.

Selected filmography

Film

* ''Murder Suspect'' (殺人容疑者) (1952) * ''The Tower of Himeyuri'' (ひめゆりの塔) (1953) * '' Seven Samurai'' (七人の侍) (1954) - Rikichi * ''Kimi shinitamo koto nakare'' (1954) * ''Mitsuyu-sen'' (1954) * '' Tomei Ningen'' (透明人間) (1954) - Reporter Komatsu * ''Zoku tenka taihei'' (1955) * ''

'' (ゴジラの逆襲) (1955) - Tajima, Member of Osaka Defense Corps * ''No Time for Tears'' (1955) - Maruyama * ''Sanjusan go sha otonashi'' (1955) * ''Shin kurama tengu daisanbu'' (1955) * ''Natsume Sôseki no Sanshirô'' (1955) - Nonomiya * '' I Live in Fear'' (生きものの記録) (1955) - Factory Worker After Fire * ''Kyatsu o nigasuna'' (1956) - Shiraishi * ''Migotona musume'' (1956) - Nobuo Takahara * ''Tsuma no kokoro'' (1956) * ''

Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese '' jidaigeki'' film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' from Medieval Scotland to feudal ...

'' (蜘蛛巣城) (1957) - Washizu samurai * ''Ninjitsu'' (1957) * ''Tokyo da you okkasan'' (1957) * ''Salaryman shusse taikôki'' (1957) - Maruo * ''Chieko-sho'' (1957) - KoYama * ''Waga mune ni niji wa kiezu'' (1957) - Takeshi Shimada * ''

'' (地球防衛軍) (1957) - Leader of the Mysterians * ''Kajikko'' (1958) * '' Song for a Bride'' (花嫁三重奏) (1958) * ''

Rickshaw Man , also released as ''Muhomatsu, the Rickshaw Man'' or ''The Rikisha-Man'', is a 1958 color Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. It is a remake of his own 1943 film. In the 1943 version Tsumasaburo Bando played the role of Muhōmatsu. In Oct ...

'' (1958) * ''

Anzukko is a 1958 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on a novel by Saisei Murō. Plot Kyoko, daughter of successful writer Hirayama, rejects several marriage prospects before taking Ryokichi, owner of a small used book store, ...

'' (1958) - Ishima * ''Bijo to ekitai ningen'' (1958) - Detective Taguchi * ''Yatsu ga satsujinsha da'' (1958) * ''Josei SOS'' (1958) * ''

Varan the Unbelievable is a 1958 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it stars Kōzō Nomura, Ayumi Sonoda, and Koreya Senda, with Haruo Nakajima as Varan. In the fi ...

'' (1958) - Military Officer Katsumoto * ''

The Hidden Fortress is a 1958 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' adventure film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It tells the story of two peasants who agree to escort a man and a woman across enemy lines in return for gold without knowing that he is a general and the woman is a pr ...

'' (1958) - Samurai on horse * ''Kotan no kuchibue'' (1959) * ''Oshaberi okusan'' (1959) * ''Sensuikan I-57 kofuku sezu'' (1959) * ''

'' (宇宙大戦争) (1959) - Iwomura * ''Densô ningen'' (1960) - Det. Capt. Okazaki * ''Hawai Middowei daikaikûsen: Taiheiyô no arashi'' (1960) * ''Daigaku no sanzôkutachi'' (1960) - Detective Director Iwano * ''Man Against Man'' (1960) - Detective Yoshizawa * ''

The Bad Sleep Well is a 1960 Japanese crime mystery film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was the first film to be produced under Kurosawa's own independent production company. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival. The film stars Toshiro ...

'' (1960) - ADA secretary * '' The Human Vapor'' (ガス人間第一号) (1960) - Mizuno the Librarian * ''Hurricane of the Pacific'' (1960) * ''

Yojimbo is a 1961 Japanese Samurai cinema, samurai film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, and Ats ...

'' (用心棒) (1961) - Kohei * ''Death on the Mountain'' (1961) - Jiro Makita * ''Daigaku no wakadaishô'' (1961) * ''

Sanjuro is a 1962 black-and-white Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. It is a sequel to Kurosawa's 1961 ''Yojimbo''. Originally an adaptation of the Shūgorō Yamamoto novel ''Hibi Heian'', the script ...

'' (椿三十郎) (1962) - Samurai * ''Kurenai no sora'' (1962) * ''Doburoku no Tatsu'' (1962) - Kida * ''Chikata nikki'' (1962) * ''Chûshingura'' (1962) - Matanojô Shiota * ''Varan the Unbelievable'' (1962) - Soldier * ''Attack Squadron!'' (1963) * ''Roppongi no yoru: aishite aishite'' (1963) - Inspector Ihara * ''Nippon jitsuwa jidai'' (1963) * '' High and Low'' (天国と地獄) (1963) - Detective Murata * ''500,000'' (1963) - Yamazaki * ''

Matango is a 1963 Japanese horror film directed by Ishirō Honda. The film stars Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno and Kenji Sahara. It is partially based on William Hope Hodgson's short story "The Voice in the Night" and is about a group of castaways on an is ...

'' (1963) - Masafumi Kasai - Owner * ''Hiken'' (1963) * ''

'' (赤ひげ) (1965) - Dr. Handayû Mori * ''Taiheiyô kiseki no sakusen: Kisuka'' (1965) - Terai * '' Frankenstein vs. Baragon'' (フランケンシュタイン対地底怪獣バラゴン) (1965) - Mr. Kawai * ''Beast Alley'' (1965) - Katsuragi * ''Aku no kaidan'' (1965) - Detective * ''

Invasion of Astro-Monster is a 1965 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the sixth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise and Shōwa period. The film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the second collaboration b ...

'' (怪獣大戦争 a.k.a. ''Godzilla vs. Monster Zero'') (1965) - Controller of Planet X * ''Musekinin Shimizu Minato'' (1966) * ''Hikinige'' (1966) - Shuichi * ''Zero faita dai kûsen'' (1966) * ''Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Zettai zetsumei'' (1967) - General Rubesa * ''Sasaki Kojiro'' (1967) - Heisuke Ichinami * ''

Japan's Longest Day is a 1967 Japanese war film directed by Kihachi Okamoto. The subject of the majority of the movie is the period between noon on August 14, 1945 and noon on August 15, 1945, when Emperor Hirohito's decision to surrender to the Allies in World ...

'' (1967) - Lt. Colonel Hiroshi Fuha - Eastern District Army Staff Officer * '' Two in the Shadow'' (1967) - Yumiko's husband * ''

Son of Godzilla is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa, under the supervision of Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the eighth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. It st ...

'' (怪獣島の決戦ゴジラの息子) (1967) - Furukawa * ''Booted Babe, Busted Boss'' (1968) - Kurokawa / Killer * ''

'' (斬る) (1968) - Shinroku Matsuo * ''

'' (怪獣総進撃) (1968) - Dr. Otani * ''Rengô kantai shirei chôkan: Yamamoto Isoroku'' (1968) - Staff Officer Kuroshima * ''Koi ni mezameru koro'' (1969) - Shunsaku Yamamoto * '' Battle of the Japan Sea'' (1969) - Staff Officer Akiyama * ''

'' (薔薇の葬列) (1969) - Gonda * '' Machibuse'' (1970) - Itahachi * ''

'' (ゲゾラ・ガニメ・カメーバ決戦!南海の大怪獣) (1970) - Dr. Kyoichi Mida * ''The Militarists'' (1970) - Okabe (uncredited) * ''Kuro no shamen'' (1971) * ''Zatoichi's Conspiracy'' (1973) - Superintendent Shobei * ''Nishijin Shinju'' (1977) - Yoshida * ''Karuizawa fujin'' (1982) - Gen'ichirô Nakagawa * ''Shōsetsu Yoshida gakkō'' (小説吉田学校) (1983) - Jōji Hayashi * ''Rûju'' (1984) - Akio Tsuchiya * '' Tokyo: The Last War'' (帝都大戦) (1989) - Dr. Mizuno * ''Earth Defense Girl Iko-chan: The Great Oedo Operation'' (地球防衛少女イコちゃん大江戸大作戦) (1990) - Dr. Mizuno (voice) * '' Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (ゴジラVSキングギドラ) (1991) - Businessman Yasuaki Shindo * ''Kidan'' (2005) * ''Yamauchi Keisuke: The Kayô Movie Shôwa kayô kiki ippatsu!'' (2014) - (final film role) * '' Mifune: The Last Samurai'' (2015) - as Himself

TV Series

* '' Taikōki'' (1965) * ''

Ultra Q is a tokusatsu science fiction kaiju series made in the tradition of Toho's many tokusatsu sci-fi/horror films. Produced in black and white by Tsuburaya Productions, this is actually the first of the long-running Ultra Series, and was broadc ...

'' (ウルトラQ) (1966) - Ono (episode 2) * ''

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is one ...

'' (ウルトラマン) (1966) - Dr. Morita (episode 18) * ''

Ultraseven is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the third installment in the Ultra Series and was produced by Tsuburaya Productions. The series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 1, 19 ...

'' (ウルトラセブン) (1967) - Dr. Tsuchida (episodes 14 and 15) * '' Haru no Sakamichi'' (1971) as

Ōtani Yoshitsugu was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period through the Azuchi-Momoyama Period. He was also known by his court title, . He was born in 1558 to a father who was said to be a retainer of either Ōtomo Sōrin or Rokkaku Yoshikata. He became one ...

* ''

Daichūshingura (Dai Chushingura) is a Japanese television dramatization of the events of the Forty-seven Ronin. The first episode aired on January 5, 1971, and the 52nd and final episode appeared on December 28 of the same year. The NET network broadcast it in th ...

'' (1971) as Tsuchiya Chikara * ''

Taiyō ni Hoero! , literally ''Roar at the Sun!'', was a long-running prime-time television detective series in Japan, which ran from 1972 to 1986 for a total of 718 episodes. The lead star was Yujiro Ishihara. It also helped further the career of actors such a ...

'' (1973) (episode 73) * ''

Katsu Kaishū Count , best known by his nickname , was a Japanese statesman and naval engineer during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū Shooku ) by Sakuma Shōzan. He ...

'' (1974) as Kimura Hyogo * ''

Onihei Hankachō is a series of historical novels written by Japanese author Shōtarō Ikenami. Following the character Heizo Hasegawa in the Edo period of Japan, Ikegami wrote the first story for the December 1967 issue of the light novel magazine ' published b ...

'' (1975) (episode14) * '' Daitokai Part2'' (1977) (episode 29) as Inoue Yukio * '' Kage no Gundan III'' (1982) (episode17) as Okudaira Tadatsune * ''Haru no Hatō'' (1985) -

Inoue Kaoru Marquess Inoue Kaoru (井上馨, January 16, 1836 – September 1, 1915) was a Japanese politician and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period of the Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesmen ('' Genrō'') in J ...

* ''

'' (1989) (episode7)

References

Tucker, Guy Marriner. ''Age of the Gods''.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuchiya, Yoshio 1927 births 2017 deaths Japanese male actors