Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthdate
1932-11-23
Day of Death
2021-03-24
Place of Birth
Toki, Gifu, Japan
Kunie Tanaka
Biography
Kunie Tanaka (田中 邦衛 Tanaka Kunie, November 23, 1932 - March 24, 2021) was a Japanese actor. He had his first notable role in 1960 as a thug in Akira Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well, and worked with the director again on Sanjuro. Tanaka is well known for his roles in Kinji Fukasaku's yakuza films, namely the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series. He also appeared in Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan. He has been nominated for five Japanese Academy Awards, winning the Best Supporting Actor statuette for Gakko in 1993. He appeared as the lecherous Shinjiro Ishiyama, nicknamed Aodaishō, the antagonist of the hero, played by Yūzō Kayama, in all of the Wakadaishō series of films. The character Kizaru, from Eiichiro Oda's manga series One Piece, is modeled after Tanaka.
Filmography (271)
The Last Ronin
2010
The Hidden Blade
2004
Fukumimi
2003
The Boat to Heaven
2003
北の国から 記憶 前編
2003
Yomigaeri
2003
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Sanjuro'
2002
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'The Bad Sleep Well'
2002
Kita no kuni kara 2002 Yuigon Part 2
2002
北の国から記憶
2002
Kewaishi
2002
All About Our House
2001
As the River Flows
2000
A Class to Remember III: The New Voyage
1998