is a Japanese musician, singer and actor. As of 2012, he is the only male actor to have received both the

Japan Record Award is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Established in 1959, the Japan Record Awards are one of the oldest and most prestigious music awards in the count ...

and the Japan Academy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

Early life

Terao was born in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

(

Kanagawa prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

) in Japan, son of the actor and film director

Jūkichi Uno (real name ; 27 September 1914 – 9 January 1988) was a Japanese actor. In 1950, he formed the with Osamu Takizawa was a Japanese actor. He was born in Ushigome, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Starting at the Tsukiji Little Theater, Takizawa particip ...

. He attended schools Wako Gakuen, Hosei University Daini Senior High School, and graduated from the vocational school

Bunka Gakuin is a Japanese vocational school. It opened in 1921 as the first co-educational school in Japan. Alumni * Hisae Imai * Takako Irie * Liu Chi-hsiang * Yoko Mizuki * Akiko Santo * Akira Terao *Mitsu Yashima * Guan Zilan, Chinese painter Referen ...

Career

Singing career

In 1966, he debuted as a bassist of a

group sounds , often abbreviated as GS, is a genre of Japanese rock music which became popular in the mid to late 1960s and initiated the fusion of Japanese ''kayōkyoku'' music and Western rock music. Their music production techniques were regarded as playin ...

band called '' The Savage'' (ザ・サベージ). His solo debut album came out in 1970. As a singer, Terao is known mostly for the 1981 hit song and the album it was part of named , which sold 1.6 million copies in Japan.

Acting career

As an actor, he debuted in ''

The Sands of Kurobe is a 1968 Japanese drama film directed by Kei Kumai. It is an adaptation of the novel The Sun of Kurobe (黒部の太陽; Kurobe no Taiyō) that dramatizes the construction of the massive Kurobe Dam, the tallest dam in Japan. The film was Japan ...

'', a film directed by

Kei Kumai was a Japanese film director. After his studies in literature at Shinshu University, he began work as a director's assistant. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for his first film, '' Nihon rettō'', in 1965. His 1972 film ...

in 1968. In 1985, Terao worked under director

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 ...

in '' Ran''. Five years later he appeared as "I" in Kurosawa's ''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

''. He has worked with director

Takashi Koizumi Takashi Koizumi (小泉堯史 ''Koizumi Takashi'') (born November 6, 1944, in Mito) is a Japanese film director. After graduating from Waseda University, he served as an assistant director for Akira Kurosawa for many years. Filmography Award ...

in '' After the Rain'' and '' The Professor's Beloved Equation''. As for dramas, Terao has acted with

Kazunari Ninomiya , often called , is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actor, voice actor, presenter and radio host. He is a member of the Japanese idol group Arashi, group that is under agent contract with Starto Entertainment. Early life Ninomiya was born in Kat ...

in ''Yasashii Jikan'' as well as in the latest

Takuya Kimura is a Japanese actor, singer, and radio personality. He is regarded as a Japanese icon after achieving success as an actor. He was also a popular member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia. In the media, he is known as a huge hea ...

-helmed drama, ''Change'' (spring 2008). He won the award for best actor at the 47th

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 ''

Half a Confession is a 2004 Japanese film directed by Kiyoshi Sasabe. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony. Summary Respected inspector Soichiro Kaji is imprisoned for killing his wife, Keiko, who, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, r ...

''. The promotional agencies to which he has belonged are

Horipro is a Japanese talent agent, talent agency that manages actors, entertainers and musicians, as well as commercial and television productions. It has locations in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville and Los Angeles in the United States. History I ...

Ishihara International Productions, Inc. is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Shinobu Ishihara (1879–1963), physician ** Ishihara test, a test to determine color blindness * Ishihara Shiko'o, (1874–1936), historian associated with the Shinpūren rebellio ...

and his current personal agency ''Terao Music Offices'' (寺尾音楽事務所).

Personal life

He was married to Bunjaku Han from 1973 to 1974 (ending in divorce). His current wife is Mayumi Hoshino. Terao is known for wearing sunglasses and for his expressions of

nihilism Nihilism () encompasses various views that reject certain aspects of existence. There have been different nihilist positions, including the views that Existential nihilism, life is meaningless, that Moral nihilism, moral values are baseless, and ...

. Because he has two moles on one cheek, he has the nickname of "hoppe" (ボッペ), meaning "cheek".

Filmography

Films

* ''

'' (1968) * ''

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset a.k.a. ''Torasan and the Painter'' and ''Tora-san's Sunset Glow'' is a 1976 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Kiwako Taichi as his love interest or "Madonna". ''Tora-san's Su ...

'' (1976) * '' Ran'' (1985) – Ichimonji Taro Takatora * '' Rock yo shizukani nagareyo'' (1988) * ''

'' (1990) – "I" * '' Madadayo'' (1993) - Sawamura * '' After the Rain'' (1999) – Ihei Misawa * '' Letters from the Mountains'' (2002) - Takao Ueda * '' Casshern'' (2004) – Professor Kotaro Azuma * ''

'' (2004) – Soichiro Kaji * '' Into the Sun'' (2005) – Matsuda * '' The Professor's Beloved Equation'' (2006) - the professor * '' The Hovering Blade'' (2009) – Shigeki Nagamine * ''Fragments of the Last Will'' (2022) – old Ken'ichi Yamamoto * ''Mom, Is That You?!'' (2023) * '' The Imaginary '' (2023) – old dog (voice) * ''Kaneko's Commissary'' (2025) – Hoshida * ''Unforgettable'' (2025) – Tetta Mamiya * ''Let's Meet at Angie's Bar'' (2025) – Kumasaka

Television

* '' Kunitori Monogatari'' (1973) –

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 ...

* '' Daitokai Series'' (1976–1979) – He was in only the 1st and 3rd seasons of the show. * ''

Seibu Keisatsu is a Japanese television drama series produced by and broadcast on TV Asahi. Plot The series portrays the Western Police Headquarters Criminal Investigation Division's Sergeant Keisuke Daimon, played by Tetsuya Watari and his subordinates, du ...

'' (1979) – Takeshi Matsuda, but prefers to be called 'Rikki' by his colleagues. His character is killed in the line of duty in the 123rd episode of Part I of the show. * ''

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 ...

Part2'' (1986) * ''

Gunshi Kanbei is a 2014 Japanese historical drama television series and the 53rd NHK ''taiga'' drama. The series was broadcast from January 5 to December 21, 2014, and ran a total of 50 episodes. The drama depicts the life of Kuroda Kanbei (played by Junich ...

'' (2014) – Tokugawa Ieyasu * ''Nobunaga Moyu'' (2016) –

Konoe Sakihisa (1536 – June 7, 1612), son of regent Taneie, was a court noble of Japan. His life spanned the Sengoku, Azuchi–Momoyama, and early Edo periods. He served as kampaku-sadaijin and '' daijō-daijin'', rising to the junior first rank. He was ...

* ''Kohaku'' (2017) – Toshio Arai * ''Rikuoh'' (2017) – Haruyuki Iiyama * ''

Shiroi Kyotō is a 1965 novel by Toyoko Yamasaki. It has been adapted into a film in 1966 and then five times as a television series in 1967, 1978, 1990, 2003, and 2019. The 1966 film was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a ...

'' (2019) – Professor Azuma

Discography

* '' Reflections'' (1981) * ''Atmosphere'' (1983) * ''Standard'' (1987)

Honours

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (2008) * Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Terao, Akira 1947 births Japanese male bass guitarists Japanese male singers Living people Musicians from Yokohama Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class