(November 20, 1932 – March 10, 1997) was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. Born , son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizō III, he entered kabuki and became the first in the kabuki tradition to take the name Nakamura Kinnosuke. He took on his guild name (''

yagō , literally meaning "house name", is a term applied in traditional Japanese culture to Japanese name, names passed down within a guild, studio, or other circumstance other than blood relations. The term is synonymous with and . The term most ofte ...

'') Yorozuya as his surname in 1971. In addition to his kabuki activity, Kinnosuke had an extensive film career. A specialist in ''

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 ...

'', Kinnosuke appeared in more than 140 films. These include a 1957 ''

Mito Kōmon is a Japanese ''jidaigeki'' or period drama that was on prime-time television from 1969 to 2011, making it the longest-running ''jidaigeki'' in Japanese television history. The title character is the historic Tokugawa Mitsukuni, former vice-' ...

'' and a 1961 appearance as the title character in the

Toei Company , simply known as Toei Company or Toei, is a Japanese entertainment company. Headquartered in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, it is involved in film and television production, distribution, video game development, publishing, and ownership of 34 movi ...

's ''

Miyamoto Musashi , was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a ''Kensei (honorary title), kensei'' (swo ...

'' series (a role he reprised in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1965, and again in 1971). A versatile actor, he has played as many as seven characters in a single film. In various productions of ''

Chūshingura is the title given to fictionalized accounts in Japanese literature, theater, and film that relate to the historical incident involving the forty-seven ''rōnin'' and their mission to avenge the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including ...

'', he also portrayed Oyamada Shōzaemon (1956),

Asano Naganori was the ''daimyō'' of the Akō Domain in Japan (1675–1701). His title was ''Takumi no Kami'' (). He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as ''Chūshingura'' (involving the forty-seven rōnin), ...

(1959), Wakisaka Awaji no Kami (1961), and

Ōishi Yoshio 24 April 1659 – 20 March 1703 was the chamberlain ('' karō'') of the Akō Domain in Harima Province (now Hyōgo Prefecture), Japan (1679 - 1701). He is known as the leader of the Forty-seven Rōnin in their 1703 vendetta and thus the he ...

(1978). Other appearances include

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian period, Heian and early Kamakura period, Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles that toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-br ...

(1957, 1958, 1962),

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the ...

(1958),

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

(1965),

Takeda Shingen was daimyō, daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as "the Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a p ...

(1969),

Sakamoto Ryōma was a Japanese ''samurai'', a '' shishi'' and influential figure of the ''Bakumatsu,'' and establishment of the Empire of Japan in the late Edo period. Sakamoto was a low-ranking ''samurai'' from the Tosa Domain on Shikoku and became an acti ...

(1970), Matsudaira Katamori (1980), and Oda Yūrakusai (1989). Kinnosuke portrayed Yagyū Munenori multiple times, first on television as the star of the year-long 1971

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

Taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...

''Haru no Sakamichi'', then on the Big Screen in the 1978 film ''

Shogun's Samurai ''Shogun's Samurai'', known in Japan as , is a 1978 Japanese historical martial arts period film directed and co-written by Kinji Fukasaku. The film is the first of two unrelated Fukasaku films to star Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba as Jūbei Mitsuyos ...

''. His next appearance as Munenori was in a 13 episode TV production entitled ''

Yagyū Shinkage-ryū is one of the oldest Japanese schools of swordsmanship (''kenjutsu''). Its primary founder was Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, who called the school Shinkage-ryū. In 1565, Nobutsuna bequeathed the school to his greatest student, Yagyū Munetoshi, who ...

'' which aired in 1982. His final appearance as Munenori was in 4 of 5 ''Yagyu Bugeicho'' TV movies that aired between 1990 and 1992. From 1973 to 1976, he played

Ogami Ittō is a Japanese manga series created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. It was serialized in Futabasha's manga magazine ''Weekly Manga Action'' from September 1970 to April 1976, with its chapters collected in 28 ' volumes. Th ...

, the Lone Wolf in the NTV series '' Kozure Ōkami'' based on the manga ''

Lone Wolf and Cub is a Japanese manga series created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. It was serialized in Futabasha's manga magazine '' Weekly Manga Action'' from September 1970 to April 1976, with its chapters collected in 28 ' volumes. ...

''. A late-career role was

Yamana Sōzen was originally before becoming a monk. Due to his red complexion, he was sometimes known as ''Aka-nyūdō'', "the Red Monk". He was one of the ''shogun'' ''daimyōs'' who fought against Hosokawa Katsumoto during the Ōnin War in Heian-kyō. Bi ...

in the Taiga drama ''Hana no Ran''. Kinnosuke's younger brother Nakamura Katsuo and nephew Nakamura Shidō II are currently active in kabuki, television, and film.

Filmography

Film

* ''Shinshokoku monogatari'' (1954, part 1, 2) * ''Satomi Hakken-den'' (1954, part 1-5) * ''Mangetsu tanuki-bayashi'' (1954) - Mametaro / Gen'nosuke * ''Shinshokoku monogatari, benikujaku dai-ippen'' (1954) * ''Shinsengumi Oni Taicho'' (1954) * ''Seizoroi Kenka Wakashu'' (1955) - Benten Kozo Kikunosuke * ''Shinshokoku monogatari benikujaku'' (1955, part 2-4) * ''Sezuroi kenkawa kashu'' (1955) * ''Shinshokoku monogatari benikujaku kanketsu-hen'' (1955) * ''Seishun kôro: Umi no wakôdo'' (1955) - Eiichirô Yamazato * ''Beni kujaku'' (1955) * ''

Minamoto Yoshitsune was a commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian period, Heian and early Kamakura period, Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles that toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-br ...

'' (1955) * ''Shishi maru ippei'' (1955) * ''Akô rôshi - Ten no maki; Chi no maki'' (1956) - Shôzaemon Oyamada * ''Kaidan Chidori ga fuchi'' (1956) - Minosuke * ''Shinshokoku monogatari'' (1957, part 1-3) * '' Daibosatsu tōge'' (1957) - Uzuki Hyoma * ''Mito kômon'' (1957) * ''Yurei-sen'' (1957, part 1, 2) - Jirômaru * ''

Ninkyō Shimizu-minato is a 1957 color Cinema of Japan, Japanese film, directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda (松田定次), and the first of an all-star cast trilogy, loosely based on the legend of Shimizu Jirocho (1820–1893), Japan's most famous gangster and folk hero, who ...

'' (1957) - Mori no Ishimatsu * ''Genji Kurô Sassôki'' (1957-1958, part 1, 2) - Genji Kurô * ''Edo no meibutsuotoko'' (1958, part 1) - Isshin Tasuke * ''Kaze to onna to tabigarasu'' (1958) - Ginji * ''Daibosatsu tōge - Dai ni bu'' (1958) * ''Onmitsu Shichishoki'' (1958) * ''Isshin Tasuke - Tenka no ichidaiji'' (1958) - Isshin Tasuke / Tokugawa Iemitsu * ''Shimizu Minato no meibutso otoko: Enshūmori no Ishimatsu'' (1958) * ''Obuzo tengu'' (1958) * ''Ninkyo Tokaido'' (1958) - Onikichi * ''Ken wa shitte ita'' (1958) * ''Asama no abarenbo'' (1958) * ''Doku-ganryu Masamune'' (1959) -

Date Masamune was a Japanese ''daimyō'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama period through the early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful feudal lords in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he w ...

* ''Binan-jo'' (1959) * ''Daibosatsu tōge - Kanketsu-hen'' (1959) * ''Fuunji Oda Nobunaga'' (1959) * ''Tenka no fuku-shogun'' (1959) * ''Doto no taiketsu'' (1959) * ''Naniwa no koi no monogatari'' (1959) - Chubei Kameya * ''Isshin Tasuke'' (1959) * ''Torimono dochu'' (1959) * ''Abarenbo kyodai'' (1960) * ''Shinran'' (1960) -

Shinran ''Popular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture'' by Esben Andreasen, pp. 13, 14, 15, 17. University of Hawaiʻi Press 1998, . was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Kyoto) at the turbulent clos ...

* ''Tôei All Star Eiga: Mito Kômon'' (1960) * ''Zoku shinran'' (1960) * ''Mori no Ishimatsu'' (1960) * ''Tokai no kaoyaku'' (1960) - Jirocho * '' Yatarō gasa'' (1960) - Yataro * ''Tonosama'' (1960) - Yaji kita * ''Mori no Ishimatsu'' (1960) * ''Iyemitsu to Hikoza to isshin yasuke'' (1961) * ''Eddoko bugyo tenka o kiru otoko'' (1961) * '' Akō Rōshi'' (1961) - Wakisaka * ''Miyamoto Musashi'' (1961) -

(Takezo) * ''Hangyakuji'' (1961) - Tokugawa Nobuyasu * ''Eddoko hanseiki'' (1961) * ''Wakaki ni ho Jirocho: Tokaido no tsumujikaze'' (1962) * ''Mabuta no haha'' (1962) - Banba no Chutaro * ''Chiisakobe'' (1962) - Shigetsugu * ''Miyamoto Musashi: Hannyazaka no ketto'' (1962) - Miyamoto Musashi (Takezo) * ''Sen-hime to Hideyori'' (1962) -

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...

* ''Jirochō to kotengu: nagurikomi kōshūji'' (1962) * ''Genji Kurō sassōki: Hiken ageha no chō'' (1962) * ''Otoko ippiki dochuki'' (1963) * ''

Bushido, Samurai Saga , also titled ''Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai'' and ''Cruel Tale of Bushido'', is a 1963 Japanese drama and jidaigeki film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Gold ...

'' (1963) - Jirozaemon / Iikura / Sajiemon / Kyutaro / Shuzo / Shingo / Osamu / Susumu * ''Miyamoto Musashi: Nitoryu kaigen'' (1963) - Miyamoto Musashi (Takezo) * ''Seki no yatappe'' (1963) * ''Fuji dōzan-koku monogatari'' (1963) * '' Brave Records of the Sanada Clan'' (1964) - Sasuke * ''Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijoji no ketto'' (1964) - Miyamoto Musashi (Takezo) * ''Samé'' (1964) - Same * ''Nihon kyôkaku-den'' (1964) - Seiji * ''Revenge'' (1964) - Shinpachi Ezaki * ''Shark'' (1964) * ''Tokugawa Ieyasu'' (1965) -

* ''Hiya-meshi to Osan to Chan'' (1965) - Daishiro Shibayama (episode1) / Santa (episode 2) / Jyukichi (episode 3) * ''Matatabi san ning yakuza'' (1965) - Kaze-no-Kyutaro * ''Miyamoto Musashi: Ganryū-jima no kettō'' (1965) - Miyamoto Musashi (Takezo) * ''Hana to ryu'' (1965) * ''Kutsukake Tokijiro'' (1966) - yukyo ippiki * ''Tange Sazen: Hien iaigiri'' (1966) - Samanosuke / Tange Sazen * ''Hana To Ryu: Do Kâiwan No Kêtto'' (1966) * ''Gion Matsuri'' (1968) - Shinkichi * ''

Samurai Banners is a Japanese samurai drama film released in 1969. It was directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and is based on the novel ''Furin kazan'' by Yasushi Inoue. Plot Yamamoto Kansuke (Toshiro Mifune) is a general of warlord Takeda Shingen ( Nakamura Kinno ...

'' (1969) -

* '' Goyokin'' (1969) - Samon Fujimaki * ''Shirikurae Magoichi'' (1969) - Magoichi Saika * '' Portrait of Hell'' (1969) - Lord Horikawa * ''

Shinsengumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was ac ...

'' (1969) - Fujita Arima * ''

Bakumatsu were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate Meiji Restoration, ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a Feudali ...

'' (1970) - Ryoma Sakamoto * ''

Machibuse ''Machibuse'' () is a 1970 Japanese drama film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. Plot A ronin (Toshiro Mifune, often referred to as "yojimbo") is instructed to go to a mountain pass and await further instructions. On the way he rescues Okuni (Ruriko As ...

'' (1970) - Heima Ibuki * ''Tenka no Abarembō'' (1970) - Yataro Iwasaki * ''Shokon ichidai tenka no abarenbo'' (1970) * ''Shinken shobu'' (1971) - Musashi Miyamoto * ''Akatsuki no chôsen'' (1971) * ''

'' (1978) - Yagyū Munenori * ''

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) * '' The Fall of Ako Castle'' (1978) - Kuranosuke Ohishi * ''

Nichiren was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the '' Lotus Sutra''. Nichiren declared that the '' Lotus Sutra ...

'' (1979) -

* '' Sanada Yukimura no Bōryaku'' (1979) -

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 ...

* ''Renegade ninjas'' (1979) * ''Tokugawa ichizoku no houkai'' (1980) - Matsudaira Katamori (Lord of Aizu) * '' Shikake-nin Baian'' (1981) - Baian Fujieda * '' Seishun no mon: Jiritsu hen'' (1982) - Eiji Niki * ''Kita kara minami nishi kara higashi'' (1983) - Ittô Ogami * ''Tori ni tsubasa kemono ni kiba'' (1984) - Ittô Ogami * ''The Fugitive Samurai'' (1984)''(English-dubbed compilation film from the 1972 TV series)'' - Ittô Ogami * ''Saigo no Bakuto'' (1985) - Harunobu Kiyoshima * ''Kozure Ôkami: osanago no me'' (1985) - Ittô Ogami * '' Death of a Tea Master'' (1989) - Urakusai Oda * ''Minamoto Yoshitsune'' (TBA) * ''Jishi maru ippei'' (TBA)

Television

* ''Hiya-meshi to Osanto-chan'' (1965) – Daishiro Shibayama (episode1)/Santa (episode 2)/Jūkichi (episode 3) * '' Haru no Sakamichi'' (1971) - Yagyū Munenori * ''

'' (1973-1976) – Ittō Ogami * '' Nagasaki Hangachōu'' (1975) - Hiramatsu Chūshirō * ''

The Yagyu Conspiracy is a Japanese television jidaigeki (period drama) that was broadcast from 1978 to 1979. It is adapted from the 1978 film ''Shogun's Samurai'' starring Sonny Chiba, who reprises his role in the series. Plot After the death of Tokugawa Hidetada, h ...

'' (1978) –

Tokugawa Yoshinao was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Biography Born the ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu with his concubine, Okame no Kata. His childhood name was Gorōtamaru (五郎太丸). While still a young child, he was appointed leader ...

* '' Akō Rōshi'' (1979) –

Ōishi Kuranosuke Oishi may refer to: * Ōishi (surname), a Japanese surname * Oishi (Philippine brand), a snack company from the Philippines * Oishi Group, a Thai food-and-drink company * Ōishi Station, a train station in Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japa ...

Yoshio/Yoshitaka * ''Sorekara no Musashi'' (1981) –

* ''Yagyū Shinkage-ryū'' (1982) - Yagyū Munenori * ''Musashibō Benkei'' (1986) –

Fujiwara no Hidehira was the third ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the grandson of Fujiwara no Kiyohira. During the Genpei War, he controlled his territory independently of the central government; however, he was the official imperial governor f ...

* ''Tabaruzaka'' (1987) –

Katsu Kaishū Count , born , best known by his nickname , was a Japanese statesman, naval engineer and military commander during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū S ...

* ''Yagyū Bugei-chō'' (1990–1992) - Yagyū Munenori * ''

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) –

* ''Kanpanî'' (1996) – Himself

Producer

* Sorekara no Musashi (1981) TV series * Bakumatsu (1970) (associate producer)

Awards and nominations

* In 1958 he won for Best Actor in ''Isshin Tasuke - Tenka no ichidaiji'' by the ''Asia-Pacific Film Festival''. * In 1959 he won the ''Most Popular Award'' by the ''Blue Ribbon Awards''. * In 1964 he won for Best Actor in ''Bushidô zankoku monogatari'' by the ''Blue Ribbon Awards''. * In 1979 he was Nominated for the ''Award of the Japanese Academy'' for Best Actor in ''Yagyû ichizoku no inbô''. * In 1990 he was Nominated for the ''Award of the Japanese Academy'' for Best Supporting Actor in ''Sen no Rikyu''. * In 1996 he was awarded a ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' by the ''Awards of the Japanese Academy''. * In 1998 he was awarded a ''Special Award'' by the ''Awards of the Japanese Academy'' for his career. * In 1998 he was awarded a ''Special Award'' by the ''Mainichi Film Concours'' for his career.

Notes and references

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yorozuya, Kinnosuke 1932 births 1997 deaths Male actors from Tokyo Kabuki actors Ogawa family Tachiyaku actors Japanese male film actors Deaths from pneumonia in Japan Deaths from laryngeal cancer Deaths from cancer in Japan 20th-century Japanese male actors Taiga drama lead actors Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class People from Minato, Tokyo Yorozuya