# Tetsuya Watari

Tetsuya Watari (渡 哲也, Watari Tetsuya) born Michihiko Watase (渡瀬 道彦, Watase Michihiko) (December 28, 1941 – August 10, 2020) was a Japanese film, stage, and television actor.

## Life

He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. Watari belonged to the karate club at university. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's Abare Kishidō, and received one of the Elan d'or Awards. At Nikkatsu, Watari starred in such films as Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter and Toshio Masuda's Outlaw series.
Watari was mentored at Nikkatsu by Yujiro Ishihara. When Nikkatsu shifted to focusing on Roman Porno films in the early seventies, Watari was one of many actors who left the studio.
Watari was due to play the main role in Kinji Fukasaku’s film Battles Without Honor and Humanity, but because of illness he was not able to appear. In 1974, he was forced to step down from the lead role of Katsu Kaishū in the Taiga drama Katsu Kaishū on NHK, again because of illness, after appearing in only nine episodes. In 1976, Watari won best actor of Blue Ribbon Award for his role in Kinji Fukasaku`s film Yakuza Graveyard.
In Japan, Watari is probably still best known for his role as Keisuke Daiomon in the detective series "Seibu Keisatsu" on TV Asahi. He also appeared in the popular detective drama "Taiyō ni Hoero!" as a replacement for Yujiro Ishihara in 1986.
Watari became the president of Ishihara Promotion [ja] after Yujiro's death in 1987 but in 2011 he resigned due to his declining health.
On June 10, 2015 he was hospitalised after suffering a heart attack and underwent surgery. Seven days later it was announced that he was in rehabilitation and would be discharged from hospital in about a month.
He had a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who was also an actor. As a singer, Watari is known for his hit song "Kuchinashi no Hana" and he appeared in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1974 and 1993.
He died of pneumonia on August 10, 2020, at the age of 78.

## Selected filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Other notes |
| 1965 | Abare Kishidō (あばれ騎士道) | Tetsuya | Isamu Kosugi | Lead role |
| 1965 | Nakaseruze | | Akinori Matsuo | |
| 1966 | Tokyo Drifter | Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo | Seijun Suzuki | Lead role |
| 1966 | Tokyo Drifter 2: The Sea is Bright Red as the Color of Love | Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo | Kenjirō Morinaga | Lead role |
| 1966 | The Hearth of Hiroshima | | Koreyoshi Kurahara | Lead role |
| 1967 | Kurenai no Nagareboshi | | Toshio Masuda | Lead role |
| 1968 | Outlaw: Gangster VIP | Gorō Fujikawa | Toshio Masuda | Lead role |
| 1968 | Moeru Tairiku | Keiichi Isomura | Shōgorō Nishimura | Lead role |
| 1968 | Higashi Shinakai | Naoyuki | Tadahiki Isomi | |
| 1969 | The Wild Sea | Yōji Kitami | Tokujirō Yamazaki | Lead Role |
| 1969 | Daikanbu Nagurikomi | Tetsu | Toshio Masuda | Lead role |
| 1969 | Savage Wolf Pack | Asai Tetsuya | Yasuharu Hasebe | Lead Role |
| 1970 | Shinjuku outlaw: Step On the Gas | Yuji Nishigami (Shinigami) | Toshiya Fujita | Lead role |
| 1970 | Fuji sanchō | | Tetsutaro Murano | |
| 1971 | Kantō Exile | | Keiichi Ozawa | Lead role |
| 1973 | Gokiburi Keiji | Detective Narugami | Tsugunobu Kotani | Lead role |
| 1973 | Za Gokiburi | Detective Narugami | Tsugunobu Kotani | Lead role |
| 1973 | Ningen Kakumei | Kumichō Shimatani | Toshio Masuda | |
| 1975 | Graveyard of Honor | Rikio Ishikawa | Kinji Fukasaku | Lead role |
| 1976 | Yakuza Graveyard | Detective Kuroiwa | Kinji Fukasaku | Lead role |
| 1986 | Tokei – Adieu l'hiver | | Sō Kuramoto | Special appearance |
| 1993 | Kinchan no Cinema Jack "Minato" | | Kinichi Hagimoto | |
| 1996 | Waga Kokoro no Ginga Tetsudō Miyazawa Kenji Monogatari | Seijirō | Kazuki Ōmori | |
| 1997 | Yūkai | Inspector Tsunami | Takao Okawara | Lead role |
| 1998 | Diary of Early Winter Shower | | Shinichiro Sawai | Lead role |
| 2000 | Nagasaki Burabura bushi | Gakusha (Koga, Jûjirô) | Yukio Fukamachi | Lead role |
| 2001 | Brother | Jinseikai Kumichō | Takeshi Kitano | |
| 2002 | Shura no Mure | Old Hiroyuki Inahara | Hiroyuki Tsuji | |
| 2004 | Lady Joker | Seizo Monoi | Hideyuki Hirayama | Lead role |
| 2005 | Yamato | Vice-Admiral Seiichi Itō | Junya Sato | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1971 | Daichūshingura | Horibe Yasubei | |
| 1974 | Katsu Kaishū | Katsu Kaishū | Lead role, Taiga drama |
| 1976–79 | Daitokai Series | Raisuke Kuroiwa | Lead role |
| 1978 | Haguregumo | Kumo | Lead role |
| 1979–84 | Seibu Keisatsu | Keisuke Daimon | Lead role |
| 1986 | Taiyō ni Hoero! | Hyōgo Tachibana | |
| 1996 | Hideyoshi | Oda Nobunaga | Taiga drama |
| 1998 | Shinsengumi Keppūroku | Isami Kondō | Lead role |
| 2004 | Seibu Keisatsu Special | Keisuke Daimon | |
| 2005 | Yoshitsune | Taira no Kiyomori | Taiga drama |
| 2009–2011 | Clouds Over the Hill | Tōgō Heihachirō | |
| 2013 | No Dropping Out: Back to School at 35 | Yukinobu Asada | |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2005 | Ryū ga Gotoku | Shintaro Kazama |
| 2006 | Ryū ga Gotoku 2 | Shintaro Kazama |
| 2009 | Ryū ga Gotoku 3 | Jōji Kazama |
| 2015 | Ryū ga Gotoku 0: Chikai no Basho | Shintaro Kazama |
| 2016 | Ryū ga Gotoku: Kiwami | Shintaro Kazama |
| 2017 | Ryū ga Gotoku: Kiwami 2 | Shintaro Kazama |

## Honours

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (2005)
* Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2013)