Actor · Acting

Tatsuya Nakadai

Born 1932-12-13

Died 2025-11-08

📍 Meguro, Tokyo, Japan

Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代達矢, Nakadai Tatsuya; born Motohisa Nakadai; December 13, 1932 – November 8, 2025) was a Japanese actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Japanese cinema, he collaborated extensively with many of Japan's best-known and acclaimed directors. In his over seven decade career, he appeared in more than 160 films, and received numerous accolades. He was honored with a Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1996 and Japan's Order of Culture in 2015.

Discovered on the streets of Tokyo by director Masaki Kobayashi, Nakadai rose to prominence starring in Kobayashi's films, with his breakthrough being the protagonist of the epic anti-war trilogy The Human Condition (1959–1961). He won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for his performance as the vengeful ronin in Harakiri (1962), a role he considered his finest. Nakadai collaborated on eleven films with Kobayashi—including Kwaidan (1964) and Samurai Rebellion (1967)—and five with Akira Kurosawa, most notably as the tragic warlord in Ran (1985), a performance that earned global acclaim. His other notable credits included Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961), The Sword of Doom (1966), The Face of Another (1966), Goyokin (1969), Kagemusha (1980), and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013).

A lifelong stage actor, he founded the Gendai Nohgaku-kai troupe in 1975 and continued performing on stage into his nineties.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Tatsuya Nakadai, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography 200

Life Work of Akira Kurosawa

The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai

as Makino Tadayuki

A Town and a Tall Chimney

Sleeping Village

Henkan kōshōjin: Itsuka, Okinawa o torimodosu

Lear on the Shore

as Kuwahata Chokichi

Great evil does not go to sleep: The counterattack of the special investigation unit prosecutor

as Yohei Tachibana

NORINTEN 稲塚権次郎物語

ふたりの死刑囚

Before The Leaves Fall

as Kenichiro Miya

Nakadai Tatsuya: to Live for Acting

Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya

as Kenzo Haneda

Giovanni's Island

as Older Junpei Senou (voice)

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

as Charcoal-maker Old Man (voice)

The Human Trust

as Nobuhiro Sasakura

Promise: The Nabari Poisoned Wine Case, The Life of a Death-row Inmate

Until the Break of Dawn

as Sadayuki Akiyama

Japan's Tragedy

as Kazama Shin-ichi

Zatoichi: The Last

Listen to My Heart

as Kyozo Hayami

Tatsuya Nakadai on 'The Human Condition'

Through the Mist

as (archive footage)

Samurai Banners

Murder of the Inugami Clan

as Sahei Inugami

Wish Upon a Star

as Takanori Wakamiya

The Taika Reforms

as Minabuchi no Syôan

Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World

as Matsumoto Kentaro

as Kotaro Takezawa

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Kagemusha'

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Yojimbo'

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Sanjuro'

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'High and Low'

Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS

as Matsushita (Matsushita Denki Co.)

To Dance with the White Dog

as Eisuke Nakamoto

Vengeance for Sale

as Umetaro Katakura

as Tsuji Gettan

Jubaku: Spellbound

as Hideaki Sasaki

Kurosawa: The Last Emperor

The Life and Love of Kenji Miyazawa

as Seijiro Miyazawa

A Son of the Good Earth

East Meets West

as Kaishu Katsu

Summer of the Moonlight Sonata

Kin chan no Cinema Jack

Lone Wolf and Cub: The Final Conflict

as Yagyu Retsudo

Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell

Basara: The Princess Goh

as Oribe Furuta

Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell

as Tsunejiro Murai

Florence My Love

Let Him Rest in Peace

Four Days of Snow and Blood

Return from the River Kwai

as Major Harada

Another Way: D-Kikan-Joho

as Heihachiro Wagu

Trinacria: Porsche 959

as Shujiro Ueno

as Seiji Tajima

Atami Murder Case

as Denbei Nikaido

The Empty Table

as Nobuyuki Kidoji

as Lord Hidetora Ichimonji

Fireflies in the North

as Takeshi Tsukigata

The Fir Trees Remain

Momi no Ki wa Nokotta: Ranshin

The Legend of Sayo

Tange Sazen: The Million Ryo Pot

The Law of Hell

Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather

as Masagoro Kiryuin - Onimasa

Magistrate of the Floating World

Kinagashi Bugyō

Aoki Ookami Narukichiomoase no Shougai

as ナレーション

as Maresuke Nogi

as Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha

Hunter in the Dark

as Gomyo Kiyoemon

Blood Type: Blue

as Jingi the Conqueror, leader of the Takamagahara

Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron

as Kumokiri Nizaemon

as Ginzo Daidoji

Sugata Sanshiro

as 今西栄太郎

The Corporation

Human Revolution II

as Setsuo Katsuragi

as Yasuo Hoshino, the Chief Cabinet Secretary

as Hijikata Toshizo

The Gate of Youth

as Teppei Manpyo

The Human Revolution

Belladonna of Sadness

as The Devil (voice)

as Kinjiro Sekine

Shin Heike Monogatari

as Taira no Kiyomori

as Seji Iwahashi

The Battle of Okinawa

as Colonel Hiromichi Yahara

Challenge at Dawn

Will to Conquer

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival

The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan

as Naojiro Kataoka

as Shintaro Nakaoka

Duel at Fort Ezo

as Daizennokami Honjo

Portrait of Hell

as Hanpeita Takechi

Battle of the Japan Sea

as Major Genjiro Akashi

as Magobei Wakizaka

The Human Bullet

Admiral Yamamoto

as Narrator (voice)

Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!

as James Elfego

Japan's Longest Day

as Narrator (voice)

Samurai Rebellion

as Tatewaki Asano

Gomez's Name is Gomez

as Musashi Miyamoto

The Age of Assassins

as Shinji Kikyo

The Face of Another

The Sword of Doom

as Ryunosuke Tsukue

Cash Calls Hell

Illusion of Blood

as Iyemon Tamiya

The Last Judgment

as Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")

Mr. Giant's Victory Flag

as Ryôta Kinoshita

Legacy of the 500,000

as Mitsura Gunji

as Chief Detective Tokura

Pressure of Guilt

as Hanshiro Tsugumo

Love Under the Crucifix

as Ukon Takayama

The Inheritance

as Kikuo Furukawa

as Hanbei Muroto

As the Clouds Scatter

The Other Woman

as Unosuke, gunfighter

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer

as Yasuhiko Kuroki

Daughters, Wives and a Mother

as Kuroki Shingo

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

as Kenichi Komatsu

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity

Pilgrimage at Night

Three Dolls in Ginza

The Beast Shall Die

as Kunihiko Date

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

The Human Condition

Diary of an Elegant Hot Spring

as Kazuo Shimada

Oban kanketsu hen

as His assistant

All About Marriage

as Akira Nakayama

A Boy and Three Mothers

as The Engineer

Kampai! Miai Kekkon

as Kunihiko Sasada

Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen

Skin-Colored Moon

A Dangerous Hero

Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen

The Shadow Daughter

The Mandarin Room

The Thick-Walled Room

as (Uncredited)

Love on Rainbow Island

Floating Weeds Diary

How the Bell of Liberty Rings

as (uncredited)

as Samurai Wandering through Town (uncredited)

The Gion Tempest