born (December 28, 1941 – August 10, 2020) was a Japanese

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, stage, and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

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. ...

Life

He graduated from

Aoyama Gakuin University is a private Christian university in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1874 by missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was reconfigured in its current form in 1949 as tertiary component of the Aoyama Gakuin. The u ...

. Watari belonged to the karate club at university. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's '' Abare Kishidō'', and received one of the Elan d'or Awards. At Nikkatsu, Watari starred in such films as

Seijun Suzuki , born (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017), was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their florid visual style, absurd humour, and a playful rejection of traditional film grammar. He made 40 predominately ...

's '' Tokyo Drifter'' and Toshio Masuda's Outlaw series. Watari was mentored at

Nikkatsu is a Japanese film studio located in Bunkyō. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Motion Pictures". Shareholders are Nippon Television Holdings (35%) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (28.4%). ...

by Yujiro Ishihara. When Nikkatsu shifted to focusing on Roman Porno films in the early seventies, Watari was one of many actors who left the studio.Mes, Tom, ''Graveyard of Honor'' DVD booklet, 2004, Home Vision Entertainment. Retrieved 2014-08-29 Watari was due to play the main role in

Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking", Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty Yakuza film, yakuza films, typified by the Battles With ...

’s film '' Battles Without Honor and Humanity'', but because of illness he was not able to appear. In 1974, he was forced to step down from the lead role of Katsu Kaishū 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 ...

'' Katsu Kaishū'' on NHK, again because of illness, after appearing in only nine episodes. In 1976, Watari won best actor of Blue Ribbon Award for his role in

`s film ''

Yakuza Graveyard ''Yakuza Graveyard'', known in Japan as , is a 1976 Japanese yakuza film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. The screenplay by Kazuo Kasahara is based on a concept by Norimichi Matsudaira, Naoyuki Sugimoto and Kyo Namura. ''Complex'' named it number 17 ...

''. In Japan, Watari is probably still best known for his role as Keisuke Daiomon in the detective series " Seibu Keisatsu" on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

. He also appeared in the popular detective drama " Taiyō ni Hoero!" as a replacement for Yujiro Ishihara in 1986. Watari became the president of after Yujiro's death in 1987 but in 2011 he resigned due to his declining health. On June 10, 2015 he was hospitalised after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and underwent

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

. Seven days later it was announced that he was in rehabilitation and would be discharged from hospital in about a month. He had a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who was also an actor. As a singer, Watari is known for his hit song "Kuchinashi no Hana" and he appeared in the

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

in 1974 and 1993. He died of pneumonia on August 10, 2020, at the age of 78.

Selected filmography

Films

Television

Video games

Honours

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (2005) * Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2013)

References

External links

Tetsuya Watari Official web site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watari, Tetsuya 1941 births 2020 deaths Japanese male film actors Japanese male stage actors Japanese male television actors Japanese male video game actors Japanese male voice actors Actors from Shimane Prefecture Deaths from pneumonia in Japan Male voice actors from Shimane Prefecture Taiga drama lead actors Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class