Nobuo Nakamura
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese actor
, who made notable appearances in the films of Akira Kurosawa
and Yasujiro Ozu
in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps his most famous roles were those of the callous deputy mayor in Kurosawa's Ikiru
(1952), and the hairdresser's henpecked husband in Ozu's Tokyo Story
(1953).
Nakamura is famous for many notable performances in theatre
. In 1937, he founded the Bungakuza company(文学座) along with Haruko Sugimura
, Seiji Miyaguchi
, and Masayuki Mori
. Nakamura played Polonius
in Hamlet
, Herod in Wilde
's Salome
, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Serebryakov in Chekov
's Uncle Vanya
, and Krapp in Krapp's Last Tape
. He also appeared in Macbeth
, The Merchant of Venice
, and The Cherry Orchard
. In the 1950s and 1960s, he played major roles in Yukio Mishima
's plays such as Rokumeikan
, My Friend Hitler
, and so on. In 1963, Nakamura left Bungakuza company and founded the NLT company with Mishima. His most famous and successful role is considered to be The Professor in Ionesco
's The Lesson. He performed The Lesson for the first time in 1972 and had played The Professor every Friday night at a small theatre in Shibuya, Tokyo
until 1983.
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 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...
, who made notable appearances in the films of 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 ;...
and Yasujiro 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...
in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps his most famous roles were those of the callous deputy mayor in Kurosawa's Ikiru
Ikiru
is 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:...
(1952), and the hairdresser's henpecked husband in Ozu's Tokyo Story
Tokyo Story
is a 1953 Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. It tells the story of an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. The film contrasts the behavior of their biological children, who are too busy to pay them much attention, and their daughter-in-law, who treats them with...
(1953).
Nakamura is famous for many notable performances in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
. In 1937, he founded the Bungakuza company(文学座) along with Haruko Sugimura
Haruko Sugimura
was a Japanese stage and film actress, best known for her appearances in the movies of Yasujiro Ozu and Mikio Naruse from the late 1940s to the early 1960s...
, Seiji Miyaguchi
Seiji Miyaguchi
was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai despite the actor's confession to have never handled a sword before the role , Ikiru as a yakuza boss from "restaurant row," and Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan...
, and Masayuki Mori
Masayuki Mori (actor)
was a Japanese actor, the son of Takeo Arishima, a Japanese novelist active during the late Meiji and Taishō periods. Mori appeared in many of Akira Kurosawa's films such as Rashomon and The Idiot...
. Nakamura played Polonius
Polonius
Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He is King Claudius's chief counsellor, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet...
in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Herod in Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's Salome
Salome (play)
Salome is a tragedy by Oscar Wilde.The original 1891 version of the play was in French. Three years later an English translation was published...
, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Serebryakov in Chekov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
, and Krapp in Krapp's Last Tape
Krapp's Last Tape
Krapp's Last Tape is a one-act play, written in English, by Samuel Beckett. Consisting of a cast of one man, it was originally written for Northern Irish actor Patrick Magee and first titled "Magee monologue"...
. He also appeared in Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
, and The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
. In the 1950s and 1960s, he played major roles in Yukio Mishima
Yukio Mishima
was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
's plays such as Rokumeikan
Rokumeikan (play)
Rokumeikan is a four-act costume drama by the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. It was commissioned by the Bungakuza group for its 20th anniversary, and its first run was from 27 November to 9 December 1956 at the Daiichi Seimei Hall, with Haruko Sugimura playing Asako and Nobuo Nakamura playing...
, My Friend Hitler
My Friend Hitler
My Friend Hitler is a 1968 play written by Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. The four characters include Adolf Hitler, Gustav Krupp, Gregor Strasser and Ernst Roehm , the action is happening in 1934. The evaluations of the play include considering it to be anti-fascist as well as preaching fascism....
, and so on. In 1963, Nakamura left Bungakuza company and founded the NLT company with Mishima. His most famous and successful role is considered to be The Professor in Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
's The Lesson. He performed The Lesson for the first time in 1972 and had played The Professor every Friday night at a small theatre in Shibuya, Tokyo
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
until 1983.
Selected filmography
- 1952 - To Live (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:...
) - 1953 - Tokyo StoryTokyo Storyis a 1953 Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. It tells the story of an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. The film contrasts the behavior of their biological children, who are too busy to pay them much attention, and their daughter-in-law, who treats them with...
- 1953 - An Inlet of Muddy WaterAn Inlet of Muddy WaterAn Inlet of Muddy Water is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Ken Mitsuda - Saito Kanae * Akiko Tamura - Saito Moyo * Hiro Kumon - Saito Inosuke...
- 1956 - Flowing (NagareruNagareruis a 1956 Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse. The black-and-white drama starred Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada, Hideko Takamine, Mariko Okada, Haruko Sugimura, Sumiko Kurishima, Chieko Nakakita, Natsuko Kahara, Seiji Miyaguchi, Daisuke Katō, Nobuo Nakamura, Kumeko Otowa and others....
) - 1957 - Tokyo TwilightTokyo Twilightis a 1957 film by Yasujirō Ozu. The film is considered amongst Ozu's darkest postwar films.-Synopsis:Akiko Sugiyama is a young college graduate girl learning English shorthand. Her elder sister Takako , running away from an unhappy marriage, has returned home to stay with Akiko and their father...
- 1960 - Late AutumnLate Autumnis a 1960 drama film directed by Yasujiro Ozu. It stars many of his favourite actors including Setsuko Hara and Chishu Ryu. It is based on a story by Ton Satomi....
- 1960 - The Bad Sleep WellThe Bad Sleep Wellis a 1960 film directed by the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. It was the first film to be produced under Kurosawa's own independent production company. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival....
- 1960 - A False StudentA False StudentA False Student is a 1960 drama film directed by Yasuzo Masumura and starring Ayako Wakao.-Cast:* Ayako Wakao - Mutsuko* Jerry Fujio - Hikoichi* Jun Fujimaki - Yasuo, Kida* Eiji Funakoshi - Kyosuke...
- 1962 - An Autumn AfternoonAn Autumn Afternoonis a 1962 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. It stars Ozu regular Chishu Ryu as the patriarch of the Hirayama family who oversees the wedding of his daughter, played by Shima Iwashita. It was Ozu's last film; he died in the following year...
- 1963 - High and Low
- 1976 - Shunkinsho
- 1985 - 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...