Born in Miyagi Prefecture, Tsukigata entered the actor's school at Nikkatsu in 1920, but earned his first starring role working at Makino Shozo's studio in 1924. He became a star of chanbara films, but got into trouble when he ran away with Makino's daughter, Makino Teruko, even though he was married. He eventually left Teruko and returned to the fold, but left again to start his own production company, which soon failed. Continuing to work at various studios, Tsukigata appeared in films by such masters as Ito Daisuke, Itami Mansaku, and Inagaki Hiroshi. He is probably best known to foreign audiences for playing Sanshiro's rival in Kurosawa Akira's Sugata Sanshiro. After World War II, he moved into supporting roles at the Toei studio, but also played such major characters as Tokugawa Mitsukuni (Mito Komon) on film and television. (Source: Wikipedia) Edit Biography