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Utaemon Ichikawa

Acting Born Feb 11, 1904 Marugame, Kagawa, Japan 24 credits

Biography

Utaemon Ichikawa was a Japanese film actor famous for starring roles in Jidaigeki from the 1920s to the 1960s. Trained in kabuki from childhood, he made his film debut in 1925 at Makino Film Productions under Shōzō Makino. Quickly gaining popularity, he followed the example of Makino stars such as Tsumasaburō Bandō in starting his own independent production company, Utaemon Ichikawa Productions, in 1927. It was there he first began the "Idle Vassal" (Hatamoto taikutsu otoko) series, which would become his signature role. When his company folded in 1936 as sound film came to the fore, he moved to Shinkō Kinema and then Daiei Studios before helping form the Toei Company after World War II. He served on the board of directors along with fellow samurai star Chiezō Kataoka. Utaemon appeared in over 300 films during his career. His son, Kin'ya Kitaōji, is also a famous actor in film and television.

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Known for

Film

Runway to Hell

as Sôshun Kôchiyama

Full filmography

  • The Bored Samurai (1973)
  • Sanada Yukimura (1989)
  • Tokugawa Chronicles: Ambition of the 3 Branches (1986) as Mito Mitsukuni
  • Lord of Red Banner (1960)
  • Flowers on the Trail (1957)
  • Turbulent Highways (1959)
  • Drunken Sword (1962)
  • Kojiki Taishô (1952) as Gotō Mototsugu
  • Runway to Hell (1960) as Sôshun Kôchiyama
  • Drenched Swallow Gonpachi (1958)
  • Thousand Spears of Kikuchi: Sydney Special Attack Unit (1944)
  • Jiruba no Tetsu (1950)
  • María Luz Incident: Slave Ship (1943)
  • The March of the Restoration (1942) as Kogoro Katsura
  • Five Men of Edo (1951) as Jurozaemon Mizuno
  • The 47 Ronin (1941) as Tsunatoyo Tokugawa
  • Travels of Gonkuro (1961)
  • The Lost Public Funds (1958) as Asaka Keinosuke
  • Samurai Knights (1961)
  • Lords of Oppression (1957)
  • Onatsu Seijurō (1946)
  • Kokusai Mitsuyudan (1944)
  • Lord of Steel Heart (1961) as Matabei Goto
  • G-men of Japan 2: Bloody Duel at Shipwreck Cape (1950)