Tomisaburo Wakayama
Tomisaburō Wakayama, born Masaru Okumura, was a Japanese actor best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the scowling, 19th century ronin warrior in the six Lone Wolf and Cub samurai movies. Wakayama was born on September 1929, in Fukagawa, a district in Tokyo, Japan, his father was Minoru Okumura, a noted kabuki performer and nagauta singer who went by the stage name Katsutōji Kineya, the family as a whole were kabuki performers. He and his younger brother, Shintaro Katsu, followed their father in the theater. Wakayama tired of this. In 1952, as part of the Azuma Kabuki troupe, Wakayama toured the United States of America for nine months, he gave up theater performance after his two-year term with the troupe was over. Wakayama taught judo, he prepared for these movies by practicing other disciplines, including kenpō, iaidō, bōjutsu. All this helped him for roles in the television series The Mute Samurai, the 1975 television series Shokin Kasegi, his most famous role: Ogami Ittō, the Lone Wolf. Wakayama went on performing in a variety of roles.
It has been estimated that he appeared in between 500 films. His only roles in American movies were as a baseball coach in The Bad News Bears Go to Japan and as a yakuza boss, Sugai, in Ridley Scott's Black Rain that delivers a memorable English monologue that becomes a defining moment for the film, the film's title. Wakayama died of acute heart failure on April 1992, in a hospital in Kyoto, he was survived by a son, Kiichirō Wakayama born in 1964 an actor. Wakayama appeared amongst others. Tomisaburō Wakayama on IMDb
Asakusa
Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Japan, famous for the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the Sanja Matsuri; the development of Asakusa as an entertainment district during the Edo period came about in part because of the neighboring district, Kuramae. Kuramae was a district of storehouses for rice, used as payment for servants of the feudal government; the keepers of these storage houses stored the rice for a small fee, but over the years began exchanging the rice for money or selling it to local shopkeepers at a margin. Through such trading, many fudasashi came to have a considerable amount of disposable income and as result theaters and geisha houses began to spring up in nearby Asakusa. For most of the twentieth century, Asakusa remained a major entertainment district in Tokyo; the rokku or "Sixth District" was in particular famous as a theater district, featuring famous cinemas such as the Denkikan.
The golden years of Asakusa are vividly portrayed in Yasunari Kawabata's novel The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa. The area was damaged by US bombing raids during World War II the 10 March 1945 firebombing of Tokyo; the area was rebuilt after the war, but has now been surpassed by Shinjuku and other colorful areas in the city, in its role as a pleasure district. Asakusa was a ward of Tokyo City. In 1947, when the city was transformed into a metropolis, it was merged with Shitaya to form the modern Taito ward. Asakusa is on the north-east fringe of central Tokyo, at the eastern end of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line subway one mile east of the major Ueno railway/subway interchange, it is central to the area colloquially referred to as Shitamachi, which means "low city," referring to the low elevation of this old part of Tokyo, on the banks of the Sumida River. As the name suggests, the area has a more traditionally Japanese atmosphere than some other neighborhoods in Tokyo do. With so many religious establishments, there are frequent matsuri in Asakusa, as each temple or shrine hosts at least one matsuri a year, if not every season.
The largest and most popular is the Sanja Matsuri in May, when roads are closed from dawn until late in the evening. Poet Matsuo Bashō references Asakusa's temple in a haiku. Asakusa places to try traditional Japanese foods. One of the most popular treats is sweet potatoes. Another special treat is chikuwa kamaboko, grilled fish cakes; the Suzuhiro store serves local craft beer with traditional kamaboko. Asakusa is known for spices such as shichimi and sansho. In a city where there are few buildings older than 50 years because of the wartime bombing, Asakusa has a greater concentration of buildings from the 1950s and 1960s than most other areas in Tokyo do. There are traditional ryokan and small-scale apartment buildings throughout the district. In keeping with a peculiarly Tokyo tradition, Asakusa hosts a major cluster of domestic kitchenware stores on Kappabashi-dori, visited by many Tokyoites for essential supplies. Next to the Sensō-ji temple grounds is a small amusement park called Hanayashiki, which claims to be the oldest amusement park in Japan.
The neighborhood theaters specialize in showing classic Japanese films, as many of the tourists are elderly Japanese. Cruises down the Sumida River depart from a wharf a five-minute walk from the temple. Asakusa is Tokyo's oldest geisha district, still has 45 working geisha; because of its colourful location, downtown credentials, relaxed atmosphere by Tokyo standards, Asakusa is a popular accommodation choice for budget travelers. The neighborhood is famous for its annual Brazilian style carnival. There is a significant Brazilian presence in the local community and the Association of Samba Schools of Asakusa is based there. Although there are many festivals throughout the year in Asakusa, the most famous of them is the Sanja Matsuri known as Sanja Festival in May. In this festival and floats are pulled through the streets while loud shouts accompany them, during the festival's 3 days, 1.5 million people come out to celebrate. The district has two railway stations with the same name: Asakusa Station Asakusa Station Toei Asakusa Line, a subway line named after the neighborhood Asakusa Shrine Kaminarimon Hōzōmon Luna Park, Tokyo Kawabata Yasunari, The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa Kankichi Ryotsu, protagonist of the popular anime and manga series KochiKame, is born in Asakusa.
"Corn Dog," Season 1, Episode 2 of Midnight Diner, Tokyo Stories, a Netflix Original Series, is about an old comedian who works in Asakusa and his successful young protege. Media related to Asakusa at Wikimedia Commons Tokyo/Asakusa travel guide from Wikivoyage
Yorozuya Kinnosuke
Yorozuya Kinnosuke was a Japanese kabuki actor. Born Kin'ichi Ogawa, 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 Yorozuya as his surname in 1971. In addition to his kabuki activity, Kinnosuke had an extensive film career. A specialist in jidaigeki, Kinnosuke appeared in more than 140 films; these include a 1957 Mito Kōmon and a 1961 appearance as the title character in the Toei Company's Miyamoto Musashi series. A versatile actor, he has played as many as seven characters in a single film. In various productions of Chūshingura, he portrayed Oyamada Shōzaemon, Asano Naganori, Wakisaka Awaji no Kami, Ōishi Yoshio. Other appearances include Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Tokugawa Iemitsu, Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen, Sakamoto Ryōma, Matsudaira Katamori, Oda Yūrakusai. Kinnosuke portrayed Yagyū Munenori multiple times, first on television as the star of the year-long 1971 NHK Taiga drama Haru no Sakamichi on the Big Screen in the 1978 film Shogun's Samurai.
His next appearance as Munenori was in a 13 episode TV production entitled Yagyū Shinkage-ryū 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, the Lone Wolf in the NTV series Kozure Ōkami based on the manga Lone Wolf and Cub. A late-career role was Yamana Sōzen in the Taiga drama Hana no Ran. Kinnosuke's younger brother Nakamura Katsuo and nephew Nakamura Shidō II are active in kabuki and film. Shinshokoku monogatari, benikujaku dai-ippen: Nachi no kotengu Mangetsu tanuki-bayashi Mametaro/Gen'nosuke Beni kujaku Minamoto Yoshitsune Shishi maru ippei Daibosatsu tōge Uzuki Hyoma Yurei-sen Isshin Tasuke - Tenka no ichidaiji – Isshin Tasuke/Tokugawa Iemitsu Daibosatsu tōge - Dai ni bu Kaze to onna to tabigarasu Ginji Doku-ganryu Masamune – Date Masamune Ninkyo Tokaido – Onikichi Obuzo tengu Shimizu Minato no meibutso otoko: Enshūmori no Ishimatsu Asama no abarenbo Naniwa no koi no monogatari – Chubei Kameya Daibosatsu tōge - Kanketsu-hen Torimono dochu Binan-jo Zoku shinran Shinran – Shinran Yatarō gasa Tonosama - Yaji kita Mori no Ishimatsu Hangyakuji Tokugawa Nobuyasu Miyamoto Musashi – Miyamoto Musashi Akō Rōshi – Wakisaka Iyemitsu to Hikoza to isshin yasuke Eddoko bugyo tenka o kiru otoko Eddoko hanseiki Miyamoto Musashi: Hannyazaka no ketto – Miyamoto Musashi Chiisakobe – Shigetsugu Mabuta no haha – Banba no Chutaro Genji Kurō sassōki: Hiken ageha no chō Sen-hime to Hideyori – Toyotomi Hideyori Jirochō to kotengu: nagurikomi kōshūji Miyamoto Musashi: Nitoryu kaigen – Miyamoto Musashi Bushidō zankoku monogatari – Jirozaemon/Iikura/Sajiemon/Kyutaro/Shuzo/Shingo/Osamu/Susumu Otoko ippiki dochuki Brave Records of the Sanada Clan – Sasuke Seki no yatappe Fuji dōzan-koku monogatari Samé Same Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijoji no ketto – Miyamoto Musashi Shark Miyamoto Musashi: Ganryū-jima no kettō – Miyamoto Musashi Tokugawa Ieyasu Matatabi san ning yakuza Hana to ryu Tange Sazen: Hien iaigiri – Samanosuke/Tange Sazen Kutsukake Tokijiro - yukyo ippiki Gion matsuri Shinkichi Shinsengumi Fujita Arima Jigokuhen Lord Hosokawa Shirikurae Magoichi Magoichi Saika Goyokin Samon Fujimaki Samurai Banners – Takeda Shingen Tenkan no abarembo – Yataro Iwasaki Machibuse – Heima Ibuki Bakumatsu – Ryoma Sakamoto Shokon ichidai tenka no abarenbo Shinken shobu Musashi Miyamoto Ako-Jo danzetsu Kuranosuke Ohishi Ogin-sama Shogun's Samurai – Yagyū Munenori Sanada Yukimura no bouryaku Tokugawa ichizoku no houkai – Matsudaira Katamori Shikake-nin Baian – Baian Fujieda Seishun no mon: Jiritsu hen – Eiji Niki Kita kara minami nishi kara higashi – Ogami Itto Tori ni tsubasa kemono ni kiba – Ogami Itto Fugitive Samurai – Ogami Itto Saigo no bakuto – Himself Kozure Ôkami: osanago no me – Ogami Itto Kozure Ôkami: namida ito – Ogami Itto Death of a Tea Master – Urakusai Oda Hiya-meshi to Osanto-chan – Daishiro Shibayama /Santa /Jūkichi Haru no Sakamichi - Yagyū Munenori Lone Wolf and Cub – Ittō Ogami Nagasaki Hangachōu - Hiramatsu Chūshirō The Yagyu Conspiracy – Tokugawa Yoshinao Akō Rōshi – Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio/Yoshitaka Sorekara no Musashi – Miyamoto Musashi Yagyū Shinkage-ryū - Yagyū Munenori Musashibō Benkei – Fujiwara no Hidehira Yagyū Bugei-chō - Yagyū Munenori Hana no Ran – Yamana Sōzen Kanpanî – Himself Sorekara no Musashi TV series Bakumatsu 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 1
So Yamamura
So Yamamura was a Japanese actor and film director. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1947 and 1991, directed four films, he was known by the name Satoshi Yamamura, while his actual birth name is Koga Hirosada. In the US, he is well known for his portrayals of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Combined Fleet, in Tora! Tora! Tora!, of Mr. Sakamoto, the CEO of Assan Motors in Gung Ho. Haru no Sakamichi - Tokugawa Ieyasu Hissatsu Shikakenin - Otowaya Tasukenin Hashiru - Seibei The Yagyu Conspiracy - Yagyū Munenori Akō Rōshi - Chisaka Hyoubu Hattori Hanzō:Kage no Gundan -Hoshina Masayuki Ōoku -Arai Hakuseki Medal with Purple Ribbon Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette So Yamamura on IMDb
Frankie Sakai
Frankie Sakai was a Japanese comedian and musician. From his days at Keio University, Sakai worked as a jazz drummer at American Army camps during the Occupation of Japan doing comic routines with his music. Becoming a professional comedian, he appeared in many famous film comedies such as Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate and the Shachō and Ekimae series at the Toho Studios, he was named best actor at the Blue Ribbon Awards for his work in Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate and Shiawase wa orera no negai. He appeared in musicals such as Kimi mo shusse ga dekiru, serious dramas such as I Want to Be a Shellfish, kaiju eiga like Mothra, he was known for his personal study of the ukiyo-e artist Sharaku and helped produce the film Sharaku directed by Masahiro Shinoda. He is best known to American audiences for his dramatic role in the 1980s television production of Shōgun in which he played the part of Lord Yabu, he died of liver failure on 10 June 1996 at the age of 67. FilmsMidori haruka ni Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate Shiawase wa orera no negai I Want to Be a Shellfish The Bride from Japan Mothra The Last War lit.
"Great World War" Kimi mo shusse ga dekiru Shōgun as Lord Kashigi Yabu, Daimyo of Izu Shinran: Path to Purity Sharaku TelevisionOnna Taikōki – Tokugawa Ieyasu Medal with Purple Ribbon Frankie Sakai on IMDb Frankie Sakai at the Japanese Movie Database
Hiroyuki Sanada
Hiroyuki Sanada, MBE, is a Japanese actor. In Asia, he is most famous for his martial arts roles, historical films, Tasogare Seibei, he is a stage actor, working in Japanese and British plays and theatre. His role as'The Fool' in the Shakespeare play, King Lear gave him notable theatrical notice in the UK. Sanada was born in Tokyo. Planning to be an action star, he studied Shorinji Kempo and took up Kyokushin kaikan karate. Sanada began training at the age of 11 with actor and martial arts star Sonny Chiba's Japan Action Club, where he developed good all-round martial arts ability, soon became Chiba's protégé. Sanada's martial arts film career introduced him to Michelle Yeoh, with whom he co-starred in In the Line of Duty, later in Danny Boyle's Sunshine, he has a long-standing friendship with Jackie Chan, although he did not star in a film with him before Rush Hour 3 in 2007. Outside of Japan, Sanada was credited in his younger days as Henry, Harry, or Duke Sanada. Sanada received a bachelor of Arts from Nihon University.
Sanada has established himself as a character actor, adept at playing a variety of roles. He was first noticed as a serious actor in the movie Mahjong Hourouki directed by Makoto Wada. Since he has acted in every Wada movie — works filled with humor and a nostalgia for classic films. In 1999 and 2000, he performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in their production of King Lear, which earned him an honorary MBE in 2002. Many media reports erroneously stated that Sanada received the honorary MBE for being the first Japanese actor to perform with the RSC; this is not correct: Japanese actor Togo Igawa performed with the RSC in 1985 and joined the RSC in 1986. Sanada received his honorary MBE for his "contribution to spreading British culture in Japan through his performance in a joint Shakespeare production."Some of Sanada's more famous movies are Tasogare Seibei, Kaitō Ruby, The Last Samurai. Sanada played Matsuda, the Japanese imperialist who befriends Ralph Fiennes's character, in the 2005 film The White Countess, directed by James Ivory.
He starred in the Chinese film The Promise directed by Chen Kaige as General Guangming. Sanada has appeared in Rush Hour 3 with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker and in 2007's The City of Your Final Destination, another James Ivory film, in which he plays the younger lover of Anthony Hopkins's character, he starred in the movie Life with Ryan Reynolds. Sanada joined the cast of the ABC TV series Lost in 2010 during final season, he portrayed Dogen, a high-ranking member of "The Others". In March 2011 appeared in the Keanu Reeves vehicle 47 Ronin, the first English-language adaptation of the Chushingura legend, Japan's most famous tale of samurai loyalty and revenge. Sanada is a guest star as Takehaya, a former Japanese Navy officer and legendary pirate captain in post-plague Asia, in the apocalyptic drama The Last Ship. Medal with Purple Ribbon Media related to Hiroyuki Sanada at Wikimedia Commons Hiroyuki Sanada on IMDb
Bunta Sugawara
Bunta Sugawara was a Japanese actor who appeared in 200 Japanese feature films. Bunta Sugawara was born in Sendai in 1933, his parents divorced when he was four, he moved to Tokyo to live with his father and stepmother. As part of a wartime policy to evacuate children from major cities, he was moved back to Sendai during fourth grade; as an adult he entered Waseda University's law program, but was dropped in his second year for failing to pay and began work as a model in 1956. His first acting role was in the 1956 Toho film Aishu no Machi ni Kiri ga Furu. Sugawara appeared in Teruo Ishii's 1958 White Line after being scouted by the Shintoho studio. At Shintoho he gained starring roles despite being a newcomer. However, when Shintoho filed for bankruptcy in 1961, Sugawara moved to the Shochiku studio where he was cast in Masahiro Shinoda's Shamisen and Motorcycle, but was fired from the role for coming to set late after a night drinking, he gave a notable performance in Keisuke Kinoshita's Legend of a Duel to the Death, but it did not fare well at the box office.
Disenchanted with the low pay, what he felt were unsuitable roles, he left and went to Toei in 1967 after being recommended by Noboru Ando. He had a part in Ishii's 1967 Abashiri Bangaichi: Fubuki no Toso, one of many films in the director's Abashiri Prison series. Sugawara's first starring role at Toei was in Gendai Yakuza: Yotamono no Okite in 1969, it launched a series, with the last installment, 1972's Street Mobster by Kinji Fukasaku, being the most successful. He achieved major success in 1973 at the age of 40, when he starred in Fukasaku's five-part yakuza epic Battles Without Honor and Humanity. Based on a real-life yakuza conflict in Hiroshima, the series was successful, popularized a new type of yakuza film called the Jitsuroku eiga, the role of Shōzō Hirono still remains his most well known. Sugawara starred in Fukasaku's Cops vs. Thugs in 1975. In 1975, he starred in the comedy Torakku Yarō: Go-Iken Muyō as a love-seeking truck driver, which launched a successful ten-installment series.
Sugawara won the 1980 Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a detective in Kazuhiko Hasegawa's 1979 satirical film Taiyō o Nusunda Otoko. His son Kaoru died in a railroad crossing accident in October 2001. On February 23, 2012, Sugawara announced his retirement from acting, he came to the decision after the Great East Japan earthquake and being hospitalized in the winter of 2011, although he said he might consider future roles. Late in life, he took up farming in Yamanashi Prefecture. On December 1, 2014, it was announced that Sugawara had died from liver cancer in a Tokyo hospital on November 28, 2014. Blood and Rules Abashiri Bangaichi: Fubuki no Toso Gendai Yakuza: Yotamono no Okite Nihon boryoku-dan: Kumicho a.k.a. Japan Organized Crime Boss Chi-zome no daimon a.k.a. Bloodstained Clan Honor Chōeki Tarō: Mamushi no Kyōdai Gendai Yakuza: Hitokiri Yota a.k.a. Street Mobster Outlaw Killers: Three Mad Dog Brothers Yokosuka Navy Prison Battles Without Honor and Humanity Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode New Battles Without Honor and Humanity Cops vs. Thugs New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss's Head Torakku Yarō: Goiken Muyō New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss Baka Masa Hora Masa Toppa Masa Dynamite Dondon Taiyō o Nusunda Otoko The Gate of Youth Honō no Gotoku The Man Who Shot the Don Watashi no Grandpa Spirited Away The Snow Queen Tales from Earthsea Wolf Children Musashibō Benkei as Minamoto no Yoritomo Takeda Shingen as Itagaki Nobukata Furuhata Ninzaburō as Otojiro Kogure Tokugawa Yoshinobu as Tokugawa Nariaki Dissidia: Final Fantasy as Cid/Narrator Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as Cid/Narrator Bunta Sugawara on IMDb
