is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 actor.

Early life

He was born in Kyoto

Kyoto

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:...

, son of famous 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...

film star Ichikawa Utaemon, and graduated from Waseda University

Waseda University

, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...

 School of Letters, Arts and Sciences Ⅱ in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

.

Acting career

Kin'ya made his debut with his father in the 1956 Toei

Toei Company

is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution corporation. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan, a modest vertically-integrated studio system by the standards of the 1930s United States; operates studios at Tokyo and Kyoto; and is a...

 film Oyakodaka in the role of Katsu Kaishū

Katsu Kaishu

was a Japanese statesman, naval engineer during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy by Sakuma Shōzan. He went through a series of given names throughout his life; his childhood name was and his real name was...

. He is a contemporary of, and was taken to be a rival of, Hiroki Matsukata

Hiroki Matsukata

, real name is a Japanese actor. He is the son of jidaigeki actor Jūshirō Konoe and actress Yaeko Mizukawa and has a younger brother Yūki Meguro who is also an actor....

, who was also the son of a famous actor (Jūshirō Konoe

Jushiro Konoe

Jūshirō Konoe was a famous Jidaigeki actor. He was born Toraichi Megro in Nagaoka, Niigata....

). In 1964, Kin'ya made his first appearance on stage in Cyrano de Bergerac

Cyrano de Bergerac (play)

Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....

.

The 1960s and 1970s saw him in many contemporary roles. He appeared in Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima Deathmatch

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima Deathmatch

is part two of a series of yakuza films directed by Kinji Fukasaku.-Cast:*Sonny Chiba as Katsutoshi Otomo*Kinya Kitaoji as Shoji Yamanaka*Meiko Kaji as Yasuko*Toshie Kimura as Mrs...

and Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode

is part five and the final installation of a series of yakuza films directed by Kinji Fukasaku.-Cast:*Gorou Ibuki*Nobuo Kaneko*Kinya Kitaoji*Akira Kobayashi*Hiroki Matsukata*Bunta Sugawara as Shozo Hirono*Kunie Tanaka*Asao Uchida*Shingo Yamashiro...

as well as Karei naru Ichizoku. The title role in the 1975 film Takehisa Yumeji

Takehisa Yumeji

, was a Japanese poet and painter. Takehisa died in 1934 at the age of 49. He never studied drawing in any painting school nor under any teacher formally...

was his.

On television, Kitaōji portrayed Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi

, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...

 in the Nippon Television

Nippon Television

is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...

 show of the same name. A major historical role was Sakamoto Ryōma

Sakamoto Ryoma

was a leader of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. Ryōma used the alias .- Early life :Ryōma was born in Kōchi, of Tosa han . By the Japanese calendar, this was the sixth year of Tenpō...

 in the year-long prime-time NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

 Taiga drama

Taiga drama

is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...

 Ryōma ga Yuku (1968). He landed the title role in the long-running cop show Zenigata Heiji

Zenigata Heiji

is Japanese fictional character, the hero of a series of Japanese novels, films and TV programmes set in the Edo period of Japanese history. He is a policeman who catches criminals by throwing coins, the zeni of the title, thus Zenigata Heiji. The hero was created by novelist Kodō Nomura in 1937...

, set in the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

. In the 1985 twelve-hour New Year special Fūun Yagyū Bugeichō, he played Yagyū Jūbei

Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi

Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi is one of the most famous and romanticized of the samurai in Japan's feudal era.Very little is known about the actual life of Yagyū Mitsuyoshi as the official records of his life are very sparse. Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi grew up in his family's ancestral lands, Yagyū no Sato,...

, and in the following year's special, he portrayed both Tokugawa Yoshimune

Tokugawa Yoshimune

was the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.-Lineage:...

 and Yagyū Shinrokurō. The role of another shogun fell to him in the following new year as TV Tokyo

TV Tokyo

is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...

 tapped him to play Tokugawa Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Iemitsu ruled from 1623 to 1651.-Early life :...

. Kin'ya returned to NHK for the 1987 Taiga drama Dokuganryū Masamune as Date Terumune

Date Terumune

was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period. He succeeded his father Harumune and became the sixteenth head of the Date clan of Mutsu Province. Date Masamune, the founder of the Sendai Domain, was his son....

, father of title character Date Masamune

Date Masamune

was a regional strongman of Japan's Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai...

.

Another role he took had been created by his father. Saotome Mondonosuke was the title character in the series Gozonji! Hatamoto Taikutsu Otoko. It ran from 1988 to 1994 on TV Asahi

TV Asahi

, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....

. His father, Ichikawa Utaemon, had appeared in numerous films as Mondonosuke.

Kin'ya reprised the part of Miyamoto Musashi in the 1990 New Year's special. Toshirō Mifune

Toshiro Mifune

Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...

 had portrayed Musashi in the earlier film, also based on the Eiji Yoshikawa

Eiji Yoshikawa

was a Japanese historical novelist, probably one of the best and most famous authors in the genre. Among his most well-known novels, most are revisions of past works. He was mainly influenced by classics such as The Tale of the Heike, Tale of Genji, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Romance of the Three...

 story, that had won an Academy Award. He returned to the New Year's special in 1996, again as the famous swordsman, in Tokugawa Kengōden Sore kara no Musashi.

His first portrayal of Ōishi Kuranosuke

Oishi Yoshio

was the chamberlain of the Akō Domain in Harima Province , Japan . He is known as the leader of the Forty-seven Ronin in their 1702 vendetta and thus the hero of the Chūshingura...

 was in the 1996 Chūshingura

Chushingura

is the name for fictionalized accounts of the historical revenge by the Forty-seven Ronin of the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including the early , the story has been told in kabuki, bunraku, stage plays, films, novels, television shows and other media...

. He took up the role again in 2004 for the NHK Saigo no Chūshingura and in 2007, in the New Year special Chūshingura Yōzei-in no Inbō. Other historical roles from the Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 include Azai Nagamasa

Azai Nagamasa

was a Daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japan. His clan, the Azai, were located in northern Ōmi Province, east of Lake Biwa. He was both the brother-in-law of Oda Nobunaga, starting in 1564, and one of Nobunaga's enemies from 1570-1573. Nagamasa and his clan were utterly destroyed by Oda...

, Saitō Dōsan

Saito Dosan

was a daimyo who dramatically rose and also fell from power in Sengoku period Japan. He was also known as the for his ruthless tactics.-Life:Originally a wealthy merchant from Yamashiro Province , he entered the service of Nagai Nagahiro of Mino Province , assuming the name Nishimura Kankurô.He...

, and Yamamoto Kansuke

Yamamoto Kansuke

was a Japanese samurai of the 16th century who was one of Takeda Shingen's most trusted Twenty-Four Generals. Also known by his formal name, Haruyuki . He was a brilliant strategist, and is particularly known for his plan which led to victory in the fourth battle of Kawanakajima against Uesugi...

. In addition to historical parts, he appeared in fictional series. His portrayal of Ogami Ittō in the Lone Wolf and Cub

Lone Wolf and Cub

is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...

series is representative of these appearances.

In 2008, Kitaōji revisited the role of Katsu Kaishū in the Taiga drama Atsuhime. He had portrayed Katsu in his 1956 debut.

He won the award for best actor at the 10th Hochi Film Award

Hochi Film Award

The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by the Hochi Shimbun.- Categories :*Best Picture*Best International Picture*Best Actor*Best Actress*Best Supporting Actor*Best Supporting Actress*Best New Artist*Special Award*Best Director- Winner :...

 for Fire Festival

Fire Festival (film)

is a 1985 Japanese drama film directed by Mitsuo Yanagimachi. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Kinya Kitaoji - Tatsuo* Kiwako Taichi - Kimiko* Norihei Miki - Yamakawa...

and Haru no kane

Haru no kane

is a 1985 Japanese film directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara.-Awards and nominations:10h Hochi Film Award* Won: Best Actor - Kin'ya Kitaōji-References:...

. Kitaōji played one of the lead role in Hideo Nakata

Hideo Nakata

Hideo Nakata is a Japanese filmmaker.-Life and career:Nakata was born in Okayama, Japan. He is most familiar to Western audiences for his work on Japanese horror films such as Ring , Ring 2 and Dark Water...

's psychological thriller film The Incite Mill

The Incite Mill

is a 2010 Japanese psychological thriller directed by Hideo Nakata. The movie is based on Yonezawa Honobu's novel "The Incite Mill".-Plot:Ten people are promised a dream job that pays 112,000 Yen per hour, no experience or qualifications necessary...

.

Source

This article incorporates material from 北大路欣也 ("Kin'ya Kitaōji") in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved January 29, 2008.

External links

• 北大路欣也 at JMDB
• Official page at the Horipro agency