Legendary Movie Actor Dead at 92: RIP to Tatsuya Nakadai

Japanese acting legend Tatsuya Nakadai has died. He was 92.

His death was reported yesterday by The Japan News. He died last Saturday from pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital.

One of the most celebrated actors of all time, Nakadai has appeared in several of the best films ever made across his lengthy career, which spanned seven decades.

Discovered off the street by legendary director Masaki Kobayashi to appear in the 1956 war drama The Thick-Walled Room—although, coincidentally, he had a small cameo role in Akira Kurosawa’s iconic Seven Samurai before that—Nakadai became one of Japan’s best-known actors, with over 100 film credits to his name.

He continued to work with Kobayashi and Kurosawa for much of his career, earning international acclaim for his stunning performances in movies like Kobayashi’s The Human Condition trilogy, Harakiri, and Kwaidan and Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, Sanjuro, High and Low, Kagemusha, and the Oscar-nominated Ran.

Other notable lead performances by Nakadai include The Sword of Doom and The Face of Another, both from 1966, 1968’s samurai comedy Kill!, Hideo Gosha’s period drama Goyokin, and his voice acting role in the 2013 animated classic The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.

He last appeared on-screen as historical figure Makino Tadayuki in 2020’s The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai, and never stopped acting in theatre productions, appearing on stage as recently as this year.

He is survived by his daughter.