Overview
- His acting school Mumeijuku confirmed his death on Tuesday, with local media reporting he died Nov. 8 in a Tokyo hospital of pneumonia.
- The Tokyo-born performer amassed more than 100 screen credits across seven decades alongside a prolific stage career.
- Career-defining roles included Kobayashi’s The Human Condition trilogy and Harakiri as well as Kurosawa’s Kagemusha and Ran, with Kagemusha winning the Palme d’Or.
- He founded the Mumeijuku acting school in 1975 to train younger performers, counting Cannes best actor winner Koji Yakusho among its alumni.
- He received Japan’s Order of Culture in 2015 and is survived by his daughter, Nao, having been predeceased by his wife.