, sometimes credited as Satoshi Yamamura, was a Japanese actor and film director.

Biography

Yamamura was born Koga Hirosada in Tenri,

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

, and graduated from the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

. In 1942, Yamamura and Isao Yamagata formed the Bunkaza Theatre Company. He began his career as a screen actor in 1946 and appeared in over one hundred films between 1947 and 1997. In 1953, he debuted as a director with his film ''Kanikōsen'', the first of six films he directed. Yamamura was introduced to Western audiences in the 1958 film '' The Barbarian and the Geisha''. In the US, he is well known for his portrayals of Japanese Admiral

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. He commanded the fleet from 1939 until his death in 1943, overseeing the start of the Pacific War in 1941 and J ...

of the

Combined Fleet The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...

in ''

Tora! Tora! Tora! ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' () is a 1970 epic war film that dramatizes the events leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, from both American and Japanese positions. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard F ...

'', and of Mr. Sakamoto, the CEO of Assan Motors in '' Gung Ho''. Yamamura appeared in many

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 ...

television dramas. He played the role of

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 ...

in the

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'' in 1971. His major historical roles were Yagyū Munenori in the 1978 '' The Yagyu Conspiracy'' and Hoshina Masayuki in the 1980 '' Shadow Warriors''. In addition to historical parts, he appeared in fictional series. He portrayed Otowaya Hanemon in the

Hissatsu series The is a long-running prime-time popular television Jidaigeki series about assassins in Japan, produced by ABC Television and Shochiku. '' Hissatsu Shikakenin'' is based on Shōtarō Ikenami's novel ''Shikakenin Fujieda Baian'', but its sequels ...

'' Hissatsu Shikakenin'', resprising the character in the film series later.

Selected filmography

Films

* ''Inochi Arukagiri'' (1946) * ''Chikagai nijuyojikan'' (1947) * '' The Love of the Actress Sumako'' (1947) - Hōgetsu Shimamura * ''Daini no jinsei'' (1948) * ''Taifuken no onna'' (1948) * ''Onna no tatakai'' (1949) * ''Kirare no Senta'' (1949) * ''Ryusei'' (1949) * ''Shojo takara'' (1950) - Yoshitaro Hanawa * ''Yoshitaro Hanawa'' (1950) - Ryosuke Izumi * '' The Munekata Sisters'' (1950) - Ryosuke Mimura, Setsuko's husband * '' Portrait of Madame Yuki'' (1950) - Tateoka * ''Kikyō'' (1950) - Ongi * ''Senka o koete'' (1950) * ''Hirate Miki'' (1951) * ''Eriko to tomoni - Dai ichi-bu'' (1951) - Sōtarō * ''Eriko to tomo ni: Dai ni-bu'' (1951) - Sōtarō * ''Jiyū gakkō'' (1951) - Taku Henmi * ''Dare ga watashi o sabaku no ka'' (1951) * ''Sekirei no kyoku'' (1951) * '' Dancing Girl'' (1951) - Motoo Yagi * ''

The Lady of Musashino is a 1951 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It is based on the novel by Shōhei Ōoka. Plot Michiko Akiyama is married to Tadao Akiyama, a college professor but a vulgar man with a lower-class background. Towards the end of World ...

'' (1951) - Eiji Ono * '' Hibari no komoriuta'' (1951) * '' Repast'' (1951) * ''Seishun kaigi'' (1952) - Haruki Eda * ''Okuni to Gohei'' (1952) - Tomonojo * ''Kin no tamago: Golden girl'' (1952) * ''Kon'na watashi ja nakatta ni'' (1952) - Takeshi Yajima * '' Gendai-jin'' (1952) * ''Choito neesan omoide yanagi'' (1952) - Koshimura * ''Ashi ni sawatta onna'' (1952) - Yasukichi Sakaza * ''Oka wa hanazakari'' (1952) - Ryōzō Noro * '' Ringo-en no shōjo'' (1952) * ''My Wonderful Yellow Car'' (1953) - The husband * ''Mura hatibu'' (1953) * ''

Epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

'' (1953) - Wakabayashi * ''Kanikōsen'' (1953) – Matsuki (also dir.) * ''

Tokyo Story is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama, about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Upon release, it did not immediately gain international reco ...

'' (1953) - Koichi Hirayama * '' An Inlet of Muddy Water'' (1953) – Asanosuke (episode 3 "Troubled Waters") * ''Nihon yaburezu'' (1954) * '' Sound of the Mountain'' (1954) - Ogata Shingo * '' Dobu'' (1954) – Businessman * ''Moeru Shanghai'' (1954) - Shōfū Muramatsu * ''Kakute yume ari'' (1954) - Takashi Shōkōchi * ''Karatachi no hana'' (1954) - Chotaro Kitahara * ''Otsukisama ni wa warui kedo'' (1954) - Yā-san * ''Kuroi ushio'' (1954) (also dir.) * ''Aisureba koso'' (1955) - Gorō (segment 3) * ''Ai no onimotsu'' (1955) * ''Yuki no koi'' (1955) * ''Seishun kaidan'' (1955) - Tetsuya, father of Chiharu * '' Princess Yang Kwei-Fei'' (1955) - An Lushan * ''Till We Meet Again'' (1955) - Daisuke Kaji * ''Sara no hana no toge'' (1955) - Gunnoshin Sakakibara * '' Early Spring'' (1956) - Yutaka Kawai * '' Mahiru no ankoku'' (1956) - Yuji * '' Tsukigata Hanpeita: Hana no maki; Arashi no maki'' (1956) - Kogoro Katsura * ''Yonjū-hassai no teikō'' (1956) - Kotaro Nishimura * '' Typhoon Over Nagasaki'' (1957) - Hori * '' Tokyo Twilight'' (1957) - Seki Sekiguchi * ''Jigoku bana'' (1957) - Umasuke * ''Chieko-sho'' (1957) - Kotaro Takamura * ''Yoru no chō'' (1957) - Ichiro Shirosawa * ''Hatsukoi monogatari'' (1957) - Shōhei Ganmaru * '' The Hole'' (1957) - Keikichi Shirasu * ''Bakuon to daichi'' (1957) * '' Doshaburi'' (1957) - Okubo, Father of Tanes children * ''Do no hājiki wa jigokū dazē'' (1958) * '' Anzukko'' (1958) - Heishiro Hirayama - the father * ''Hibari no hanagata tantei kassen'' (1958) * '' The Barbarian and the Geisha'' (1958) - Governor Tamura * ''Muhō gai no yarō domo'' (1959) * ''Jigokū no sokō made tsuki auzē'' (1959) * '' Ningen no jōken'' (1959) - Okishima * ''Chūshingura: ōka no maki, kikka no maki'' (1959) * ''Hahakogusa'' (1959) - Mr Fujiki * ''Shingo jūban shōbu: dai-ni-bu'' (1959) * ''Yami o yokogire'' (1959) - Takazawa * ''Tatsumaki bugyō'' (1959) * ''Jan Arima no shūgeki'' (1959) - Saburobei Obata * ''Shōri to haiboku'' (1960) - Kimpei Minegishi * ''Zoku beran me-e geisha'' (1960) * ''Arega minato no hi da'' (1961) * ''Hatamoto kenka taka'' (1961) - Suruganokami Koyama * ''Gonin no totsugeki tai'' (1961) - Gen. Mayor Soje * ''Fundoshi isha'' (1961) - Dr. Meikai Ikeda * ''Waga koi no tabiji'' (1961) * ''The Littlest Warrior'' (1961) - Fujiwara No Morozane (voice) * ''Onna wa nido umareru'' (1961) - Kiyomasa Tsutsui * ''Haitoku no mesu'' (1961) - Naoyuki Nishizawa * ''Netsuai sha'' (1961) - Murai * '' The Last War'' (1961) - Prime Minister * ''Boku wa jigoku no tehinshi da'' (1961) * ''Katei no jijō'' (1962) - Heitaro Misawa * ''The Inheritance'' (1962) - Senzō * ''Musume to watashi'' (1962) - Shiro Iwatani * ''Taiheiyō Sensō to Himeyuri Butai'' (1962) * '' Akitsu Springs'' (1962) - Mikami * ''Star of Hong Kong'' (1962) - Gentarō Sugimoto * ''Namida o shishi no tategami ni'' (1962) - Kōhei Matsudaira * ''Fūten Rōjin nikki'' (1962) - Tokusuke Rōjin * ''Born in Sin'' (1962) - Shinzō Tagaya * ''Yama no sanka: moyuru wakamono tachi'' (1962) * ''Zoku shinobi no mono'' (1963) * ''Gyangu Chūshingura'' (1963) * ''Kizudarake no sanga'' (1964) - Kappei Arima * ''Ane to imōto'' (1965) - Yoshirō Takaoka * ''Nikutai no gakko'' (1965) - Toshinobu Hira * '' With Beauty and Sorrow'' (1965) - Toshio Ōki * ''Taiheiyō kiseki no sakusen: Kisuka'' (1965) - Kawashima * ''

Japan's Longest Day is a 1967 Japanese epic film, epic 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 ...

'' (1967) -

Mitsumasa Yonai was a Japanese navy officer and politician. He served as admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Ministry of the Navy (Japan), Minister of the Navy, and Prime Minister of Japan in 1940. Early life and career Yonai was born on 2 March 1880, in M ...

* '' The Militarists'' (1970) - Mitsumasa Yonai * ''

'' (1970) - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto * '' Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril'' (1972) - Gōmune Jindaiyu * '' Hissatsu Shikakenin'' (1973) - Han'emon Otowaya *'' Hissatsu Shikakenin Baian Arijigoku'' (1973) - Hanemon Otowaya *'' Hissatsu Shikakenin Shunsetsu shikakebari'' (1974) - Hanemon Otowaya * '' Prophecies of Nostradamus'' (1974) - Prime Minister Kuroki * ''Dōmyaku rettō'' (1975) - Nagata * ''Shag'' (1978) - Head of Maritime Safety Agency * ''Kage no Gundan: Hattori Hanzo'' (1979) * '' Nankyoku Monogatari'' (1983) - Iwakiri Sencho * ''Nidaime wa Christian'' (1985) - Nakatsugawa * '' Gung Ho'' (1986) - Mr. Sakamoto * ''Yoshiwara enjō'' (1987) - Isaburo Okura * ''Code Name Black Cat o oe'' (1987) - Superintendent Supervisor Amano * '' Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (1991) - Prime Minister * ''Going West: To the West'' (1997)

Television

* '' Haru no Sakamichi'' (1971) -

* '' Hissatsu Shikakenin'' (1972) - Otowaya Hanemon * '' The Water Margin'' (1973) -

Lu Junyi Lu Junyi is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels, four Chinese great classical novels. Nicknamed "Jade Qilin", he ranks second among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Desti ...

* '' Tasukenin Hashiru'' (1973–1974) - Seibei * ''

Karei-naru Ichizoku is a 1973 novel by Toyoko Yamasaki. It has been adapted into a film in 1974 and then three times as a television series in 1974, 2007, and 2021. Plot Set in the post-World War II climate of the 1960s in Kobe, the show explores the struggle for p ...

'' (1974–75) - Daisuke Manpyo * '' The Yagyu Conspiracy'' (1978) - Yagyū Munenori * '' Akō Rōshi'' (1979) - Chisaka Hyōbu * '' Hattori Hanzō: Kage no Gundan'' (1980) - Hoshina Masayuki * ''Yagyu Abaretabi'' (1980–81) - Yagyū Munenori * ''Yagyu Jyubei Abaretabi'' (1982–83) - Yagyū Munenori * ''

Ōoku The was historically the harem, women's quarters of Edo Castle, the section where the women connected to the reigning resided. Similar areas in the castles of powerful , such as the Satsuma Domain, were also referred to by this term. During ...

'' (1983) -

Arai Hakuseki was a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo period, who advised the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi (君美). Hakuseki (白� ...

* '' Seibu Keisatsu partIII Daimon sisu Otokotachiyo Eienni'' (1984) (Final episode)- Saeki * ''

Tsūkai! Kōchiyama Sōshun is a Japanese television jidaigeki or period drama that was broadcast in 1975–1976. The lead star is Shintaro Katsu, his older brother Tomisaburo Wakayama also appeared in the episodes 5, 7 and 25. Plot Kōchiyama Sōshun is a serves as a cha-b ...

'' (1975–1976) -

Mizuno Tadakuni was a ''daimyō'' during late-Edo period Japan, who later served as chief senior councilor ('' Rōjū'') in service to the Tokugawa shogunate. He is remembered for having instituted the Tenpō Reforms. Biography Mizuno Tadakuni was the second ...

Honours

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (1977) * Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (1983)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamura, So 1910 births 2000 deaths Japanese male film actors People from Tenri, Nara Japanese film directors 20th-century Japanese male actors Actors from Nara Prefecture Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class University of Tokyo alumni