was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred

Jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...

films from 1955 to 1967.

Biography

Born in Tokyo, the son of a Yanagibashi

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...

, he was soon adopted by the Ono (小野) family. His adoptive father was a

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

actor named Takinoyo Ichikawa II (二代目市川瀧之丞), who trained him in dance and kabuki acting from an early age. In November 1935, he made his kabuki stage debut as Omemaru Ichikawa (市川男女丸) and quickly got the attention of Kikugorō Onoe VI (六代目尾上菊五郎), who took him under his wing as part of a long line of great ''onnagata'' (actors who play women's parts in kabuki). In October 1944, he was adopted by Chiyo Terashima (寺島千代), wife of Kikugorō Onoe VI, inheriting the family name of Niwa (丹羽) to become . At the time, he also appeared on the kabuki stage as Hashizo Okawa II (二代目大川橋蔵) for the first time. In 1955, he made his film debut at the request of Mitsuo Makino (マキノ光雄), with the Jidaigeki film ''A Warrior's Flute'' (笛吹若武者) opposite

Hibari Misora was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posth ...

(美空ひばり). Working exclusively for Toei, Okawa quickly became the studio's most popular star appearing in many films, and headlining a number of series, including eight films as Shingo Aoi, the illegitimate son of

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

Yoshimune Tokugawa. After appearing in at least 113 films over a twelve-year period from 1955 to 1967, he moved on to television playing the same role he did in his final theatrically released film, the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

detective '' Heiji Zenigata'', which he portrayed in 888 TV episodes over the next 18 years until his death from colon and liver cancer at age 55 in 1984. Hashizo Okawa is recorded in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

as the longest running actor in a one-hour long television series for his performance as Heiji, and is still considered one of the most popular Japanese film stars of all time.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okawa, Hashizo 1929 births 1984 deaths Male actors from Tokyo Japanese male film actors Kabuki actors Otowaya