Haruo Tanaka
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese film actor noted for his supporting roles
in a career that spanned seven decades.
and quit school in order to become a film actor, joining the Nikkatsu
studio in 1925. He eventually moved up to secondary leads and even into leading roles against actresses such as Ranko Hanai and Haruyo Ichikawa, but he never succeeded as a matinee idol
. Following Masaichi Nagata, he moved to Daiichi Eiga and Shinkō Kinema
before eventually going freelance. He appeared in over 250 films, both gendaigeki
and jidaigeki
, by directors such as Yasujirō Ozu
, Kenji Mizoguchi
, Sadao Yamanaka
, Akira Kurosawa
, Tomu Uchida
, Mikio Naruse
, and Masahiro Makino
. He was particularly skilled at comic roles. He also appeared in many jidaigeki on television.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese film actor noted for his supporting roles
Supporting actor
A supporting actor is an actor who performs roles in a play or film other than that of the leads.These roles range from bit parts to secondary leads. They are sometimes but not necessarily character roles. A supporting actor must also use restraint not to upstage the main actor/actress in the...
in a career that spanned seven decades.
Career
Tanaka was born in KyotoKyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
and quit school in order to become a film actor, joining the Nikkatsu
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...
studio in 1925. He eventually moved up to secondary leads and even into leading roles against actresses such as Ranko Hanai and Haruyo Ichikawa, but he never succeeded as a matinee idol
Matinee idol
Matinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre stars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans.The term almost exclusively refers to male actors. Invariably the adulation was fixated on the actor's looks rather than performance...
. Following Masaichi Nagata, he moved to Daiichi Eiga and Shinkō Kinema
Shinkō Kinema
-Background:Shinkō was established in September 1931 out of the remnants of the Teikoku Kinema studio with the help of Shōchiku capital. The historian Jun'ichirō Tanaka writes that the studio was part of Shōchiku's effort to monopolize the Japanese film industry, using Shinkō to control some of the...
before eventually going freelance. He appeared in over 250 films, both gendaigeki
Gendaigeki
Gendai-geki is a genre of film and television or theater play in Japan. Unlike the jidai-geki genre of period dramas, whose stories are set in the Edo period, gendaigeki stories are contemporary dramas set in the modern world.-See also:...
and jidaigeki
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
, by directors such as Yasujirō Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
, Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...
, Sadao Yamanaka
Sadao Yamanaka
was a Japanese film director and writer who directed 24 films during a seven-year period in the 1930s. He was a contemporary of Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi and one of the primary figures in the development of the jidaigeki, or historical film. Yamanaka died of dysentary in...
, Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
, Tomu Uchida
Tomu Uchida
was a Japanese film director. Tomu Uchida, whose name translates to “spit out dreams” is considered one of the less well known masters of Japanese cinema in the West, whose films are rarely screened and not widely available on DVD...
, Mikio Naruse
Mikio Naruse
was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
, and Masahiro Makino
Masahiro Makino
was a Japanese film director of more than 260 films, primarily in the chanbara and yakuza genres. His real name was Masatada , but he took the stage name Masahiro, the kanji for which he changed multiple times .-Career:...
. He was particularly skilled at comic roles. He also appeared in many jidaigeki on television.
Selected filmography
- Kyōren no onna shishō (狂恋の女師匠) (1926)
- Hawai Mare oki kaisenHawai Mare oki kaisen, literally: The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malay, is a 1942 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Kajiro Yamamoto.There are special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya who would later co-create the widely-popular Godzilla franchise and fully create the also widely-popular Ultraman series.- Cast :* Susumu...
(ハワイ・マレー沖海戦) (1942) - RikonRikonis a 1952 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Masahiro Makino.- Cast :* Ureo Egawa as Shōgo Yamamura* Yuriko Hanabusa as Natsuno Sōma* Chōko Iida as Kikuyo* Michiyo Kogure as Michiko Sōma* Noriko Munakata as Tsuruko Miyawakita...
(離婚) (1952) - IkiruIkiruis a 1952 Japanese film co-written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film examines the struggles of a minor Tokyo bureaucrat and his final quest for meaning. The film stars Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe.-Plot:...
(生きる) (1952) - Entotsu no mieru bashoEntotsu no mieru bashoEntotsu no mieru basho is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Heinosuke Gosho. It was entered into the 3rd Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Ken Uehara - Ryukichi Ogata* Kinuyo Tanaka - Hiroko Ogata* Hiroshi Akutagawa - Kenzo Kubo...
(煙突の見える場所) (1953) - The Crucified LoversThe Crucified Loversis a 1954 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It was adapted from Monzaemon Chikamatsu's 17th century play Daikyoji sekireki , hence the title.-Synopsis:...
(近松物語 Chikamatsu Monogatari) (1954) - Yurei Otoko (幽霊男) (1954)
- Meoto zenzaiMeoto zenzaiis a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Shirō Toyoda. It is an adaptation of the 1939 novel of the same name by Sakunosuke Oda.- Cast :* Hisaya Morishige* Chikage Awashima* Youko Tsukasa* Chieko Naniwa* Haruo Tanaka* and others...
(夫婦善哉 Meoto zenzai) (1955) - The Legend of the White SerpentThe Legend of the White Serpent (1956 film)aka Madame White Snake is a 1956 color Japanese film directed by Shirō Toyoda. At the 6th Berlin International Film Festival it won the Honourable Mention award....
(白夫人の妖恋 Byaku fujin no yoren) (1956) - Yotsuya KaidanYotsuya Kaidan (1956 film)aka Tokaido Yotsuya kaidan is a 1956 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Masaki Mori. It is Japanese horror film based on the Japanese ghost story about Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon.- Cast :* Tomisaburo Wakayama as Iemon...
(四谷怪談 Yotsuya Kaidan) (1956) - Floating WeedsFloating Weedsis a 1959 film by Yasujiro Ozu and shot in colour by Kazuo Miyagawa, one of Japan's most highly regarded cinematographers. It is a remake of Ozu's own black-and-white silent film A Story of Floating Weeds ....
(浮草 Ukikusa) (1959) - Zankoku onna jōshiZankoku onna jōshiis a 1970 Japanese film directed by Shōgorō Nishimura.-Cast:*Annu Mari as Mari*Sanae Ohori as Chie*Jirō Okazaki as Eiji*Shinji Takano as Matsui*Kotaro Sugie as Maeda*Haruo Tanaka as Aihara...
(残酷おんな情死) (1970) - The FuneralThe Funeral (1984 film)is a 1984 Japanese comedy film by director Itami Juzo.The film shows the preparations for a traditional Japanese funeral. It mixes grief at the loss of a husband and father with wry observations of the various characters as they interact during the three days of preparation.The Funeral was the...
(お葬式) (1984)