Chiaki Minoru was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress. In Seven Samurai, he was the good-natured samurai Heihachi, and he was the first of the samurai to be killed. In real life, he was the last of the seven actors to die.

Chiaki was honored with a Japanese Academy Prize - among other accolades - for his portrayal of a man with Alzheimer’s in Hana Ichi Monme (1985).

Chiaki is the son-in-law of actor Sasaki Takamaru, through whom it appears he was able to enter the acting business. He is the father of actor Sasaki Katsuhiko, who began playing in Toho’s science fiction and horror films in the 70s.

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