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 (9)
Movies (179)
Seven Samurai
Samurai Wandering through Town (uncredited)
Ran
Lord Hidetora Ichimonji
Harakiri
Hanshiro Tsugumo
High and Low
Chief Detective Tokura
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Charcoal-maker Old Man (voice)
Yojimbo
Unosuke, gunfighter
Sanjuro
Hanbei Muroto
Kwaidan
Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Kagemusha
Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha
Will to Conquer
Yoshida Tōyō
Fireflies in the North
Takeshi Tsukigata
Belladonna of Sadness
The Devil (voice)
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
Kaji
Yamato
2005
The Sword of Doom
Ryunosuke Tsukue
Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!
James Elfego
Samurai Rebellion
Tatewaki Asano
Hachiko
Shujiro Ueno
After the Rain
Tsuji Gettan
Gun Woman
Hamazaki
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Kaji
The Face of Another
Mr. Okuyama
Giovanni's Island
Older Junpei Senou (voice)
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
Kaji
Wicked City
Daishu
Return from the River Kwai
Major Harada
Battle of the Japan Sea
Major Genjiro Akashi
Four Days of Snow and Blood
Sugiyama
The Battle of Okinawa
Colonel Hiromichi Yahara
Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather
Masagoro Kiryuin - Onimasa
Farm Girls
Kenichi
The Inheritance
Kikuo Furukawa
Port Arthur
Maresuke Nogi
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Kenichi Komatsu
Final Yamato
Narrator
Japan's Longest Day
Narrator (voice)
Admiral Yamamoto
Narrator (voice)
Kill!
Genta
Tenchu!
Hanpeita Takechi
Haru's Journey
Tadao Nakai
The Human Trust
Nobuhiro Sasakura
Conflagration
Tokari
Love Under the Crucifix
Ukon Takayama
Untamed Woman
Kimura
Heat Wave
Tsunejiro Murai
Battleship Yamato
Vice Admiral Seiichi Itō
Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
Ronin
Wish Upon a Star
Takanori Wakamiya
The Empty Table
Nobuyuki Kidoji
Zatoichi: The Last
Tendo
Odd Obsession
Kimura
Like Asura
Kotaro Takezawa
Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron
Kumokiri Nizaemon
Goyokin
Magobei Wakizaka
Inn of Evil
Sadashichi
Daughters, Wives and a Mother
Kuroki Shingo
The Human Bullet
Narrator (voice)
Blood Type: Blue
Minami
Sugata Sanshiro
Yano
Cash Calls Hell
Oida
The Law of Hell
Ikuzô
The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai
Makino Tadayuki
The Age of Assassins
Shinji Kikyo
Willful Murder
Yashiro
Murder of the Inugami Clan
Sahei Inugami
Jubaku: Spellbound
Hideaki Sasaki
Hunter in the Dark
Gomyo Kiyoemon
Another Way: D-Kikan-Joho
Shimamura
Battle Anthem
1983
Oban kanketsu hen
Shin Don
Kin chan no Cinema Jack
1993
The Beast Shall Die
Kunihiko Date
Tange Sazen: The Million Ryo Pot
Sazen Tange
Mr. Giant's Victory Flag
1964
East Meets West
Kaishu Katsu
Through the Mist
(archive footage)
The Corporation
Tadashi Iki
Solar Eclipse
Yasuo Hoshino, the Chief Cabinet Secretary
Immortal Love
Heibei
A Dangerous Hero
Reporter Imamura
The Fir Trees Remain
1983
Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS
Matsushita (Matsushita Denki Co.)
The Family
Teppei Manpyo
Black River
Jo
Until the Break of Dawn
Sadayuki Akiyama
Shadow Hunters
1983
Battle Cry
Hijikata Toshizo
I Am a Cat
Kushami
The Other Woman
Minami
Three Yakuza
1965
Queen Bee
Ginzo Daidoji
Pressure of Guilt
1963
The Thick-Walled Room
Prisoner (uncredited)
Before The Leaves Fall
Kenichiro Miya
The Gate of Youth
1975
Sazae-san
Norisuke
A Woman's Life
Takashi Akimoto
Rise, Fair Sun
Sakuzo
The Phoenix
Jingi the Conqueror, leader of the Takamagahara
Taikoki
Narrator (voice)
The Life and Love of Kenji Miyazawa
Seijiro Miyazawa
Human Revolution II
1976
Vengeance for Sale
Umetaro Katakura
The Blue Beast
Yasuhiko Kuroki
The Legend of Sayo
Otozo
Kampai! Miai Kekkon
Kunihiko Sasada
Get 'em All
Tsubota
Portrait of Hell
Yoshihide
13 Assassins
1990
Let Him Rest in Peace
1989
The Wolves
Seji Iwahashi
A Boy and Three Mothers
Kensaku, the Engineer
Atami Murder Case
Denbei Nikaido
Lone Wolf and Cub: The Final Conflict
Yagyu Retsudo
Oración
Heihachiro Wagu
Diary of an Elegant Hot Spring
Kazuo Shimada
Great evil does not go to sleep: The counterattack of the special investigation unit prosecutor
Yohei Tachibana
The Taika Reforms
Minabuchi no Syôan
Challenge at Dawn
Tsukagoshi
Safari 5000
1969
Basara: The Princess Goh
Oribe Furuta
The Return
Unokichi
Teenage Sazae
Norisuke
Faraway Sunset
Kobayashi
The King
Kinjiro Sekine
Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen
Shindon
The Last Judgment
1965
Trinacria: Porsche 959
1987
Fort Graveyard
Sakuma
Blood End
Sentaro
The Naked Sun
Jiro Maeda
The Ambitious
Shintaro Nakaoka
Pilgrimage at Night
Kaname
Ôban
Shin Don
Summer of the Moonlight Sonata
1993
Japan's Tragedy
Fujio Murai
Kojiro
Musashi Miyamoto
The Daphne
1966
All About Marriage
Akira Nakayama
Elegy
Setsuo Katsuragi
The Mandarin Room
Ando
The Journey
Yuichiro
Legacy of the 500,000
Mitsura Gunji
The Shadow Daughter
Motohashi
Love on Rainbow Island
Yûji Wada
Listen to My Heart
Kyozo Hayami
Illusion of Blood
Iyemon Tamiya
Michi
Seiji Tajima
The Fox Dancing in the Dusk
1984
Sleeping Village
Narrator (voice)
Promise: The Nabari Poisoned Wine Case, The Life of a Death-row Inmate
Masaru Okunishi
Lear on the Shore
Kuwahata Chokichi
Magistrate of the Floating World
1981
The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan
Naojiro Kataoka
Duel at Fort Ezo
Daizennokami Honjo
The Limit
Narrator (voice)
The Human Revolution
1973
How the Bell of Liberty Rings
(uncredited)
To Dance with the White Dog
Eisuke Nakamoto
NORIN TEN inadzukagonjirō monogatari
Gonjiro Inazuka
Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen
Shin don
Skin-Colored Moon
Jirô Taki
The Gion Tempest
Masaki
A Duel Tale
Sanosuke Shoji
Futari no shikeishû - saishin imada hirakarezu
Narrator (voice)
Phoenix
Keiichi Naganuma
Three Dolls in Ginza
Kyosuke Tamura
Go and Get It
Hara
Ant Hell War
1964
Gaku
Kazama Shin-ichi
As the Clouds Scatter
James Kimura
Miren
Ryôta Kinoshita
Florence My Love
1991
Henkan kōshōjin: Itsuka, Okinawa o torimodosu
Narrator (voice)
Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell
1992
A Town and a Tall Chimney
Hyoma Sekine
Floating Weeds Diary
Union Member
Madame Aki
Tatsumi
Gomez's Name is Gomez
Sakamoto
TV Shows (10)
Samurai Banners
54 eps
Shin Heike Monogatari
Taira no Kiyomori · 52 eps
A Sinner's Lie
Kenzo Haneda · 5 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 Son of the Good Earth
11 eps
Aoki Ookami Narukichiomoase no Shougai
ナレーション · 2 eps
Kinagashi Bugyō
1 eps
Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell
6 eps
Momi no Ki wa Nokotta: Ranshin
1 eps
Self / Appearances (13)
A. K.
Self
Kurosawa
Self
Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Self
Kurosawa: The Last Emperor
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: 'High and Low'
Self
Tatsuya Nakadai on 'The Human Condition'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Ran'
Self
Life Work of Akira Kurosawa
Self
Making of Ran
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Yojimbo'
Self
Nakadai Tatsuya: to Live for Acting
Self