Kunie Tanaka
Born: 1932-11-23 in Toki, Gifu, Japan
Died: 2021-03-24
Known For: Acting
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
2010
2009
- The Sun in Kurobe as Genkichi
2004
- The Hidden Blade as Kanbê Katagiri
2003
- The Boat to Heaven as Masato Sakurai
- Resurrection as Dr. Saito
- 北の国から 記憶 前編 as 演员
- Fukumimi
2002
2001
- All About Our House as Chouichirou Iwata
- 世界で一番熱い夏
2000
- As the River Flows as Matsuda (The Shopkeeper)
- The Password is Courage
1998
1996
- The Rainbow Seeker
- Oishinbo as Tattsan
1995
1993
- A Class to Remember as Ino
- Lone Wolf and Cub: The Final Conflict as Buddhist Priest
- Baian the Assassin: Showdown
- Hacchōbori Torimono Banashi
1992
1991
- My Sons
- Shy Security
- A Desirable Marriage as Mr. Kawamata
- The love song of farewell later
- Castle of Sand as Eitaro Imanishi
- Kamigata Kugaizoshi
- Mourning Work
- Baian the Assassin as Han-Emon of Otowa
- Private Detective Dobu
1990
- Ronin-gai as Magozaemon Doi
- Baian the Assassin
- Tasmania Story
- Hoshi wo tsugu mono as Kenji Yoshida
1988
- Oración
- Tomorrow as Shoji's stepfather
- Yojo no jidai
- This Heartbeat
- Love on a Daily Basis
- I Love You So Much
1987
1985
- Demon as Keita
- Early Spring Story as Okino, Hitomi's father
1984
1983
- Nogare no machi
- Choji Snack Bar as Iwashita
- The Undercover Ninja Organization
- Private Detective DOBU 4: The Mysterious Kite Murders Case
- Deadly Swords in Search of Hidden Gold
- Private Detective DOBU 6: The Origami Murder Case as Dobu
- Private Detective DOBU 5: The Pinwheel Murder Case as Dobu
- Kita no kuni kara '83 Fuyu
1982
1981
- Return of the Champ as Shinjiro Ishiyama
- Station as Sugawara
- At This Late Date, the Charleston as Army Minister
- Kita no kuni kara as 黑板五郎
- Private Detective DOBU 1
1980
- May Love Be Restored as Yugiri-ro client
- Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Complete Saga as Masakichi Makihara
- The Revolt
1979
- Troubleman Laughs and Kills
- The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi as Lt. Todoroki
- The Inferno as Unpei Ikegata
- Down with The Big Boss
- Nichiren
- The Fixer
- White Love
- Murder in the Doll House as Detective Naraki
- The Last Game
1978
- The Demon as Policeman
- Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron as Rikichi Komadera
- Never Give Up as Bartender
- Inside the Storm of Love
- Winter's Flower as Kokichi Minami
- Blood Type: Blue
- Pink Lady's Motion Picture
- Dynamite Don-Don as Sakuzo
- The Truck Rascals Go to The North
- 幽霊列車
- Ghost Coast as Inspector Joichi Uno
1977
- The Extravagant Cops
- Village of Eight Gravestones
- Japan's Don
- The Love and Adventures of Kuroki Taro as Kuroki Taro
- Sugata Sanshiro as Yasuyoshi
- Seasonal Wind
- Older brother as Kintaro
- Dazzling Cops as Nangou Goro
1976
- Yoake no hata matsumoto jiichirō Den as Toramatsu Otani
- Hangyaku no Tabi
- Manhunt as Yokomichi Keiji
- Hobo General
- Kawachi Rascal Is Spurred On
- The Machine Gun Dragon
1975
- The Wild Trucker as Borsalino 2
- The Bullet Train as Koga's Brother
- Cops vs. Thugs as Kinpachi Komiya
- Graveyard of Honor as Katsuji Ozaki
- The International Gang of Kobe as Teruo Maruyama
- Great Jailbreak as Goda
- Doterai Man
- Light of Africa as Katsuhiro
- Japan Beauty Story: A Woman Among Women
- Shimane Prison Riot as Yoshikazu Minagawa
- Battle Cry
- Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack
- Company Buggers
- 300 Million Thief: Statute of Limitations as Toyama
- The Nagasaki Crime Chronicles as Yoshitoshi Kogure
1974
- New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 1 as Gen Sakagami
- Lupin the Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy as Daisuke Jigen
- Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics as Masakichi Makihara
- Evil of Dracula as Dr. Shimomura
- Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode as Masakichi Makihara
- Machi no Hi as Goro
- Submersion of Japan as Tatsuno
- Third Generation Boss
1973
- Battles Without Honor and Humanity as Masakichi Makihara
- Stray Dog as Sagawa
- Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War as Masakichi Makihara
- The School Deviate Waru
- Deeper Than Blue as Ajikawa
- Yakuza of the Present as Zen san
- Japan's Top Gangster
1972
- Outlaw Killers: Three Mad Dog Brothers as Ohno
- Summer Soldiers as Fujimura
- New Abashiri Prison Story: Honor and Humanity, Ammunition That Attracts the Storm
- Kogarashi Monjiro 2: Secret of Monjiro's Birth as Johei Yawata
- My Voiceless Friends
- The Witty Samurai
- Zorome no San Kyoudai
- The Shin Hasegawa Series as 蛙ヶ池の仙太
1971
1970
- Bravo, Young Guy
- Dodes'ka-den as Hatsutaro Kawaguchi
- Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
- The Kingpin of Fair Ladies as Tadao Ueda
- Get Your Sky, Young Guy
- It's a Man's Way of Life as Heihachirou Yanai
- Rebel Against Glory
- Zoku Isoginchaku as Takashi Takai
- The Summit of Mt. Fuji
- Fear of Sex
- Charming Men as Kuramoto Kuraji
- Banner of the Young as Taro
- Duel at Fort Ezo as Kurobei
1969
- Tenchu! as Rokkaku Prison Officer
- Goyokin as Hirosuke
- 夕月
- Forward, Young People! as Taro
- The Great Japanese Pick-Pocket Club as Kanegai
- Young Guy on Mt. Cook
- Young Guy Graduates
- Vermillion Sword: Scabbard Code Sword Amidst the Swirling Cherry Blossoms as Seiji Matsumiya
1968
- Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2 as Katsuji Nemoto
- Women and Miso Soup
- In Broad Daylight as March
- Outlaw: Black Dagger as Doctor Michio Hongô
- Hymn to a Tired Man as Hisataro Ohno
- The Day the Sun Rose
- Young People as Taro
- The Woman Gambler's Revenge
- The Woman Champion
- The Human Bullet
- How to Be the Worst of Office Workers
- Angel's Lover
- Three Rogues
- An Angel's Temptation
- Cry of the Mountain
1967
- Game of Chance 2
- Let's Go! Young Guy as Shinjirou Ishiyama
- River of Forever
- Circuit-A-Go-Go
- Abashiri Prison: Duel in Hokkaido
- Birth of a Fighter
- Abashiri Prison: Challenge to the Evil
- Young Guy in the South Pacific as Shinjiro Ishiyama
1966
- The Sword of Doom as Senkichi
- The Face of Another as Mentally Ill Man #1
- Third Class Soldier Boss
- Zatoichi's Pilgrimage as Storyteller
- Cash Calls Hell as Umegaya
- Silence Has No Wings
- Koto—The Lake of Tears as Kenkichi Ohara
- Abashiri Prison: Duel in the Snow Country
- The Threat
- Abashiri Prison: Duel in the South
- The Front Line Showdown as Sawamura
- The Bullet and the Horse
- It Started In The Alps as Shinjiro Ishiyama / Aodaisyô
- Golden Ninja as Risuke
- Debt of Honor
1965
- Kwaidan as Yasaku (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
- Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2 as Kirikawa
- Prison Walls of Abashiri 4
- Tale of Ninja Duty
- Sword of the Beast as Tanji
- Young Guy at Sea as 石山新次郎（青大））
- Three Yakuza
- Abashiri Prison as Otsuki
- The Last Judgment
- Campus A Go-Go
- Yakuza G-Men as Masayoshi Imanishi
- Prison Walls of Abashiri 3 as Otsuki
- 若い野ばら as 石丸雄吉
1964
- Red Diamond as George Takase
- The Desperate as Chiba
- 間諜
- Shingo's Final Duel
- Punishment of a Lawless Villian
1963
- Walleyed Nippon as Shirosaka
- Okashina yatsu as Sankichi Fujita
- Sasuke and His Comedians
- A Fishmonger's Tour
- Young Guy in Hawaii as 石山新次郎（青大将）
- Sensation Seekers
1962
- Sanjuro as Samurai
- The Inheritance
- The Crimson Sky
- Pitfall as Man in White Suit
- Operation Sewer Rats as Private Anayama
- Pride of the Campus as Shinjiro Ishiyama (Aodaisho)
- College Champ
1961
- Sir Galahad in Campus as Shinjiro Ishiyama (Aodaisho)
- Hidden Fangs
- Blood on the Sea
- Wakarete ikiru toki mo
- Big Shots Die at Dawn
- The Merciless Trap
1960
- The Bad Sleep Well as Hitman
- The Sun's Burial as Thief
1959
- The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity as Obara Nitôhei
1957
- The Story of Pure Love as Satoyan