Minoru Chiaki

Minoru Chiaki

Birth : 1917-04-28, Hokkaido, Japan

Death : 1999-11-01

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Minoru Chiaki (千秋 実 Chiaki Minoru) was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress. In Seven Samurai he was the good-natured samurai Heihachi and he was the first of the samurai to be killed. Ironically, in real life he turned out to be the last of the seven actors to die. Later in his career he appeared as a secondary actor in many Toei films. In 1986 he was given the Best Actor prize at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony for his performance in Toei's Gray Sunset (1985). Description above from the Wikipedia article Minoru Chiaki, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Profile

Minoru Chiaki
Minoru Chiaki
Minoru Chiaki

Movies

Miss
(archive footage)
A narrative feature made from a collage of clips from various films around the world.
Gray Sunset
Fuyukichi Takano
Grandfather Fuyukichi Takano, a former university professor, gets fired from his museum job when he is affected by Alzheimer's disease, but his affliction serves to deepen family ties. Japan's submission to the 58th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Tokugawa Ichizoku no Houkai
Karafuto 1945 Summer
The film is set in Karafuto after the radio broadcast of the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. On August 15, 1945, Soviet forces invaded Karafuto. On August 20, the postal telegraph office in Maoka suspended operations and nine of the twelve telephone operators committed suicide by taking potassium cyanide while the city was being invaded.
Japan's No. 1 Disconnected Man
Shimizu
Maruyama, a day laborer, is living on an abandoned ship at the port of Osaka when he meets an elusive man offering a job.
Song of Love
The Ship-master
The life in a small village in Shikoku and the love story between two young people.
Libido
aka Libido.
Koto—The Lake of Tears
Kitao Momose
A touching story following young shamisen string maker, Saku. Beautiful Saku moves to Lake Yogo, known for its production of quality shamisen strings, only to find her peaceful life turned upside down when a master musician takes personal interest in her.
The Face of Another
Apartment Superintendent
A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality.
Zero Fighter
Japanese war movie.
Yakuza Vassal
Cold Rice, Osan, Chan
Three stories revolve around independence, a man searching for his wife, and a poor craftsman trying to make money.
Taking the Castle
The Sengoku Era was coming to an end. The monopoly of the ever powerful shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa, was at a near. Only one man was brave enough to stand in Ieyasu's way - A lone wolf samurai by the name of Kagekatsu Uesugi. Inspired by Uesugi's courage to revolt, a young samurai warrior, Touzou Kuruma decides to join the fight. Their target: the Tamonyama Castle.
Black Thief
Organized thieves battle against the Shogun’s ruthless ruling in attempt to get back their land.
Sasuke and His Comedians
Yukimura Sanada
Osaka in the early 1600s, aftermath of the historical Battle of Sekigahara; a group of orphan children are wandering through the battlefield scavenging for armour when they encounter a young boy named Sasuke with magical powers he says came from a meteor that crashed onto the Earth…
Jolly Barbers
Ebina Ginpei
A House in the Quarter
Jinzo Takesue
With her family suffering from extreme poverty, Yuko, as the eldest daughter, is sold to a successful brothel in Kyoto. There she is assigned to serve Takamatsu, one of the brothel’s top customers. But while Takamatsu falls madly in love with Yuko, she finds herself attracted to a young priest named Kunugida. Torn by jealousy, Takamatsu hatches an evil plan to tear them apart.
20 Duels of Young Shingo - Conclusion
While on his journey through the countryside of Japan, Shingo encounters many people whose lives have been affected by his actions. Though the many duels he fought were intended to bring justice to those who sought to do evil, he is faced with the knowledge that his victories have also caused suffering amont the family members of his victims-leading him to question his life's philosophy. This superb film is the final chapter in this part of Shingo's story. A fitting tribute to his quest to be the supreme swordsman.
Cases of Umon:A Woman with An Umbrella
Kakurai Yosuke
Ryutaro Otomo as the Edo magistrate Umon Kondo is out to solve a crime that centers around the murder of a jail guard & the escape of a criminal who is later himself killed. His dying words in Umon's arms were, "I didn't kill the guard." The murdered criminal had been a safe-cracker & only his girlfriend knows where he hid a fortune. She is kidnapped, so the plot gets thicker & thicker.
Five Ronins
The story of five easygoing Yakuza who come together to save the live of a young innocent girl, Oichi, from an evil vassal.
High and Low
First Reporter
An executive of a shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and held for ransom.
Street of Wandering Men
When a group of men from the Hanya clan search his town for a missing geisha, a brave ronin decides to help her and a drunken calligrapher. In doing so, he uncovers a wider scheme.
Travels of Hibari and Chiemi 2
A princess seeks adventure and true love, with help from her loyal servant.
The Paper Crane
A wandering vagrant, Hantaro, risks his life to save a beautiful blind girl and her father from con artists.
The Body
The sexual experiences of the passionate Sakiko, from her fling with her boss in her first job to her ending up as a prostitute.
Lion Festival of Echigo
Drunken Sword
Tetsunosuke, an eccentric doctor and an owner of a fencing school, takes aim against corrupt authorities.
Tokyo's  Business District
The Phantom Goblin
An injured Edo official is rescued by a vassal whose appearance is exactly like himself, and swears to sweep out the criminals from the town on his behalf.
A Carpenter and Children
A carpenter, Shigetsugu, learns a lesson of love and humanity from five orphaned children and an affectionate woman named Oritsu. It's a winning combination of drama and humor. The warm friendship that grows between the carpenter, the woman and the children making this into a true masterpiece.
The Ambitious Youth
As descendent of famed fishmonger Isshin Tasuke, young feisty Ishii Tasuke uses his talent to flourish his employer’s food business.
The Christian Revolt
In the year 1637 in Shimabara of Tokugawa-era Japan, oppressed peasant Christians revolt against the shogunate with the aid of a charismatic Christian rebel leader Shiro Amakusa.
The Princess and the Bearded Lord
The Inheritance
Junichi Fujii
On his deathbed, a wealthy businessman announces that his fortune is to be split equally among his three illegitimate children, whose whereabouts are unknown to his family and colleagues. A bevy of lawyers and associates scheme to procure the money for themselves, enlisting the aid of impostors and blackmail.
Gale of Tokai
Adventures of famous yakuza boss Jirocho and his disciples who settle in Kofu.
Travels of Hibari and Chiemi
Playhouse employees Okimi and Otoshi become involved in an undercover officer’s investigation of a gang when they accidentally walk in on a drug deal taking place at their theater.
Run, Genta, Run!
A touching story about a young boy, Genta, who bravely takes on life's challenges in hopes of finding a better life for himself and his sickly mother.
Young Lord and Second Son
A lord explores the lives of common people.
Case of a Young Lord 9: Black Camellia
Escaping the hustle and bustle of Edo, the Young Lord came to Oshima Island in Izu to take a vacation. Unexpectedly, the island's boss, Amimoto, was brutally murdered with a harpoon. As usual, the Young Lord sets out to solve the case. However, most of the islanders have a grudge against Amimoto, and there are so many suspects that he is at his wits' end this time. Set against the beautiful sea of Izu and the majestic Mt. Mihara, the Young Lord's brilliant deductions and his secret sword Ichimonjo-Kakureshi cut through the mystery!
The Youth and His Amulet
Gen is a lonely orphan boy. His sole sense of companionship comes from an imaginary friend, the god Prince Fudo-Myo. Prince Fudo-Myo comes to the boy's rescue in times of difficulty.
20 Duels of Young Shingo - Part 2
The second film in the 20 Duels of Young Shingo trilogy directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda.
Young Lord Yakuza
Young Lord Taihei goes to Edo to find the lost family treasure, a plover incense burner, under the disguise of a ronin.
20 Duels of Young Shingo - Part 1
With plenty of action, and a strong story about the growth and development of an expert swordsman, who just happens to be from an extremely privileged background.
Case of a Young Lord 8
A family is brutally murdered in their own home and the official government's sake dealer is framed as a rebel by a corrupt member of the Shogun's Council of Elders. Young Lord decides to take on the Shogun's vile chief attendant.
Scarier than the Devil
A stage director who directs a “Mori no Ishimatsu” play time travels and becomes “Mori no Ishimatsu” himself.
Mighty Shosuke
A comedy about a free-spirited man Shosuke, whose life is turned upside down when he is ordered to serve the clan lord.
What Price Love?
Matashiro
Set in the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867), this tragic love story takes its cue from a celebrated historical case tried by magistrate Tadasuke Ooka, whose shrewd legal decisions became the stuff of legend. Okuma Shirokoya, the daughter of a lumber merchant in Edo (today’s Tokyo), embarked on an affair and was executed after conspiring with her maid to murder her husband. (Source: https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/en/proiezione/shirokoya-komako/)
Hero of the Red Light District
Jôsuke
A successful textile industrialist from the provinces, who is beloved by his employees for his kindness, cannot find a wife because of a disfiguring birthmark on his face. Even the courtesans in Yoshiwara refuse to entertain him, until an indentured peasant prostitute, Tamarazu, takes the unsavoury assignment and treats him with brash tenderness.
Lord Mito 3: All Star Version
In 1691 a terrible fire broke out in Denmacho, Yotsuya, burning down the towns around it, up to the shores of Shibaura. A month and a half later, another fire broke out, this time in Komagome, burning down the two gates of Asakusa and Sujikai, and continuing on into the night. As the government Elders consider evidence that these fires were arson, a fire breaks out in Hirakawa-cho, outside of Hanzo Gate. Nishonmaru catches on fire and burns down completely. When this rash of fires even strikes Kyoto, the task of finding who’s behind the arson, and stopping them falls to the Shogun’s uncle, the Elder Lord of Mito. Together with his trusted bodyguards, Kaku and Suke, the trio set of to save Japan from this scourge of evil. Featuring virtually all of their most famous stars, this is the best film in the Toei series about Mito Komon, one of Japan’s most popular historical figures who traveled through the country incognito to check on the people and fight injustice.
Won't Stand for Dying
Brother Ryota
The son of the murdered Yakuza, Kenji, at the request of his mother, worked in a stable company. However, soon the girl Kenji Amy, who was in favor of the director of the company, is sexually harassed by him. Kenji beats the director and resigns. He asks his brother Ryota, the manager of the cabaret, to find a job, but his brother refuses him, and he is taken in by Senba, a yakuza boss specializing in smuggling and drugs...
Official with a Tattoo
Kinnosuke of Toyama sets out on a private mission to clear his father’s name for a crime he did not commit.
Yakuza of Ina
Kichitaro
Tossing his hat in the air to pick a direction, Yataro the wanderer sets out on a journey of adventure, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. The son of a Hatamoto, he has left the samurai life and become a yakuza, gambling on life's fortune and ready to risk his life at a moment's notice. Featuring an all-star cast that includes the debonair Azuma Chiyonosuke, this is a tale of excitement and action that brings the best of black and white to the silver screen. An adventure like no other, this is one of Kinnosuke's lost gems. A series of mishaps leads Yataro to watching over the beloved daughter of his close friend.
Samurai Vagabonds
On New Year's Day 1716, Munenaga of Owari and Yoshinao of Kii were both named as candidates for the title of 8th Shogun. The wise and just Munenaga is plunged into a dispute with Tokugawa Yoshinao that will lead to one of them ascending the throne. This is an exciting and informative film that brings the brilliant history of Japan to the surface in a new light.
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
Onodera Heichô
Kaji is sent to the Japanese army labeled Red and is mistreated by the vets. Along his assignment, Kaji witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against the recruit Obara. He also sees his friend Shinjô Ittôhei defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
Pilgrimage at Night
Adapted by Yasumi Toshio and directed by Toyoda Shiro, this is a literary work based on a full-length novel of the same name published by Shiga Naoya of the Shirakaba School.
Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka
The adopted son of an Osaka courier falls in love with a prostitute and, discovering that she is about to be purchased by a client, steals money from his employer to redeem her. Hunted criminals, the two young lovers take flight to Yamato, but, as in Chikamatsu's other domestic tragedies of love and duty (known as sewamono), they must be pursued and their passion destroyed by death. Favourite Uchida themes, such as the indenturing of a prostitute (cf. YOSHIWARA; A BLOODY SPEAR AT MT. FUJI), and his characteristic emphasis on performance and theatrical artifice re-emerge here; but the daring device of having Chikamatsu appear as a character - not unlike having Shakespeare interpolated into a film adaptation of one of his plays - is just one of many surprises this remarkable film holds. “Extraordinary” (Donald Richie).
Saga of the Vagabonds
Jibu
Lord Taro must deliver a money chest but is robbed by brigands led by Jibu. One of Jibu's men, Rokuro, steals the money from Jibu, but after meeting and befriending Taro, Rokuro decides to return the money to Taro. But Taro's unscrupulous brother Jiro falsely accuse Taro of the theft, and Taro reactively joins the outlaw band and encourages them to steal from the nobles and give to the poor.
Gigantis: The Fire Monster
Kôji Kobayashi
The altered American release of Godzilla Raids Again. Originally meant to be known as the The Volcano Monsters, the film was eventually released as "Gigantis."
The Unleashed Lord
Goblin in Stirrups
Kurama Tengu is a hero to the common people, saving them from the malicious attacks of Kinnoroshi and Shinsengumi.
The Hidden Fortress
Tahei
Japanese peasants Matashichi and Tahei try and fail to make a profit from a tribal war. They find a man and woman whom they believe are simple tribe members hiding in a fortress. Although the peasants don't know that Rokurota is a general and Yuki is a princess, the peasants agree to accompany the pair to safety in return for gold. Along the way, the general must prove his expertise in battle while also hiding his identity.
The Bride In Uguisu Castle
The life of three beautiful princesses in feudal Japan.
Eight Views of Samurai
Bright samurai movie innovatively adapted from a classic story. A traveling masterless samurai is asked by a daughter of an established samurai family to pretend they are a married couple, and gets involved in the troubles of the samurai clan.
Little Peach
Saburo Yoshida
Anzukko (Little Peach) is the daughter of a successful writer. She turns down each one of her suitors, until she marries a beginning writer named Ryokichi. Their life quickly sinks into despair.
Futari dake no hashi
The Scarlet Cherry Lord
Light-hearted samurai comedy. The second son of a feudal lord runs away from an arranged marriage. He saves the life of a princess whom he gets to fall in love with. It turns out that she is just his prospective bride.
The Lower Depths
Former Samurai
Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an aging actor, get drawn into a love triangle that turns violent. When amoral thief Sutekichi breaks off his affair with landlady Osugi to romance her younger sister, Okayo, Osugi extracts her revenge by revealing her infidelity to her jealous husband.
Throne of Blood
Yoshiaki Miki
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
Scoundrel
A Wife's Heart
Zenichi
Kiyoko (Takamine Hideko) and her husband want to open a coffee shop. She becomes increasingly close to the bank clerk (Mifune Toshiro) she's asked for a loan.
The Vampire Moth
Sango Kawase
The story of a professional nude model stalked by a bizarre, unknown man wearing a hideous mask.
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
Sasuke the boatman
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
I Live in Fear
Jiro Nakajima
Kiichi Nakajima, an elderly foundry owner, is convinced that Japan will be affected by an imminent nuclear war, and resolves to move his family to safety in Brazil. His family decides to have him ruled incompetent and Dr. Harada, a Domestic Court counselor, attempts to arbitrate.
Godzilla Raids Again
Kôji Kobayashi
Two fishing scout pilots make a horrifying discovery when they encounter a second Godzilla alongside a new monster named Anguirus. Without the weapon that killed the original, authorities attempt to lure Godzilla away from the mainland. But Anguirus soon arrives and the two monsters make their way towards Osaka as Japan braces for tragedy.
Bodyguard from Hell
Kitagawa, a drug control officer in the Kanto Shinetsu area, was ordered to investigate the situation of drug trafficking around Yokohama.
Jirocho in Disgrace
Seven Samurai
Heihachi Hayashida
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
Mole Alley
Wife
Ten years into a marriage, the wife is disappointed by the husband's lack of financial success, meaning she has to work and can't treat herself and the husband finds the wife slovenly and mean-spirited: she neither cooks not cleans particularly well and is generally disagreeable. In turn, he alternately ignores her and treats her as a servant. Neither is particularly happy, not helped by their unsatisfactory lodgers. The husband is easily seduced by an ex-colleague, a widow with a small child who needs some security, and considers leaving his wife.
Sunflower Girl
Young Setsuko Fujino begins a new job at Tokyo Chemical Company. She likes her boss, Ippei Hitachi, and enjoys serving him tea, despite the fact that her fellow workers think the women employees should not have to act in such a servile manner. When the women go on strike over the issue, Setsuko finds herself caught in the middle. When the heir to the company, Ryosuke Tanabe, proposes marriage to Setsuko, she is honored, but realizes that her real affection is for Hitachi.
Ikiru
Noguchi
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Today is Payday
General Manager of General Affairs Department
Office worker comedy by Nobuo Nakagawa
Beauty and the Thief
Takeichi no Takamaru
The picture belongs to the jidai gekki (historic) genre. It is a powerful story of violence and eroticism, picturing a world at once sordid and poetic, with two central themes which intermingle to compound an admirable panel of a critical period in Japanese history: the great famine in the mid 19th Century.
Riverside Fish Market Empire
Obscure Japanese movie by director Kyotaro Namiki
Vendetta for a Samurai
The famous showdown at Kagiya corner has been told many times, but never before with the realism and intensity of this version scripted by Kurosawa Akira and starring Mifune Toshiro as the famed swordsman who must face his best friend as they are forced to take opposite sides in a vendetta caused by the murder of a family member. Told mostly in flashback as the avengers await the arrival of their quarry, this film displays true heroism in the face of fear as most of the combatants, while of the samurai class are not skilled swordsmen. They contrast sharply with the true warriors involved in this battle. Araki Mataemon (Mifune), who was not only a direct student of Yagyu Munenori, but the founder of his own sword style under the Yagyu name is a powerful force ready to assist his brother-in-law against the murderer's allies that include not only another noted sword teacher, but the deadly spear of Katsumi no Hanbei.
赤道祭
Wakôdo no uta
Hayashi
The Idiot
Mutsuo Kayama, the secretary
Kameda, who has been in an asylum on Okinawa, travels to Hokkaido. There he becomes involved with two women, Taeko and Ayako. Taeko comes to love Kameda, but is loved in turn by Akama. When Akama realizes that he will never have Taeko, his thoughts turn to murder, and great tragedy ensues.
Golden Beast
Eiji Yabuki
One Sunday morning, Toshio Esaki, a young dentist, wakes up in his clinic. It seems that he was drunk and spent the night in the clinic instead of going home. When he goes into the laboratory to get a drink of water, he finds a woman wearing a green striped Western-style dress lying there.
The Rainbow-Colored Flower
Ebihara is a budding novelist entangled in a complicated web of relationships with three women from three different generations: Kazue, a coquettish teenage war orphan who tries to offer herself for money but is instead taken in by Ebihara, Koyabu, a middle-aged woman who has spent much of her life as the kept woman of a wealthy man, and Teruko, the modest daughter of Ebihara's former teacher who comes to rely on him after the death of her father.
Rashomon
Priest
Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
Beyond the Hills
Adaptation of a novel by Yojiro Ishizaka, originally released in two parts.
Scandal
A celebrity photograph sparks a court case as a tabloid magazine spins a scandalous yarn over a painter and a famous singer.
Stray Dog
Girlie Show director
A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.