Tatsuya Nakadai dies at 92 legendary Japanese actor behind Ran Harakiri and Kagemusha

Tatsuya Nakadai, one of Japan’s most acclaimed film and theater actors, has died at the age of 92, The Japan News reported Tuesday. Known for his commanding presence and versatility, Nakadai’s career spanned more than seven decades, with over 100 film credits and collaborations with some of Japan’s most revered filmmakers, including Akira Kurosawa, Masaki Kobayashi, and Hiroshi Teshigahara.

Born on December 13, 1932, in Tokyo, Nakadai began his acting journey after studying at the Haiyuza Training School. He rose to prominence through his work with director Masaki Kobayashi, debuting in an uncredited role in The Thick-Walled Room (1953). Their partnership led to several cinematic classics, including The Human Condition trilogy, Harakiri, Kwaidan, and Samurai Rebellion.

Nakadai’s international recognition came through his collaborations with Akira Kurosawa. He starred as the tormented warlord Hidetora Ichimonji in Ran (1985), a visually stunning adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear that earned Kurosawa an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. He also appeared in Kurosawa’s Kagemusha (1980) and High and Low (1963), cementing his place among Japan’s greatest actors.

Throughout his career, Nakadai excelled in the samurai genre, playing both heroes and villains in films like Kill!, Yojimbo, and Sanjuro, often opposite Toshiro Mifune. Despite his cinematic fame, he often described himself primarily as a stage actor, performing in acclaimed Japanese productions of Death of a Salesman, Macbeth, Othello, and Don Quixote.

Nakadai continued to work well into his later years, lending his voice to the 2013 Studio Ghibli film The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and appearing in Zatoichi: The Last (2010). Over his career, he won two Blue Ribbon Awards—for Harakiri in 1962 and Kagemusha in 1980—and was awarded Japan’s prestigious Order of Culture in 2015 for his contributions to the arts.

Nakadai was predeceased by his wife, playwright and producer Kyoko Miyazaki, and is survived by their daughter, Nao Nakadai.