Tatsuya Nakadai
Acting
Born: December 13, 1932 · Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
Died: November 8, 2025 (aged 92)
Highest Rated
Biography
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
Seven Samurai
1954
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
2013
Ran
1985
Yojimbo
1961
Harakiri
1962
High and Low
1963
Kagemusha
1980
Sanjuro
1962
Kwaidan
1965
Belladonna of Sadness
1973
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
1959
The Face of Another
1966
Photos (10)
Movies (179)
Seven Samurai
Samurai Wandering through Town (uncredited)
Ran
Lord Hidetora Ichimonji
High and Low
Chief Detective Tokura
Kagemusha
Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha
Harakiri
Hanshiro Tsugumo
Hachiko
Shujiro Ueno
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Charcoal-maker Old Man (voice)
Kwaidan
Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Kaji
Battle of the Japan Sea
Major Genjiro Akashi
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
Kaji
The Face of Another
Mr. Okuyama
Yojimbo
Unosuke, gunfighter
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
Kaji
Yamato
2005
Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!
James Elfego
After the Rain
Tsuji Gettan
Samurai Rebellion
Tatewaki Asano
Port Arthur
Maresuke Nogi
Inn of Evil
Sadashichi
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Kenichi Komatsu
Sanjuro
Hanbei Muroto
Odd Obsession
Kimura
Goyokin
Magobei Wakizaka
The Thick-Walled Room
Prisoner (uncredited)
Belladonna of Sadness
The Devil (voice)
Fireflies in the North
Takeshi Tsukigata
Love Under the Crucifix
Ukon Takayama
Four Days of Snow and Blood
Sugiyama
Wicked City
Daishu
The Sword of Doom
Ryunosuke Tsukue
Giovanni's Island
Older Junpei Senou (voice)
The Last Judgment
Jiro
Gun Woman
Hamazaki
A Woman's Life
Takashi Akimoto
Untamed Woman
Kimura
The Human Bullet
Narrator (voice)
The Age of Assassins
Shinji Kikyo
Kill!
Genta
Jubaku: Spellbound
Hideaki Sasaki
Final Yamato
Narrator
Battle Anthem
Narrator (voice)
Solar Eclipse
Yasuo Hoshino, the Chief Cabinet Secretary
Faraway Sunset
Kobayashi
Return from the River Kwai
Major Harada
Tenchu!
Hanpeita Takechi
The Human Revolution
Nichiren
Japan's Longest Day
Narrator (voice)
Haru's Journey
Tadao Nakai
Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather
Masagoro Kiryuin - Onimasa
Tange Sazen: The Million Ryo Pot
Sazen Tange
Rise, Fair Sun
Sakuzo
Queen Bee
Ginzo Daidoji
The Battle of Okinawa
Colonel Hiromichi Yahara
Heat Wave
Tsunejiro Murai
The Human Trust
Nobuhiro Sasakura
The Fir Trees Remain
1983
The Beast Shall Die
Kunihiko Date
Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
Ronin
Willful Murder
Yashiro
Blood Type: Blue
Minami
The Mandarin Room
Ando
Admiral Yamamoto
Narrator (voice)
I Am a Cat
Kushami
The Phoenix
Jingi the Conqueror, leader of the Takamagahara
Get 'em All
Tsubota
Sugata Sanshiro
Yano
Basara: The Princess Goh
Oribe Furuta
Atami Murder Case
Denbei Nikaido
The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan
Naojiro Kataoka
Fort Graveyard
Sakuma
Before The Leaves Fall
Kenichiro Miya
All About Marriage
Akira Nakayama
Portrait of Hell
Yoshihide
Daughters, Wives and a Mother
Kuroki Shingo
Until the Break of Dawn
Sadayuki Akiyama
Conflagration
Tokari
The Inheritance
Kikuo Furukawa
Illusion of Blood
Iyemon Tamiya
Zatoichi: The Last
Tendo
Kojiro
Musashi Miyamoto
Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron
Kumokiri Nizaemon
Lear on the Shore
Kuwahata Chokichi
East Meets West
Kaishu Katsu
Battle Cry
Hijikata Toshizo
Murder of the Inugami Clan
Sahei Inugami
A Dangerous Hero
Reporter Imamura
The Gate of Youth
1975
How the Bell of Liberty Rings
(uncredited)
Listen to My Heart
Kyozo Hayami
Go and Get It
Hara
Farm Girls
Kenichi
The Taika Reforms
Minabuchi no Syôan
The Journey
Yuichiro
The Family
Teppei Manpyo / Keisuke Manpyo
The Legend of Sayo
Otozo
Hunter in the Dark
Gomyo Kiyoemon
Black River
Joe
Ant Hell War
1964
The Shadow Daughter
Motohashi
Three Yakuza
1965
Summer of the Moonlight Sonata
1993
13 Assassins
Shinzaemon Shimada
Love on Rainbow Island
Yûji Wada
Blood End
Sentaro
Floating Weeds Diary
Union Member
The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai
Makino Tadayuki
Battleship Yamato
Vice Admiral Seiichi Itō
Wish Upon a Star
Takanori Wakamiya
Kampai! Miai Kekkon
Kunihiko Sasada
Vengeance for Sale
Umetaro Katakura
Lone Wolf and Cub: The Final Conflict
Yagyu Retsudo
Sazae-san
Norisuke
Like Asura
Kotaro Takezawa
Taikoki
Narrator (voice)
Immortal Love
Heibei
The Naked Sun
Jiro Maeda
The Blue Beast
Yasuhiko Kuroki
Legacy of the 500,000
Mitsura Gunji
Challenge at Dawn
Tsukagoshi
Pressure of Guilt
Ichiro Hamano
Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen
Shin don
Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen
Shindon
Diary of an Elegant Hot Spring
Kazuo Shimada
Another Way: D-Kikan-Joho
Shimamura
Through the Mist
(archive footage)
The Empty Table
Nobuyuki Kidoji
Skin-Colored Moon
Jirô Taki
The Corporation
Tadashi Iki
A Duel Tale
Sanosuke Shoji
Michi
Seiji Tajima
Oración
Heihachiro Wagu
Safari 5000
Masaomi Takeuchi
The Other Woman
Minami
A Boy and Three Mothers
Kensaku, the Engineer
Cash Calls Hell
Oida
Who Is Gomez?
Sakamoto
Phoenix
Keiichi Naganuma
The Life and Love of Kenji Miyazawa
Seijiro Miyazawa
The Gion Tempest
Masaki
Let Him Rest in Peace
1989
Ôban
Shin Don
Elegy
Setsuo Katsuragi
To Dance with the White Dog
Eisuke Nakamoto
Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS
Matsushita (Matsushita Denki Co.)
The Limit
Narrator (voice)
The Wolves
Seji Iwahashi
Kin chan no Cinema Jack
1993
NORIN TEN inadzukagonjirō monogatari
Gonjiro Inazuka
The Return
Unokichi
Pilgrimage at Night
Kaname
The Ambitious
Shintaro Nakaoka
Henkan kōshōjin: Itsuka, Okinawa o torimodosu
Narrator (voice)
Futari no shikeishû - saishin imada hirakarezu
Narrator (voice)
Magistrate of the Floating World
1981
Promise: The Nabari Poisoned Wine Case, The Life of a Death-row Inmate
Masaru Okunishi
Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell
Hamakichi
Gaku
Kazama Shin-ichi
The King
Kinjiro Sekine
The Daphne
1966
As the Clouds Scatter
James Kimura
Human Revolution II
1976
Duel at Fort Ezo
Daizennokami Honjo
The Law of Hell
Ikuzô
Shadow Hunters
1983
Sleeping Village
Narrator (voice)
Florence My Love
1991
Madame Aki
Tatsumi
Oban kanketsu hen
Shin Don
Teenage Sazae
Norisuke
Will to Conquer
Yoshida Tōyō
A Town and a Tall Chimney
Hyoma Sekine
The Fox Dancing in the Dusk
1984
Miren
Ryôta Kinoshita
Mr. Giant's Victory Flag
1964
Great evil does not go to sleep: The counterattack of the special investigation unit prosecutor
Yohei Tachibana
Japan's Tragedy
Fujio Murai
Three Dolls in Ginza
Kyosuke Tamura
Trinacria: Porsche 959
1987
TV Shows (11)
Cold Case: Door of Truth
Suzaki Kiyoshi · 1 eps
Samurai Banners
54 eps
Shin Heike Monogatari
Taira no Kiyomori · 52 eps
Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World
Matsumoto Kentaro · 11 eps
Suna no Utsuwa
今西栄太郎 · 6 eps
A Sinner's Lie
Kenzo Haneda · 5 eps
Aoki Ookami Narukichiomoase no Shougai
ナレーション · 2 eps
A Son of the Good Earth
11 eps
Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell
6 eps
Kinagashi Bugyō
1 eps
Momi no Ki wa Nokotta: Ranshin
1 eps
Self / Appearances (14)
Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Self
Kurosawa
Self
Kurosawa: The Last Emperor
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'High and Low'
Self
A. K.
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Kagemusha'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Sanjuro'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Ran'
Self
Nakadai Tatsuya: to Live for Acting
Self
Life Work of Akira Kurosawa
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Yojimbo'
Self
Tatsuya Nakadai on Five Japanese Masters
self
Tatsuya Nakadai on 'The Human Condition'
Self
Making of Ran
Self