Raizō Ichikawa
Biography
Ichikawa Raizō VIII was a Japanese film and kabuki actor who was born as Yoshiya Ōta in Kyoto, Japan on August 29, 1931, and died of rectal cancer in Tokyo, Japan on July 17, 1969 at the age of 37. He appeared mostly in period dramas, or jidaigeki, and is best known for the Sleepy Eyes of Death, Ninja, and Nakano Spy School series. Raizō collaborated many times with director Kenji Misumi on works including The Sword, which is based on a book by Yukio Mishima, and Destiny's Son. His other notable works include An Actor's Revenge. Throughout his career, he accumulated 160 known credits on the Movie Database platform for his acting work in movies and television shows.
Career overview
Ichikawa Raizō VIII was a Japanese film and kabuki actor born as Yoshiya Ōta in Kyoto, Japan, on August 29, 1931. He died of rectal cancer in Tokyo, Japan, on July 17, 1969, at the age of 37. During his career, he appeared mostly in period dramas, known professionally under his stage name as well as variants including Ichikawa Raizō.
Raizō is best known for starring in several prominent film series, including the Sleepy Eyes of Death series, the Ninja series, and the Nakano Spy School series, which was based on the Nakano School. Throughout his film career, Raizō worked many times with director Kenji Misumi. Their collaborations include the films The Sword, which was adapted from a book by Yukio Mishima, and Destiny's Son. Other notable works in his filmography include An Actor's Revenge. Across his extensive acting career, he accumulated 160 known credits on film and television.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full Filmography
160 titles- Sworn Brothers (1969) as Jokichi Sakurada
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 12: Castle Menagerie (1969) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 10: Hell Is a Woman (1968) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- The Night before Pearl Harbor (1968) as Jiro Shiina
- Lone Wolf Isazo (1968) as Isazo
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 11: In the Spider's Lair (1968) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 9: Trail of Traps (1967) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- A Killer's Key (1967) as Nitta
- A Certain Killer (1967) as Shiozawa
- The Wife of Seishu Hanaoka (1967) as Umpei 'Seishu' Hanaoka
- Secret Assignment (1967) as Jiro Shiina
- Assignment Dragon No. 3 (1967) as Jiro Shiina
- Young Boss, Fugitive (1967)
- Young Boss: Leader's Flesh (1967)
- Exterminate the Young Boss! (1967)
- The Betrayal (1966) as Kobuse Takuma
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 8: Sword of Villainy (1966) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- Young Boss: Invitation to Fight (1966)
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 7: The Mask of the Princess (1966) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- Shinobi no mono 7: Mist Saizo Strikes Back (1966) as Saizo Kumogakure
- Shinobi no mono 8: The Three Enemies (1966) as Kojiro Kasumi
- Assignment Cloud (1966) as Jiro Shiina
- The School of Spies (1966) as Jiro Shiina
- The Young Boss and the Navy Spirit (1966)
- Young Boss: Overcoming Adversity (1966)
- Sword Devil (1965) as Hanpei
- Young Boss: Prison Release (1965) as Takeshi Nanjo
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 5: Sword of Fire (1965) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- Shinobi No Mono 6: The Last Iga Spy (1965) as Saizo Kumogakure
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 6: Sword of Satan (1965) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- Young Boss (1965) as Takeshi Nanjo
- Bloody Shuriken (1965) as Ibuki
- New Tengu from Mount Kurama (1965)
- New Kurama Tengu: Gojozaka Duel (1965)
- Ken (1964) as Jiro Kokubun
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 3: Full Circle Killing (1964) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 4: Sword of Seduction (1964) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- Shinobi No Mono 5: Return of Mist Saizo (1964) as Kirigakure Saizo
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 2: Sword of Adventure (1964)
- On the Road Forever (1964) as Ipponmatsu
- Shinobi no Mono 4: Siege (1964) as Saizo Kirigakure
- The Man Disappears Yesterday (1964)
- The Gambling Samurai (1964)
- An Actor's Revenge (1963) as Hirutaro
- Bronze Magician (1963) as монах Докё
- Shinobi no Mono 2: Vengeance (1963) as Goemon Ishikawa
- Sleepy Eyes of Death 1: The Chinese Jade (1963) as Nemuri Kyoshiro
- The Third Shadow Warrior (1963) as Kyonosuke Ninomiya / Yasutaka Ikemoto
- Shinsengumi Chronicles (1963) as Yamasaki Susumu
- Shinobi no Mono 3: Resurrection (1963) as Goemon Ishikawa
- A Samurai Never Tells a Lie (1963) as Harima Aoyama
- Cut the Shadow (1963)
- The Confusing Journey of Jirocho (1963)
- Ninja, A Band of Assassins (1962) as Ishikawa Goemon
- Destiny's Son (1962) as Takakura Shingo
- The Great Wall (1962) as Ching Ko
- The Broken Commandment (1962) as Ushimatsu Segawa
- Her Hidden Past (1962) as Mondo Hayase
- Seven Miles to Nakayama (1962) as Masakichi
- Yôki na tono-sama (1962)
- The Fencing Master (1962) as Shojiro Sawada
- The Actress and the Three Rascals (1962)
- Nakayoshi ondo: Nippon ichi dayo (1962)
- Long Swords of the Loyal Forty-Seven (1962)
- 170 Leagues to Edo (1962)
- Ken ni kakeru (1962)
- A Lustful Man (1961) as Yonosuke
- Satan's Sword III: The Final Chapter (1961) as Ryûnosuke Tsukue
- Buddha (1961) as Kunala
- The Gambler's Code (1961) as Kutsukake Tokijirô
- The Radiant Prince (1961) as Hikaru Genji
- Mito Komon’s Journey to Ezo (1961) as Suke-san
- Tabiwa Oiroke (1961)
- Vagabonds from Badgerville (1961)
- Nuregami botan (1961)
- Otemoyan (1961)
- The Phantom Samurai (1961)
- Song of Sado (1961)
- Flowers of Chivalry (1961)
- Koina no Ginpei (1961)
- Scarred Yosaburo (1960)
- The Two Musashis (1960)
- Jirocho Fuji 2: The Chivalrous (1960)
- Satan's Sword II: The Dragon God (1960) as Tsukue Ryunosuke
- Bonchi (1960) as Kikuji
- Satan's Sword (1960) as Ryunosuke Tsukue
- The Demon of Mount Oe (1960) as Minamoto-no-Yorimitsu / Minamoto-no-Raikô
- Anchin and Kiyohime (1960) as Anchin
- Yûrei koban (1960)
- The Song Lantern (1960)
- Bara daimyo (1960)
- Mission Accomplished (1960)
- Lord Tadanao (1960)
- Jirocho Fuji (1959) as Kira no Nikichi
- Samurai Vendetta (1959) as Tenge Tanzen
- Enchanted Princess (1959) as Tanukichiro
- Snake Princess (1959)
- The Gaijin (1959)
- Stop the Old Fox (1959) as Shinosuke Shimada
- Peony on the Skin (1959)
- A Thousand Flying Cranes (1959) as Hanjirô
- Sudden Attack of the Christian Lord (1959)
- The Lord and the Gambler (1959)
- The Princess Says No (1959)
- Yutaro's Secret Story (1959)
- Ojo-kichiza (1959)
- Lord Nobunaga's Early Days (1959)
- Conflagration (1958) as Goichi Mizoguchi
- The Gay Masquerade (1958) as Benten kozo Kikunosuke
- The Loyal 47 Ronin (1958) as Takuminokami Asano
- Hanatarō Jumon (1958)
- Nichiren and the Great Mongol Invasion (1958) as Hôjô Tokimune
- Bakeneko Goyōda (1958)
- The Magnificent Five (1958)
- The Swishing Sword (1958) as Shinpachiro Nasu
- Princess Tsuki (1958)
- Tabi wa kimagure kaze makase (1958)
- Megitsune Buro (1958)
- Ambush at Iga Pass (1958)
- Inochi wo Kakeru Otoko (1958)
- The 7th Secret Agent to Edo (1958)
- Nuregami kenpo (1958) as Gennosuke Matsudaira
- An Osaka Story (1957) as Keizaburo
- Freelance Samurai (1957) as Momotaro / Shinnosuke Wakagi
- Floating Vessel (1957)
- Secret of Naruto (1957)
- Daiei Studio is Bustling (1957)
- Mangorō Tengu (1957) as Tokugawa Mangorō
- Inazuma Kaidō (1957)
- Yataro’s Travel Hat (1957)
- Fighting Letter for 29 People (1957)
- Demonfire Palanquin (1957)
- Love of the Princess (1957) as Arisugawa
- Flowery Brothers (1956)
- Asataro the Crow (1956)
- Gonpachi (1956) as Gonpachirô Shiga
- Hidden Story of the Yagyu Clan (1956) as Hyosuke Yagyu
- Notebooks of Heiji Zenigata: Spider on the Skin (1956)
- Flowery Hood (1956)
- Tsukigata Hanpeita (1956) as Tatsuma Hayase
- Fighting Fire Fighter (1956)
- Flowery Hood 2 (1956)
- Matashirō Fighting Journey (1956)
- Migratory Birds of the Flowers (1956)
- Fighting Birds (1956)
- Travel Chronicles of Yaji and Kita (1956)
- Taira Clan Saga (1955) as Taira Kiyomori
- A Girl Isn't Allowed to Love (1955)
- Iroha Elegy (1955)
- The Dancer and Two Warriors (1955)
- The Second Son (1955)
- The Magical Warrior (1955)
- The Magistrate (1955)
- Thief and Magistrate (1955)
- The Young Lord (1955)
- The Princess Sen (1954) as Hideyori Toyotomi
- The Young Swordsman (1954)
- Zenigata Heiji: Ghost Lord (1954)
- Onatsu and Seijuro (1954)
- The Great White Tiger Platoon (1954)
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies or TV shows is Raizō Ichikawa best known for?
Raizō Ichikawa is widely recognized for notable roles and projects including War of the Worlds (2019), An Actor's Revenge (1963), Ninja, A Band of Assassins (1962), Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams (2017).
When and where was Raizō Ichikawa born?
Raizō Ichikawa was born on August 29, 1931 in Kyoto, Japan. They passed away on July 17, 1969.
How many credits does Raizō Ichikawa have?
Raizō Ichikawa has accumulated over 160 film and television credits across a career spanning from 1954 to 1969.
What is Raizō Ichikawa's background in cinema and television?
Ichikawa Raizō VIII was a Japanese film and kabuki actor who was born as Yoshiya Ōta in Kyoto, Japan on August 29, 1931, and died of rectal cancer in Tokyo, Japan on July 17, 1969 at the age of 37. He appeared mostly in period dramas, or jidaigeki, and is best known for the Sleepy Eyes of Death, Ninja, and Nakano Spy S...
Raizō Ichikawa by the numbers
Age in their best-rated roles
- Jirocho Fuji (1959) as Kira no Nikichi — aged about 27
- Taira Clan Saga (1955) as Taira Kiyomori — aged about 23
- An Actor's Revenge (1963) as Hirutaro — aged about 31
- Ninja, A Band of Assassins (1962) as Ishikawa Goemon — aged about 30
- The Two Musashis (1960) — aged about 28
- A Lustful Man (1961) as Yonosuke — aged about 29
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