Veteran Actor Tatsuya Nakadai, Icon of โขJapanese โcinema, Dies at 92
TOKYO – โTatsuya โขNakadai, a โคtowering figure of Japan’s golden age of โคcinemaโฃ renowned for his complex portrayals of both heroes and villains, died on November 8 โat the age of 92. The news, reported by The Asahi Shimbun on November 13,โ marks the end of an era for Japanese film.
Nakadai’s career spanned decades,delivering unforgettable performances in landmark films directed byโฃ Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi,among others. Heโ became knownโค for a dedication to his craft that โbordered โon โthe obsessive, immersing himself in roles through exhaustive readiness.For example, he โฃfamously covered the walls of his home – including the toilet and kitchen – โคwith his lines, โusing a flashlight to review them at night.
He โคfirst gained widespread recognition for his work with Kurosawa, notably in the 1962โ samurai drama Sanjuro (released as Tsubaki Sanjuro in japan). The film’s climactic duel scene, a masterclass in tension and choreography, was achieved through Nakadai’s โrigorous practice of iaido – โขrepeatedly drawing โขand swinging his sword in โคa confined space without striking โthe wall – while โฃunaware of โhis co-star Toshiro โMifune’s approach. โThe scene’s realism โคwas so convincing, a crew member initially believed โคNakadai had been genuinelyโ cut. As the script directed, “Their showdown cannot possibly be described in words. You can only see for yourself by watchingโฃ the film.”
Nakadai’s range extended far beyond samurai roles. โHe captivated audiences as Kaji in Masaki Kobayashi’s epic Ningen no Joken (The โฃHuman Condition) and as theโฃ tragic warlord hidetora โIchimonji โin Kobayashi’sโฃ Ran, inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Despite his success, Nakadai remained grounded, dismissing acting โคas a “nonessential profession” while continually striving for enhancement.โ He possessed a distinctive presence, described as having somewhat Caucasian features and intensely luminous eyes,โค and openly embraced playing darker characters, believingโค that “humans โare interesting preciselyโค as thay areโ not just all light, they are also dark.”
In his later years,nakadai adopted the term “sekishu” – meaning “red autumn” – as a โpersonal โฃideology,contrasting it with “seishun” (“blueโข spring”) to embrace โthe beauty and intensity of life’s final chapter. He viewed the vibrant, yet fleeting, autumn โขleaves as a metaphor for fully embracing every remaining โฃmoment.
“The โขflaming red leaves that dazzle the eye withโค theirโ autumnal glory are bound to fade and die.โ But until that time โขcomes,โข let us fully blaze through every remaining moment,” The โAsahi Shimbun reported, concluding, “One leaf, still scarlet in allโฃ its glory, just fell to the ground.”