Masahiko Tsugawa
Encyclopedia
, born Masahiko Kato on January 2, 1940 in Kyoto
, Japan
is a Japanese
actor
and director
.
He made his debut at the age of 16 in the Kō Nakahira
film Crazed Fruit
in 1956. Tsugawa's family was heavily involved in the film industry since before his birth. Tsugawa attended school until dropping out of the Waseda University
Graduate School to pursue acting alone.
He gradually grew in popularity and appeared in films like Otoko wa tsurai yo: Watashi no tora-san
and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
. He was eventually adopted as one of director Juzo Itami
's favourite actors, and went on to appear in nearly every one of his movies since Tampopo
.
Tsugawa recently debuted as a director under the pseudonym Makino Masahiko with his film Nezu no Ban. He chose this name because he is the nephew of the Japanese director Makino Masahiro, his mother's brother. Legend has it that Tsugawa was so awed by the director while watching him at work as a young child that he asked if he could use Makino as his last name should he ever be a director, because of the similarities of the first names.
Tsugawa comes from an illustrious film family. His older brother Hiroyuki Nagato
is an actor. His wife Yukiji Asaoka
is an actress. His grandfather is the director Shōzō Makino, his father, Kunitarō Sawamura, and his mother, Tomoko Makino, were both actors. His aunt and uncle through his father are the actors Sadako Sawamura and Daisuke Katō
.
He is still acting today.
(1954)- aged 14.
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:...
, Japan
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...
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
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
He made his debut at the age of 16 in the Kō Nakahira
Ko Nakahira
- Filmography as assistant director :* Ojōsan shachō, lit. "Madame Company President" - Filmography as director :* Kurutta kajitsu * Gyūnyū-ya furanki * Bitoku no yoromeki * Kurenai no tsubasa)...
film Crazed Fruit
Crazed Fruit
, also known as Juvenile Jungle, is a 1956 Japanese Sun Tribe film directed by Kō Nakahira. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Shintaro Ishihara, the older brother of Yujiro Ishihara.- Cast :* Masahiko Tsugawa - Haruji...
in 1956. Tsugawa's family was heavily involved in the film industry since before his birth. Tsugawa attended school until dropping out of the 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...
Graduate School to pursue acting alone.
He gradually grew in popularity and appeared in films like Otoko wa tsurai yo: Watashi no tora-san
Otoko wa Tsurai yo
Otoko wa tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as "Tora-san" , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans...
and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
is a 2001 science fiction kaiju film co-written and directed by Shūsuke Kaneko with a very catchy name. It was the twenty-fifth film to be released in the Godzilla film series. This is the eleventh film to feature Mothra, sixth to feature King Ghidorah, and third to feature Baragon. It is part of...
. He was eventually adopted as one of director Juzo Itami
Juzo Itami
, born , was an actor and a popular modern Japanese film director. Many critics came to regard him as Japan's greatest director since Akira Kurosawa. His 10 movies, all of which he wrote himself, are comic satires on elements of Japanese culture....
's favourite actors, and went on to appear in nearly every one of his movies since Tampopo
Tampopo
is a 1985 Japanese comedy film by director Juzo Itami, starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first ramen western, a play on the term Spaghetti Western .-Plot summary:Tampopo begins when a pair of truck drivers, an experienced one named...
.
Tsugawa recently debuted as a director under the pseudonym Makino Masahiko with his film Nezu no Ban. He chose this name because he is the nephew of the Japanese director Makino Masahiro, his mother's brother. Legend has it that Tsugawa was so awed by the director while watching him at work as a young child that he asked if he could use Makino as his last name should he ever be a director, because of the similarities of the first names.
Tsugawa comes from an illustrious film family. His older brother Hiroyuki Nagato
Hiroyuki Nagato
was a Japanese actor.Nagato was born in Kyoto. He starred in Season of the Sun, Endless Desire, My Second Brother, Stolen Desire, and Sukeban Deka, and Yo-Yo Girl Cop. He died in Tokyo on May 21, 2011....
is an actor. His wife Yukiji Asaoka
Yukiji Asaoka
is a Japanese singer and an actress from Chūō, Tokyo. She is the daughter of the famous Japanese painter of shin hanga style prints, Shinsui Itō, and her second and present husband is actor Masahiko Tsugawa.Asaoka was in the Takarazuka Revue from 1952 to 1955...
is an actress. His grandfather is the director Shōzō Makino, his father, Kunitarō Sawamura, and his mother, Tomoko Makino, were both actors. His aunt and uncle through his father are the actors Sadako Sawamura and Daisuke Katō
Daisuke Katô
was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 films, including Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai , Rashomon, Yojimbo , and Ikiru, and Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy and Chushingura.-Filmography:* Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji...
.
He is still acting today.
Selected filmography
- Crazed FruitCrazed Fruit, also known as Juvenile Jungle, is a 1956 Japanese Sun Tribe film directed by Kō Nakahira. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Shintaro Ishihara, the older brother of Yujiro Ishihara.- Cast :* Masahiko Tsugawa - Haruji...
(1956) - Otoko wa tsurai yo: Watashi no tora-sanOtoko wa Tsurai yoOtoko wa tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as "Tora-san" , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans...
(1973) - TampopoTampopois a 1985 Japanese comedy film by director Juzo Itami, starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first ramen western, a play on the term Spaghetti Western .-Plot summary:Tampopo begins when a pair of truck drivers, an experienced one named...
(1985) - The Funeral (1984)
- A Taxing WomanA Taxing Womanis a 1987 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami. It won numerous awards, including six major Japanese Academy awards.The title character of the film, played by Nobuko Miyamoto, is a government tax investigator who employs various techniques to catch tax evaders.The director...
(1987) - A Taxing Woman 2A Taxing Woman 2A Taxing Woman's Return, also titled A Taxing Woman 2 is a 1988 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami. It is the sequel to Itami's 1987 comedy A Taxing Woman....
(1988) - A-ge-manA-ge-manTales of a Golden Geisha is a 1990 Japanese comedy film by director Itami Juzo.The film stars two of Itami's regular actors, Nobuko Miyamoto as a geisha who brings luck to the men with whom she sleeps, and Masahiko Tsugawa as her unfaithful, sometimes partner...
(1990) - DaibyoninDaibyoninDaibyonin is a 1993 film directed by the Japanese filmmaker Juzo Itami, about the final year of a successful film director suffering from cancer....
(1993) - Supermarket WomanSupermarket Womanis a 1996 Japanese comedy romance film written and directed by Juzo Itami.The film stars Juzo's wife and regular leading-lady Nobuko Miyamoto as a woman who is hired by a failing supermarket to help it compete against an aggressive local rival...
(1996) - Marutai no Onna (1997)
- Gamera 3: Awakening of IrysGamera 3: Awakening of Irysis a 1999 Kaiju film. It is the third and last film in the Gamera Heisei series, and the last to be distributed by Toho. It was released in the United States on DVD in 2003 under the title Gamera: Revenge of Iris.-Plot:...
(1999) - Chūshingura 1/47Chushingura 1/47Chushingura 1/47 is a 2001 Japanese historical movie based on the kabuki tale of the Forty-seven Ronin. The film was made for the Fuji TV Network and was directed by Shunsaku Kawamo....
(2001) - Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out AttackGodzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attackis a 2001 science fiction kaiju film co-written and directed by Shūsuke Kaneko with a very catchy name. It was the twenty-fifth film to be released in the Godzilla film series. This is the eleventh film to feature Mothra, sixth to feature King Ghidorah, and third to feature Baragon. It is part of...
(2001) - The Man in WhiteThe Man In WhiteThe Man In White is a 2003 Japanese yakuza film directed by Takashi Miike.-Cast:*Masaya Kato as Azusa*Shôko Aida*Naomi Akimoto*Narumi Arimori*Kenichi Endo*Tatsuya Fuji*Mitsuru Hirata*Renji Ishibashi*Masaya Kato*Hiroshi Katsuno*Kazuki Kitamura...
(2003) - The Uchōten HotelThe Uchoten Hotelis a 2006 comedy film written and directed by Japanese director Koki Mitani. The film is set in a five star Tokyo hotel on New Year's Eve, and follows the misadventures of various hotel staff and guests in the run-up to midnight.The film is reminiscent of the Hollywood screwball comedies of 1930s...
(2006) - Death Note (film)Death Note (film)is a series of two live-action Japanese films released in 2006 and based on the Death Note manga and anime series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The films primarily center on a university student who decides to rid the world of evil with the help of a supernatural notebook that kills anyone...
(2006) - Hideo Nakata's KaidanHideo Nakata's Kaidanis a 2007 Japanese horror film directed by Hideo Nakata. The title means 'ghost story'. The screenplay for this film was written by Satoko Okudera, based on the kaidan-banashi "Shinkei Kasanegafuchi" by Enchou Sanyutei....
(2007) - Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and SeaGenghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Seais a 2007 Japanese - Mongolian historical drama film depicting the life of Genghis Khan.-Cast:*Takashi Sorimachi as Temüjin/Genghis Khan*Rei Kikukawa as Börte*Mayumi Wakamura as Hoelun*Kenichi Matsuyama as Jochi*Yoshihiko Hakamada as Hasar*Go Ara as Khulan...
(2007) - Asahiyama Zoo Story: Penguins in the SkyAsahiyama Zoo Story: Penguins in the Sky-Story:Based on the true story of Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, the northernmost zoo in Japan. The unpopular zoo welcomes a new zoo keeper, young Yoshida , who has more affection for insects than people after years of being bullied at school when he was young...
(2009) (Directer)
Honor
- 2006 Awarded Medal of Honor with Purple RibbonMedals of Honor (Japan)Since the late 19th Century, the Government of Japan has issued six different types of to individuals for achievements in various fields.The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and were first awarded the following year. Several expansions and amendments have been made since then...
from H.M. The Emperor of JapanEmperor of JapanThe Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
Awards
- 1982 Blue Ribbon AwardsBlue Ribbon AwardsThe are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan.The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers...
for Best Supporting Actor - 1986 Japanese Academy AwardsJapanese Academy AwardsThe , often called the Japan Academy Awards or the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Nippon Academy-shō Association for excellence in Japanese film...
Best Supporting Actor nomination for Hitohira no yuki - 1987 Mainichi Film Award Best Actor
- 1988 Japanese Academy Awards Best Actor nomination for Wakarenu riyu
- 1988 Japanese Academy Awards Best Supporting actor for A Taxing WomanA Taxing Womanis a 1987 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami. It won numerous awards, including six major Japanese Academy awards.The title character of the film, played by Nobuko Miyamoto, is a government tax investigator who employs various techniques to catch tax evaders.The director...
- 1993 Japanese Academy Awards Best Actor nomination Bokuto kidan
- 1994 Nikkan Sports Film AwardNikkan Sports Film AwardThe are film-specific prizes awarded solely by the Nikkan Sports.- Categories :*Best Picture*Best Director*Best Foreign Picture*Best Actor*Best Actress*Best Supporting Actor*Best Supporting Actress*New Artist Award*Special Award...
Best Supporting Actor - 1995 Japanese Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor nomination for Shudan-sasen
- 1999 Japanese Academy Awards Best Actor nomination for Puraido: Unmei no toki
Trivia
Masahiko has a minor role as Zushio as youngster boy in Sansho the BailiffSansho the Bailiff
-External links:* at the Japanese Movie Database* * and QuickTime trailer* essay by Mark Le Fanu...
(1954)- aged 14.