was a Japanese film actor from Chōshi, Chiba. Okada served in the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was a miner and traveling salesman before becoming an actor. Internationally, his best-remembered roles include Lui ("him" in French) in the 1959 film ''

Hiroshima mon amour (, lit. , ) is a 1959 romantic drama film directed by French director Alain Resnais and written by French author Marguerite Duras. Resnais' first feature-length work, it was a co-production between France and Japan, and documents a series o ...

'', directed by

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct short films including '' Night and Fog ...

. In this film, Eiji Okada had to learn the

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

ally because he did not speak French. He is also known for playing the

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Niki Junpei in

Hiroshi Teshigahara was a Japanese avant-garde filmmaker and artist from the Japanese New Wave era. He is best known for the 1964 film ''Woman in the Dunes''. He is also known for directing other titles such as '' The Face of Another'' (1966), ''Natsu no Heitai'' ...

's 1964 film ''

Woman in the Dunes is a 1964 Japanese New Wave avant-garde psychological thriller film directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara and starring Eiji Okada, Kyōko Kishida, and Kōji Mitsui. It received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for two Academy Awards. ...

'', an adaptation of

Kōbō Abe , known by his pen name , was a Japanese writer, playwright and director. His 1962 novel ''The Woman in the Dunes'' was made into an Woman in the Dunes, award-winning film by Hiroshi Teshigahara in 1964. Abe has often been compared to Franz Kaf ...

's novel. He was also second billed under

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

in the 1963 political thriller '' The Ugly American''. Okada was married to Aiko Wasa, with whom he ran a theatre company in Japan. He died on 14 September 1995 of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

, at the age of 75.

Selected filmography

* ''Onna no Kao'' (1949) * ''Hana no Sugao'' (1949) * '' Until We Meet Again'' (1950) – Tajima Saburo * ''Shiroi yajû'' (1950) – Iwasaki * ''Gozen reiji no shutugoku'' (1950) * ''Kenjū no Mae ni Tatsu Haha'' (1950) * ''Nakinureta ningyô'' (1951) – Ryûji * ''Fūsetsu Nijūnen'' (1951) * ''Kaze ni soyogu asi (Kouhen)'' (1951) – Mitsujiro Hirose * ''Yamabiko Gakkō'' (1952) * ''Asa no hamon'' (1952) – Kajigoro * ''

Mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'' (1952) – Shinjiro * ''Boryoku'' (1952) * ''Shinkū Chitai'' (1952) – Okamoto * ''Haha wo Kou Uta'' (1952) * ''Reimei hachigatsu jugo-nichi'' (1952) * ''Himeyuri no Tō'' (1953) – Teacher Tamai * ''Hiroshima'' (1953) – Kitagawa * ''Miseraretaru Tamashii'' (1953) * ''Wakaki Hi no Takuboku Kumo wa Tensai De Aru'' (1954) – Takuboku Ishikawa * ''Okuman choja'' (1954) – Monta * ''Hana to Hatō'' (1954) * '' Ningen Gyorai Kaiten'' (1955) * ''Koko ni Izumi Ari'' (1955) * ''Hana no Yukue'' (1955) – Hiroshi Hamamura * ''Gokumonchô'' (1955) – San'nosuke Tsuzuki * ''

Christ in Bronze is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Minoru Shibuya. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Eiji Okada * Kazuko Okada * Osamu Takizawa * Shinobu Araki * Akira Ishihama * Kyōko Kagawa * Kinzo Shin * Kōj ...

'' (1955) * ''Bōryokugai'' (1955) * ''Kao no nai otoko'' (1955) – Masahiko Arisaka / Yamada * ''Kenjû tai kenjû'' (1955) * ''Choppu sensei'' (1956) * ''Shonen tanteidan: Nijumenso no akuma'' (1956) – Kogoro Akechi * ''Shonen tanteidan: Daiichibu yokaihakushi'' (1956) * ''Kurama Tengu, Shirouma no Misshi'' (1956) * ''

Jun'ai Monogatari is a 1957 Japanese film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival where Imai won the Silver Bear for Best Director. Cast * Shinjirō Ehara as Kantaro Hayakawa * Hitomi Nakahara * Eiji Okada * Is ...

'' (1957) – Shitayama * ''Dotanba'' (1957) * ''Shonen tanteidan: Tetto no kaijin'' (1957) – Kogoro Akechi * ''Shonen tanteidan: Kabutomushi no yoki'' (1957) * ''Shingo juban-shobu'' (1959) – Shozaburo Masaki * ''

'' (1959) – Lui * ''Shingo jûban shôbu: dai-ni-bu'' (1959) * ''Shinran'' (1960) – Shiro Amagi * ''Ôzora no muhômono'' (1960) * ''Kaizoku bahansen'' (1960) * ''Restoration Fire'' (1961) – Yamanami Keisuke * ''Kengo tengu matsuri'' (1961) * ''

Rififi in Tokyo ''Rififi in Tokyo'' (French: ''Rififi à Tokyo'') is a 1963 French-Italian crime film directed by Jacques Deray and starring Karlheinz Böhm, Charles Vanel and Barbara Lass.Monaco p.160 Plot The veteran gangster Van Hekken arrives in Tokyo to pu ...

'' (1963) – Danny Riquet * '' The Ugly American'' (1963) – Deong * '' Kanojo to kare'' (1963) – Eiichi Ishikawa * ''

'' (1964) – Entomologist Niki Jumpei * '' The Scent of Incense'' (''Kôge - Nibu: Mitsumata no shô/Ichibu: Waremokô no shô'') (1964) – Nozawa * '' Ansatsu'' (1964) – Lord Matsudaira * ''The Scarlet Camellia'' (1964) – Genjirô Maruume * ''Haigo no hito'' (1965) – Masaaki Izumida * ''Sanshiro Sugata'' (1965) – Gennosuke / Tesshin * '' Samurai Spy'' (1965) – Tatewaki Koriyama * ''Nihon daikyôkaku'' (1966) – Shuji Onoda * ''Hikô shôjo Yôko'' (1966) – Asai * '' The Face of Another'' (1966) – The Boss * ''Bosû wa ore no kenjû de'' (1966) * ''

The X from Outer Space is a 1967 Japanese science fiction ''kaiju'' film directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu, and stars Eiji Okada and Toshiya Wazaki. Guilala returned in a 2008 Shochiku sequel (of sorts) called '' Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit''. Plot The s ...

'' (1967) – Dr. Kato * ''

Portrait of Chieko is a 1967 Japanese drama film directed by Noboru Nakamura. It is based both on the 1941 poetry collection ''Chieko-shō'' by Japanese poet and sculptor Kōtarō Takamura, dedicated to his wife Chieko (1886–1938), and on the 1957 novel ''Shōs ...

'' (1967) – Tsubaki * ''Utage'' (1967) – Adachi * ''

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 ...

'' (1968) – Yoshino * ''Irezumi muzan'' (1968) * ''Shin irezumi muzan tekka no jingi'' (1968) * ''Showa no inochi'' (1968) * ''Tarekomi'' (1969) – Toru Kijima * ''Dankon'' (1969) – George Kitabayashi * ''Nyotai'' (1969) – Nobuyuki Ishidô * ''Jotai'' (1969) – Nobuyuki Ishido * '' Mujo'' (1970) * ''Senketsu no kiroku'' (1970) * ''Yomigaeru daichi'' (1971) – Mitsuo iwashita * ''Yami no naka no chimimoryo'' (1971) – Ikezoe * ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

'' (1971) – Inoue Chikugonokami * ''Tsuji-ga-hana'' (1972) * ''Bara no hyôteki'' (1972) -Tachibana Mike * ''Zatoichi's Conspiracy'' (1973) – Shinbei of Hitachiya * '' Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons'' (1973) – Wakita * '' Lady Snowblood'' (1973) – Gishirô Tsukamoto * ''Waga michi'' (1974) – Lawyer * ''Mesu'' (1974) – Kokubo * ''

The Yakuza is a 1974 neo-noir crime drama film directed and produced by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura and Brian Keith. The screenplay by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne is from a story by Schrader's brother, Leonard Schrader. ...

'' (1974) – Tono * ''

ESPY The ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-r ...

'' (1974) – Salabad * ''I am a cat'' (1975) – Bunmei * ''

Kimi yo Fundo no Kawa o Watare is a 1976 Japanese crime thriller film directed and co-written by Junya Satō. It is based on the novel of the same name by Juko Nishimura, and stars Ken Takakura in the leading role. While ''Manhunt'' received unfavorable critical reviews and ...

'' (1976) * '' Lullaby of the Earth'' (1976) – Evangelist * ''Utareru mae-ni ute!'' (1976) – President Kudo * ''Permanent Blue: Manatsu no koi'' (1976) – Boy's father * ''Arasuka monogatari'' (1977) – Amaohka * ''Seishun no mon: Jiritsu hen'' (1977) – Minoru Yuki * ''Utamaro: Yume to shiriseba'' (1977) – Tanuma * ''Wakai hito'' (1977) – Mr. Okajima * ''Nihon no jingi'' (1977) – Yohei Inada * ''Genshiryoku sensô'' (1978) – Professor Kamiyama * ''

Ogin-sama is jidaigeki novel written by Tōkō Kon and published in 1956. Kon won the Naoki Prize for the novel. The novel deals with Sen no Rikyū's daughter Ogin and Takayama Ukon. The novel was adapted into film twice. Adaptation * ''Love Under the C ...

'' (1978) – Ankokuji * ''

Furimukeba Ai , also titled "Take Me Away!"The title "Take me away!" appears in the beginning credits of the film itself, before the title "ふりむけば愛" in Japanese script. is a 1978 Japanese film starring Momoe Yamaguchi and Tomokazu Miura and directed b ...

'' (1978) – Ryunosuke Tamaru * ''

The Glacier Fox , also known as ''The Story of the Northern Fox'' and ''The Fox: In the Quest of the Northern Sun'', is a 1978 Japanese nature docufiction film written and directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara. It was released in Japan on July 15, 1978, where it was dis ...

'' (1978) – Narrator * ''Kôtei no inai hachigatsu'' (1978) – Tokunaga * '' Blue Christmas'' (1978) * ''Ôgon no inu'' (1979) – Shuhei Agata * '' The Strangling'' (1979) – Yoshio Morikawa * ''Jishin rettô'' (1980) * ''Kofukugo shuppan'' (1980) * '' The Gate of Youth'' (1981) – Tôno, Chika's step father * '' Crazy Fruit'' (1981) – Yuzo Dojima * '' Nankyoku Monogatari'' (1983) – Chief Ozawa * ''Akujo kamakiri'' (1983) – Taichi Dôjima * '' Haru no Kane'' (1985) – Hachiro Ishimoto * ''Ôidippsu no katana'' (1986) – Shunsuke's uncle * ''Oedipus no yaiba'' (1986) – Shunsuke's uncle * ''Guriin rekuiemu'' (1988) – Zenichiro Okada * ''Shishiohtachi no natsu'' (1991) – Kazumichi Sakagami * ''Kagerô'' (1991) – Masakichi Ono * ''Jutai'' (1991) – Ichimatsu, Grandfather * ''Harukana jidai no kaidan o'' (1995) – White man * ''Hitodenashi no koi'' (1995) – (final film role)

References

External links

* 1920 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Japanese male actors Japanese male film actors People from Chōshi Male actors from Chiba Prefecture Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II {{Japan-film-actor-stub