Natsume Shunji

Natsume Shunji, born Ueda Yoshinori (上田嘉則) in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, was a Japanese actor and director. He co-founded the theater troupe Dokeza (劇団道化座) in Kobe in 1950. In 1955, he was scouted by Daiei (大映) and made his film debut in Tojuro no Koi (藤十郎の恋). Later, he became…

Minamide Ryoka

Minamide Ryoka is a child actor born in Osaka, Japan. He is best known for his main role in the third film of the Yo-kai Watch franchise. Minamide portrayed a younger version of Kaito Taira in Hana Nochi Hare.

Hayasaka Fumio

Hayasaka Fumio is a Japanese composer born in the city of Sendai on the main Japanese island of Honshū. In 1918, Hayasaka and his family moved to Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaidō. In 1933, Hayasaka and Akira Ifukube organized the New Music League, which held a new music festival the year…

Araki Shinobu

Araki Shinobu was born in 1891 in Niigata. He spent the early part of his life in a small traveling theater company and performing in Asakusa, before joining Nikkatsu Mukojima in 1921, stepping into the world of acting for the first time. He began by appearing in the Shinpa dramas Futari Shizuka (Two…

Ichikawa Raizo VIII

The star of Daiei Studio, Ichikawa Raizo got his start as a kabuki actor. Born Kamezaki Akio, he was adopted at six months old by kabuki actor, Ichikawa Kudanji. He was then given the name Takeuchi Yoshio. He debuted as a kabuki actor officially at the age of 17 (1948) in the play "Nakayama Shichiri".…

Masumura Yasuzo

Masumura was born in Kōfu, Yamanashi. He would become known as a maverick director whose main legacy was films portraying and promoting individualism, which was the opposite of the norm in Japanese society. He entered the law department of Tokyo University, but his studies were interrupted when he…

Doi Shigeru

Doi Shigeru is a Japanese director born on February 5, 1928 in Fuchu, Hiroshima, Japan. He passed away on May 29, 2013.

Towake Hisao

Toake Hisao, born Ogura Hisao (小倉久雄) in Koamicho, Nihonbashi, Tokyo, was a Japanese actor. From a young age, he was involved in the performing arts. He attended Gyosei Elementary School, Kyoka Middle School, and later studied economics at Hosei University. While still a student in 1928, he joined…

Sato Masaru

Mizuno Hiroshi