# Kei Satō

Kei Satō (佐藤 慶, Satō Kei, born December 21, 1928 in Aizuwakamatsu – May 2, 2010) was a Japanese character actor and narrator. He is known for his work with Japanese New Wave director Nagisa Oshima, and for several films with Kaneto Shindo, such as Onibaba and Kuroneko. He won the best actor award from Kinema Junpo for the films The Ceremony and Nihon no akuryō. He also worked as a narrator for many documentaries, both on television and film.

## Provenance

The Sato family was an ancestral Aizu Domain samurai, and after losing the Boshin War, they ran a wholesale business of lacquerware materials. In addition, Kinuko, the wife of Zensuke Shibukawa, who participated in the February 26 incident and died in prison, is an aunt.
After graduating from the dyeing and weaving department of Fukushima Prefectural Aizu Technical School (currently Fukushima Prefectural Aizu Technical High School), while working at the Aizuwakamatsu City Hall Family Register Section
In his early days as an actor, before his success in The Human Condition, he supported himself by producing gariban hand-written mimeographs, and he maintained his interest in hand-printing to the end of his life.
In 1981 he appeared in the film Daydream performing an unsimulated sex scene with actress Kyoko Aizome. The involvement of a mainstream actor in a hardcore film made good press coverage and brought audiences to the theater "in droves".
Due to his physical condition, he began to refrain from working after the age of 80. He died at 4:19 p.m. on May 2, 2010 at a hospital in Tokyo due to pneumonia at the age of 81.

## Filmography
### Films

| Date | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959 | The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity | Shinjo | |
| 1960 | Cruel Story of Youth | Akira Matsuko | |
| 1960 | The Sun's Burial | Sakaguchi | |
| 1960 | Night and Fog in Japan | Sakamaki | |
| 1962 | Harakiri | Masakatsu Fukushima | |
| 1962 | Ningen | Hachizo | |
| 1962 | Pitfall | | |
| 1963 | Bushido, Samurai Saga | | |
| 1963 | Brave Records of the Sanada Clan | Ōno Harunaga | |
| 1963 | League of Gangsters | Takamoto | |
| 1964 | Onibaba | Hachi | |
| 1964 | Kwaidan | Ghost samurai | Segment: "In a Cup of Tea" ("Chawan no naka") |
| 1965 | Akumyo Nobori | Endo | |
| 1965 | Samurai Spy | Takanosuke Nojiri, lieutenant | |
| 1965 | Pleasures of the Flesh | Police inspector | |
| 1966 | Violence at Noon | Eisuke Oyamada | |
| 1966 | The Sword of Doom | Kamo Serizawa | |
| 1966 | Zatoichi's Vengeance | Boss Gonzo | |
| 1967 | Band of Ninja | Sakagami Shuzen (voice) | |
| 1967 | Japanese Summer: Double Suicide | Otoko | |
| 1968 | Death by Hanging | Prison warden | |
| 1968 | Kuroneko | Raiko | |
| 1968 | Diary of a Shinjuku Thief | Actor Kei Satō | |
| 1968 | Three Resurrected Drunkards | Y Chong-iru - I Chong-il | |
| 1968 | Hymn to a Tired Man | Suzuki | |
| 1970 | Onna Gokuakuchō | | |
| 1971 | The Ceremony | Sakurada Kazuomi | |
| 1971 | Inn of Evil | | |
| 1973 | Zatoichi's Conspiracy | Magistrate | |
| 1973 | Hanzo the Razor: The Snare | Shobei Hamajima | |
| 1976 | Yakuza Graveyard | | |
| 1978 | Satsujin Yugi | | |
| 1978 | Empire of Passion | (uncredited) | |
| 1979 | The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf | Shimizu | |
| 1979 | The Man Who Stole the Sun | Dr. Ichikawa | |
| 1981 | Daydream | Dentist | |
| 1981 | Imperial Navy | Shigenori Kami | |
| 1983 | International Military Tribunal for the Far East | Narrator | |
| 1984 | Godzilla 1985 | Chief Editor Gondo | |
| 1991 | No Worries on the Recruit Front | | |
| 1999 | Spellbound | Takashi Hisayama | |
| 1999 | Gohatto | Narrator | |
| 2005 | The Whispering of the Gods | Father Togawa | |
| 2009 | Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler | Kazutaka Hyōdō | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
| 1965 | Taikōki | Akechi Mitsuhide | NHK | Taiga drama |
| 1967 | Shiroi Kyotō | Goro Zaizen | NET | Lead role |
| 1973 | The Water Margin | Cao Chiu | NTV | |
| 1974 | Unmeitōge | Asahina Genzaemon | KTV | Episode 11 |
| 1974–75 | Karei-naru Ichizoku | Ataru Mima | NET | |
| 1983 | Tokugawa Ieyasu | Takeda Shingen | NHK | Taiga drama |
| 1984 | Sanga Moyu | Ryūkichi Tanaka | NHK | Taiga drama |
| 1984 | Mujaki na Kankei | | TBS | |
| 1985–86 | Sanada Taiheiki | | NHK | |
| 1986 | Byakkotai | Tanaka Tosa | NTV | |
| 1988 | Takeda Shingen | Abe Katsuyoshi | NHK | Taiga drama |
| 1992 | Nobunaga: King of Zipangu | Imai Sōkyū | NHK | Taiga drama |
| 1993–94 | Homura Tatsu | Minamoto no Yoriyoshi | NHK | Taiga drama |
| 1995 | Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune | Arai Hakuseki | NHK | Taiga drama |
| 1996 | Kenpō wa Madaka | Hitoshi Ashida | NHK | Miniseries |
| 2000 | Aoi | Mashita Nagamori | NHK | Taiga drama |
| 2000–01 | Honmamon | | NHK | Asadora |
| 2007 | Fūrin Kazan | Seiin | NHK | Taiga drama |