Yoshio Tsuchiya

Yoshio Tsuchiya
was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Toshio Matsumoto's surreal Bara No Soretsu (a.k.a. Funeral Parade of Roses) and Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (as the firebrand farmer Rikichi) and Red Beard, and Kihachi Okamoto's Kill!. He had a long-standing interest in UFOs and wrote several books on the subject. He preferred starring in science fiction films, usually as aliens, or people possessed by them, in such films as Battle in Outer Space, Monster Zero, and Destroy All Monsters.
Biography
Tsuchiya was born in Kofu, Yamanashi in 1927. His film debut was in the 1952 Shintoho film Murder Suspect (殺人容疑者). During the auditions for Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Tsuchiya was watching, and was picked by Kurosawa although he originally had no intention of auditioning himself.
Seven Samurai was filmed during the same time as Godzilla, and Tsuchiya would frequently leave the set of Seven Samurai to see Godzilla being filmed. In an interview, Tsuchiya said "Because I was doing Seven Samurai I couldn't appear in the first Godzilla. That's why I insisted they put me in the sequel." Tsuchiya's wish was granted and he appeared in a role in Godzilla Raids Again.
Although Tsuchiya appeared in many films by Akira Kurosawa, he also appeared in many science fiction films, saying "Most actors get comfortable with a certain genre, and they stick to that. But as far as I was concerned, it was equally prestigious to appear in science-fiction films or in Kurosawa movies." Tsuchiya especially liked to play aliens (or people controlled by aliens). When originally given the role of one of the heroes in The Mysterians, he turned down the role in favor of the Mysterian leader, because he was only interested in playing "interesting, strong and/or twisted characters". When director Ishirō Honda told him that since the Mysterian leader wore a mask, his face would not be seen, Tsuchiya said "That's all right. I just want to play the alien!" He has a personal interest in space and even claims to have seen several UFOs. "At the time I was very interested in the Space Race, and belonged to an organization which promoted a mission to the moon. I got all my fellow actors to join - Mifune, Shimura. Then I learned that this organization was crooked and really wanted to divide up the moon and sell it as real estate! I was so outraged that in [The Mysterians] when the earth scientists balk at giving the Mysterians some land on earth, I ad-libbed, 'But you're trying to divide up the moon and sell it!'"
He lobbied for the title role in Tomei Ningen (1954), but was forced by the studio to play the leading man. Eventually realizing their mistake, he was cast in the title role in The Human Vapor.
He was originally cast to play the assassin Malness in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, but was unable to because he was filming Red Beard.
In 1991, after a long absence from Toho monster films (his last was in the 1970 film Space Amoeba), Tsuchiya returned to the Godzilla series in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah as Shindo, a World War II veteran who met a pre-mutated Godzilla during the battle in the Marshall Islands.
Tsuchiya died of lung cancer on February 8, 2017, at the age of 89.
Selected filmography
Film
Murder Suspect (殺人容疑者) (1952)
The Tower of Himeyuri (ひめゆりの塔) (1953)
Seven Samurai (七人の侍) (1954) - Rikichi
Kimi shinitamo koto nakare (1954)
Mitsuyu-sen (1954)
Tomei Ningen (透明人間) (1954) - Reporter Komatsu
Zoku tenka taihei (1955)
Godzilla Raids Again (ゴジラの逆襲) (1955) - Tajima, Member of Osaka Defense Corps
No Time for Tears (1955) - Maruyama
Sanjusan go sha otonashi (1955)
Shin kurama tengu daisanbu (1955)
Natsume Sôseki no Sanshirô (1955) - Nonomiya
I Live in Fear (生きものの記録) (1955) - Factory Worker After Fire
Kyatsu o nigasuna (1956) - Shiraishi
Migotona musume (1956) - Nobuo Takahara
Tsuma no kokoro (1956)
Throne of Blood (蜘蛛巣城) (1957) - Washizu samurai
Ninjitsu (1957)
Tokyo da you okkasan (1957)
Salaryman shusse taikôki (1957) - Maruo
Chieko-sho (1957) - KoYama
Waga mune ni niji wa kiezu (1957) - Takeshi Shimada
The Mysterians (地球防衛軍) (1957) - Leader of the Mysterians
Kajikko (1958)
Song for a Bride (花嫁三重奏) (1958)
Rickshaw Man (1958)
Anzukko (1958) - Ishima
Bijo to ekitai ningen (1958) - Detective Taguchi
Yatsu ga satsujinsha da (1958)
Josei SOS (1958)
Varan the Unbelievable (1958) - Military Officer Katsumoto
The Hidden Fortress (1958) - Samurai on horse
Kotan no kuchibue (1959)
Oshaberi okusan (1959)
Sensuikan I-57 kofuku sezu (1959)
Battle in Outer Space (宇宙大戦争) (1959) - Iwomura
Densô ningen (1960) - Det. Capt. Okazaki
Hawai Middowei daikaikûsen: Taiheiyô no arashi (1960)
Daigaku no sanzôkutachi (1960) - Detective Director Iwano
Man Against Man (1960) - Detective Yoshizawa
The Bad Sleep Well (1960) - ADA secretary
The Human Vapor (ガス人間第一号) (1960) - Mizuno the Librarian
Hurricane of the Pacific (1960)
Yojimbo (用心棒) (1961) - Kohei
Death on the Mountain (1961) - Jiro Makita
Daigaku no wakadaishô (1961)
Sanjuro (椿三十郎) (1962) - Samurai
Kurenai no sora (1962)
Doburoku no Tatsu (1962) - Kida
Chikata nikki (1962)
Chûshingura (1962) - Matanojô Shiota
Varan the Unbelievable (1962) - Soldier
Attack Squadron! (1963)
Roppongi no yoru: aishite aishite (1963) - Inspector Ihara
Nippon jitsuwa jidai (1963)
High and Low (天国と地獄) (1963) - Detective Murata
Legacy of the 500,000 (1963) - Yamazaki
Matango (1963) - Masafumi Kasai - Owner
Hiken (1963)
Red Beard (赤ひげ) (1965) - Dr. Handayû Mori
Taiheiyô kiseki no sakusen: Kisuka (1965) - Terai
Frankenstein vs. Baragon (フランケンシュタイン対地底怪獣バラゴン) (1965) - Mr. Kawai
Beast Alley (1965) - Katsuragi
Aku no kaidan (1965) - Detective
Invasion of Astro-Monster (怪獣大戦争 a.k.a. Godzilla vs. Monster Zero) (1965) - Controller of Planet X
Musekinin Shimizu Minato (1966)
Hikinige (1966) - Shuichi
Zero faita dai kûsen (1966)
Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Zettai zetsumei (1967) - General Rubesa
Sasaki Kojiro (1967) - Heisuke Ichinami
Japan's Longest Day (1967) - Lt. Colonel Hiroshi Fuha - Eastern District Army Staff Officer
Two in the Shadow (1967) - Yumiko's husband
Son of Godzilla (怪獣島の決戦 ゴジラの息子) (1967) - Furukawa
Booted Babe, Busted Boss (1968) - Kurokawa / Killer
Kill! (斬る) (1968) - Shinroku Matsuo
Destroy All Monsters (怪獣総進撃) (1968) - Dr. Otani
Rengô kantai shirei chôkan: Yamamoto Isoroku (1968) - Staff Officer Kuroshima
Koi ni mezameru koro (1969) - Shunsaku Yamamoto
Battle of the Japan Sea (1969) - Staff Officer Akiyama
Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列) (1969) - Gonda
Machibuse (1970) - Itahachi
Space Amoeba (ゲゾラ・ガニメ・カメーバ 決戦!南海の大怪獣) (1970) - Dr. Kyoichi Mida
The Militarists (1970) - Okabe (uncredited)
Kuro no shamen (1971)
Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973) - Superintendent Shobei
Nishijin Shinju (1977) - Yoshida
Karuizawa fujin (1982) - Gen'ichirô Nakagawa
Shōsetsu Yoshida gakkō (小説吉田学校) (1983) - Jōji Hayashi
Rûju (1984) - Akio Tsuchiya
Tokyo: The Last War (帝都大戦) (1989) - Dr. Mizuno
Earth Defense Girl Iko-chan: The Great Oedo Operation (地球防衛少女イコちゃん 大江戸大作戦) (1990) - Dr. Mizuno (voice)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (ゴジラVSキングギドラ) (1991) - Businessman Yasuaki Shindo
Kidan (2005)
Yamauchi Keisuke: The Kayô Movie Shôwa kayô kiki ippatsu! (2014) - (final film role)
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015) - as Himself
TV Series
Taikōki (1965)
Ultra Q (ウルトラQ) (1966) - Ono (episode 2)
Ultraman (ウルトラマン) (1966) - Dr. Morita (episode 18)
Ultraseven (ウルトラセブン) (1967) - Dr. Tsuchida (episodes 14 and 15)
Haru no Sakamichi (1971) as Ōtani Yoshitsugu
Daichūshingura (1971) as Tsuchiya Chikara
Taiyō ni Hoero! (1973) (episode 73)
Katsu Kaishū (1974) as Kimura Hyogo
Onihei Hankachō (1975) (episode14)
Daitokai Part2 (1977) (episode 29) as Inoue Yukio
Kage no Gundan III (1982) (episode17) as Okudaira Tadatsune
Haru no Hatō (1985) - Inoue Kaoru
Onihei Hankachō (1989) (episode7)
References
Tucker, Guy Marriner. Age of the Gods.
External links
1927 births
2017 deaths
Japanese male actors
People from Kōfu, Yamanashi