Seiji Miyaguchi (宮口精二, Miyaguchi Seiji, 15 November 1913 – 12 April 1985) was a Japanese stage and film actor[1][2][3] who appeared in films of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita, Tadashi Imai and many others.

Seiji Miyaguchi
Seiji Miyaguchi (left) and Michiko Saga
on stage in 1966
Born(1913-11-15)15 November 1913
Tokyo, Japan
Died12 April 1985(1985-04-12) (aged 71)
OccupationActor
Years active1933–1984
AwardsMainichi Film Award
for Seven Samurai

Biography edit

Born in Tokyo and a graduate of Tokyo Municipal Junior High School, Miyaguchi was a co-founder of the Bungakuza theatre troupe in 1937.[2][3] In 1949, he received the Mainichi Theater Award for his performance in Onna no issho and other plays.[2]

Beginning in 1945, Miyaguchi acted in films as well.[4] Notable performances include Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Yoshitarō Nomura's Stakeout.[2] In addition, he starred in television productions like the Taikōki series.[3]

Filmography (selected) edit

Film edit

  • 1945: Sanshiro Sugata Part II – Kohei Tsuzaki
  • 1946: Urashima Tarō no kōei
  • 1947: Sanbon yubi no otoko
  • 1951: The Good Fairy – Editor-in-chief
  • 1951: Early Summer – Nishiwaki
  • 1951: Fireworks over the Sea – Gunzō Ishiguro
  • 1951: Inochi uruwashi – Oshima
  • 1952: Ikiru – Yakuza Boss
  • 1953: The Last Embrace – Gangster
  • 1953: Senkan Yamato
  • 1953: An Inlet of Muddy Water – Gen Shichi (Story 3)
  • 1954: Seven Samurai – Kyuzo, the master swordsman
  • 1954: Taiyo no nai machi
  • 1955: Izumi e no michi
  • 1956: Early Spring
  • 1956: Kyatsu o nigasuna
  • 1956: Flowing
  • 1956: Ankokugai
  • 1956: Punishment Room – Hanya, Katsumi's father
  • 1956: Onibi
  • 1956: Aru onna no baai – Tomoki Hisamoto
  • 1956: Flowing – Namie's uncle
  • 1957: Throne of Blood – Phantom samurai
  • 1957: Tokyo Twilight – Policeman
  • 1957: Aruse
  • 1957: Nikui mono
  • 1957: Yoru no chō – Customer
  • 1957: Kiken na eiyu
  • 1957: Jun'ai monogatari – Judge
  • 1957: Black River – Kin
  • 1958: Stakeout – Yuji Shimooka, the police detective
  • 1958: Kuroi kafun – Kitaga
  • 1958: Rickshaw Man – Fencing master
  • 1958: The Ballad of Narayama – Mata-yan
  • 1958: Ryu ni makasero
  • 1958: Nemuri Kyōshirō burai hikae: Maken jigoku – Senjuro Takebe
  • 1959: The Human Condition – Kyōritsu Ō
  • 1959: Saikō shukun fujin – Rintaro Nonomiya
  • 1959: Kiku to Isamu – Doctor
  • 1959: Farewell to Spring – Akira's father
  • 1959: Aruhi watashi wa – Masao Shiroyama
  • 1959: Mikkai
  • 1959: Jōen – Ōshū Mitani
  • 1960: Banana
  • 1960: The Twilight Story – Yoshizo
  • 1960: The Bad Sleep Well – Prosecutor Okakura
  • 1960: 'Minagoroshi no uta' yori kenjū-yo saraba! – Takahashi
  • 1961: Enraptured – Prof. Nunokawa
  • 1961: Miyamoto Musashi – Bamboo craftsman Kisuke
  • 1961: Aitsu to watashi – Kokichi, Saburo's father
  • 1961: Kuroi gashū dainibu: Kanryū
  • 1962: Karami-ai
  • 1962: The Outcast – School master
  • 1962: Miyamoto Musashi: Showdown at Hannyazaka Heights – Bamboo craftsman Kisuke
  • 1962: Gekkyū dorobo
  • 1963: Attack Squadron!
  • 1963: Twin Sisters of Kyoto – Takichiro Sada
  • 1963: Mushukunin-betsuchō – Usuke
  • 1963: Subarashii akujo
  • 1963: Alibi – Asakichi Sagawa
  • 1963: Mashiroki Fuji no ne – Shūhei Isomura
  • 1963: Gobanchō yūgirirō – Sanzaemon
  • 1963: Mother – Doctor
  • 1963: Hikaru umi – Seiji Tajima
  • 1964: Kaze no bushi
  • 1964: Pale Flower – Gang leader
  • 1964: Nihiki no mesu inu – Detective Tasaka
  • 1964: Samurai from Nowhere – Tatewaki Komuro
  • 1964: Unholy Desire – Genji Miyata
  • 1964: Hadaka no jūyaku – Heikichi Hamanaka
  • 1964: Akujo – Daizo Suzuki
  • 1964: Ai to shi o mitsumete
  • 1964: Kuruwa sodachi – Tsukada
  • 1964: Kwaidan – Old man (segment "Chawan no naka")
  • 1964: Kenji Kirishima Saburō – Masayuki Mori
  • 1965: Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon – Prof. Gulliver (voice)
  • 1965: Miseinen – Zoku cupola no aru machi – Tatsugorō Ishiguro
  • 1965: Samurai Spy – Jinnai-Kazutaka Horikawa
  • 1966: Panchi yarō – Wada's Father
  • 1967: Taifū to zakuro – Naokichi Kuwata
  • 1967: Chikumagawa zesshō
  • 1967: Japan's Longest DayForeign Minister Shigenori Togo
  • 1968: Shachō hanjōki
  • 1968: Zoku shacho hanjōki
  • 1968: Rio no wakadaishō
  • 1968: Admiral YamamotoSeiichi Itō
  • 1968: Aniki no koibito – Ginsaku Kitagawa
  • 1970: The Militarists – Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo
  • 1971: To Love Again – Miya's father
  • 1972: Tora-san's Dear Old Home – Utako's father
  • 1974: The Fossil – Sunami
  • 1974: Tora-san's Lovesick – Utako's father
  • 1975: Aoi sanmyaku
  • 1977: Melodii beloy nochi
  • 1980: Tobe ikarosu no tsubasa – Miwa
  • 1980: Shōgun (TV Mini-Series) – Muraji
  • 1982: The Challenge – Old Man
  • 1982: Maboroshi no mizuumi – Yoshikane Nagao
  • 1983: Hakujasho – Jikan
  • 1984: Ningyo densetsu – Tatsuo
  • 1984: Farewell to the Ark – Old man
  • 1986: Oedipus no yaiba – Yoshiyama (final film role)

Television edit

Awards and honours edit

In popular culture edit

A character designed as a caricature of Miyaguchi is regularly featured in the cat-oriented manga Mon-chan and Me, published in Fusosha's popular[5] webzine Joshi Spa! (Women's Spa!).[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "宮口精二". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "宮口精二". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "宮口精二". NHK (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  4. ^ "宮口精二". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Fans In Japan Don't Want These Anime Turned Into Live-Action Movies". Kotaku. G/O Media Inc. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Who Did The Mysterious Cat and Human Meet In The Forest One Day?". Joshi Spa! (in Japanese). Fusosha Publishing. Retrieved 7 December 2022.

External links edit