Acting
Tatsuya Nakadai
JA, EN, FR, CN cinema · 194 credits
Born
13 December 1932
Died
8 November 2025 (aged 92)
Birthplace
Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
Also known as Тацуя Накадай · Tatsuya Nakadaki · تاتسویا ناکادای · Motohisa Nakadai · 仲代 元久 · 仲代元久
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. Nakadai rose to prominence starring in Masaki 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.
Known for
Filmography
The Limit
as Narrator (voice)
The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai
as Makino Tadayuki
The Return
as Unokichi
A Town and a Tall Chimney
as Hyoma Sekine
Sleeping Village
as Narrator (voice)
Henkan kōshōjin: Itsuka, Okinawa o torimodosu
as Narrator (voice)
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
Mifune: The Last Samurai
as Self (archive footage)
Futari no shikeishû - saishin imada hirakarezu
as Narrator (voice)
A Duel Tale
as Sanosuke Shoji
Before The Leaves Fall
as Kenichiro Miya
NORIN TEN inadzukagonjirō monogatari
as Gonjiro Inazuka
Giovanni's Island
as Older Junpei Senou (voice)
Gun Woman
as Hamazaki
The Human Trust
as Nobuhiro Sasakura
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
as Charcoal-maker Old Man (voice)
Promise: The Nabari Poisoned Wine Case, The Life of a Death-row Inmate
as Masaru Okunishi
Japan's Tragedy
as Fujio Murai
Until the Break of Dawn
as Sadayuki Akiyama
Gaku
as Kazama Shin-ichi
Haru's Journey
as Tadao Nakai
Zatoichi: The Last
as Tendo
Listen to My Heart
as Kyozo Hayami
Through the Mist
as (archive footage)
Murder of the Inugami Clan
as Sahei Inugami
Wish Upon a Star
as Takanori Wakamiya
Yamato
Actor
The Taika Reforms
as Minabuchi no Syôan
Like Asura
as Kotaro Takezawa
Vengeance for Sale
as Umetaro Katakura
Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS
as Matsushita (Matsushita Denki Co.)
To Dance with the White Dog
as Eisuke Nakamoto
Kurosawa
as Self
After the Rain
as Tsuji Gettan
Jubaku: Spellbound
as Hideaki Sasaki
The Life and Love of Kenji Miyazawa
as Seijiro Miyazawa
East Meets West
as Kaishu Katsu
Lone Wolf and Cub: The Final Conflict
as Yagyu Retsudo
Wicked City
as Daishu
Basara: The Princess Goh
as Oribe Furuta
Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell
as Hamakichi
Faraway Sunset
as Kobayashi
Heat Wave
as Tsunejiro Murai
13 Assassins
as Shinzaemon Shimada
Battleship Yamato
as Vice Admiral Seiichi Itō
Return from the River Kwai
as Major Harada
Four Days of Snow and Blood
as Sugiyama
Another Way: D-Kikan-Joho
as Shimamura
Oración
as Heihachiro Wagu
Hachiko
as Shujiro Ueno
Taikoki
as Narrator (voice)
Atami Murder Case
as Denbei Nikaido
Michi
as Seiji Tajima
Ran
as Lord Hidetora Ichimonji
The Empty Table
as Nobuyuki Kidoji
A. K.
as Self
Fireflies in the North
as Takeshi Tsukigata
Final Yamato
as Narrator
Battle Anthem
as Narrator (voice)
Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather
as Masagoro Kiryuin - Onimasa
Tange Sazen: The Million Ryo Pot
as Sazen Tange
The Legend of Sayo
as Otozo
Willful Murder
as Yashiro
Kagemusha
as Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha
Port Arthur
as Maresuke Nogi
Hunter in the Dark
as Gomyo Kiyoemon
Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron
as Kumokiri Nizaemon
Queen Bee
as Ginzo Daidoji
Blood Type: Blue
as Minami
The Phoenix
as Jingi the Conqueror, leader of the Takamagahara
Sugata Sanshiro
as Yano
The Corporation
as Tadashi Iki
Elegy
as Setsuo Katsuragi
I Am a Cat
as Kushami
Battle Cry
as Hijikata Toshizo
Solar Eclipse
as Yasuo Hoshino, the Chief Cabinet Secretary
The Family
as Teppei Manpyo / Keisuke Manpyo
Rise, Fair Sun
as Sakuzo
Belladonna of Sadness
as The Devil (voice)
The Human Revolution
as Nichiren
The King
as Kinjiro Sekine
The Wolves
as Seji Iwahashi
Inn of Evil
as Sadashichi
The Battle of Okinawa
as Colonel Hiromichi Yahara
Challenge at Dawn
as Tsukagoshi
The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan
as Naojiro Kataoka
Duel at Fort Ezo
as Daizennokami Honjo
Will to Conquer
as Yoshida Tōyō
The Ambitious
as Shintaro Nakaoka
Tenchu!
as Hanpeita Takechi
Goyokin
as Magobei Wakizaka
Portrait of Hell
as Yoshihide
Blood End
as Sentaro
Battle of the Japan Sea
as Major Genjiro Akashi
Safari 5000
as Masaomi Takeuchi
Kill!
as Genta
Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!
as James Elfego
The Human Bullet
as Narrator (voice)
Admiral Yamamoto
as Narrator (voice)
Samurai Rebellion
as Tatewaki Asano
The Age of Assassins
as Shinji Kikyo
Kojiro
as Musashi Miyamoto
The Journey
as Yuichiro
Japan's Longest Day
as Narrator (voice)
Who Is Gomez?
as Sakamoto
The Face of Another
as Mr. Okuyama
The Sword of Doom
as Ryunosuke Tsukue
Cash Calls Hell
as Oida
Kwaidan
as Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Illusion of Blood
as Iyemon Tamiya
Fort Graveyard
as Sakuma
High and Low
as Chief Detective Tokura
A Woman's Life
as Takashi Akimoto
Pressure of Guilt
as Ichiro Hamano
Legacy of the 500,000
as Mitsura Gunji
Miren
as Ryôta Kinoshita
Madame Aki
as Tatsumi
Sanjuro
as Hanbei Muroto
Harakiri
as Hanshiro Tsugumo
The Inheritance
as Kikuo Furukawa
Love Under the Crucifix
as Ukon Takayama
Farm Girls
as Kenichi
Yojimbo
as Unosuke, gunfighter
Immortal Love
as Heibei
The Other Woman
as Minami
As the Clouds Scatter
as James Kimura
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
as Kenichi Komatsu
Daughters, Wives and a Mother
as Kuroki Shingo
The Blue Beast
as Yasuhiko Kuroki
Get 'em All
as Tsubota
Odd Obsession
as Kimura
The Beast Shall Die
as Kunihiko Date
Three Dolls in Ginza
as Kyosuke Tamura
Oban kanketsu hen
as Shin Don
Conflagration
as Tokari
A Boy and Three Mothers
as Kensaku, the Engineer
The Naked Sun
as Jiro Maeda
All About Marriage
as Akira Nakayama
Diary of an Elegant Hot Spring
as Kazuo Shimada
Go and Get It
as Hara
Kampai! Miai Kekkon
as Kunihiko Sasada
The Gion Tempest
as Masaki
Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen
as Shindon
Ôban
as Shin Don
Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen
as Shin don
Black River
as Joe
A Dangerous Hero
as Reporter Imamura
Untamed Woman
as Kimura
Teenage Sazae
as Norisuke
The Shadow Daughter
as Motohashi
Skin-Colored Moon
as Jirô Taki
Phoenix
as Keiichi Naganuma
Love on Rainbow Island
as Yûji Wada
Sazae-san
as Norisuke
The Thick-Walled Room
as Prisoner (uncredited)
Floating Weeds Diary
as Union Member
Seven Samurai
as Samurai Wandering through Town (uncredited)
How the Bell of Liberty Rings
as (uncredited)