Susumu Fujita

Susumu Fujita as Togashi in The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail

Susumu Fujita (藤田 進, Fujita Susumu, 8 January 1912 – 23 March 1991) was a Japanese film and television actor. He played the lead role in Akira Kurosawa's first feature, Sanshiro Sugata, and appeared other Kurosawa film including The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail (as Togashi, commander of the border guards) and The Hidden Fortress (as General Tadokoro). Later, he was a supporting actor in Ishirō Honda's Mothra vs. Godzilla, among many other films.

Before and during World War II Fujita was considered one of the great stars of Japanese cinema. In the post-war period he became known for supporting roles, often playing a soldier in war films. During the sixties and seventies he played minor roles in tokusatsu or "special effects pictures" (特撮映画, tokusatsu eiga) such as Ultraman and Frankenstein Conquers the World.

Life and career

Susumu Fujita in Sanshiro Sugata

Fujita was born in Kurume city, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. After graduating from high school in 1929 he moved to Tokyo, where he took entrance examinations for several universities, but failed to gain admission. Before returning to Fukuoka he stayed in Kyoto with Takuji Furumi, a film director from his home town. With assistance from Furumi, he secured employment with producer Utaemon Ishikawa as an extra. He was hired as an actor by Toa Cinema in 1931, but did not appear in any films that year. In 1932 he was drafted into military service and enlisted in the 12th Artillery Division. After being discharged from the army in 1934, Fujita went to work for Masahiro Makino's Kyoto Film Recording as an audio engineer. He returned to acting in 1939, when he moved to Toho studios.

At first, Fujita was a contract player appearing in minor roles, but in 1940 he co-starred in Tsuma no bai (妻の場合) with Takako Irie and Minoru Takada; he was praised as a sincere and genuine actor. Beginning in 1941 he played a succession of leading roles, including Shido monogatari (指導物語). In 1943 he appeared in Sanshiro Sugata, the directorial debut of Akira Kurosawa, which brought him to wide popularity. Fujita's popularity as a manly action hero was further cemented with his performance in Kato Hayabusa Sentoutai (加藤隼戦闘隊). He was in the midst of filming The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail when World War II ended.

After the war, Fujita condemned his own portrayal of war heroes and considered leaving acting. However, unable to see himself in any other profession, he returned to the screen. In 1946 he appeared in Kurosawa's first post-war film, No Regrets for Our Youth, about a war-time liberal who was executed for treason.

During a strike at Toho in 1948 Fujita, along with Denjiro Ōkochi, Kazuo Hasegawa and other members of the so-called "Flag ten" secession union broke away to form a new studio, Shintōhō (New Toho). This reorganization ended Fujita's collaboration with Kurosawa. At Shintōhō, he appeared in several melodramas and action films.

After his contract with Shintōhō ended in 1957, Fujita returned to Toho, where he appeared primarily in supporting roles. Fujita and Kurosawa worked together again on The Hidden Fortress in 1958. Although Fujita appeared in a supporting role, it was essential to the film. He appeared in three more Kurosawa films, including Yojimbo, but only in minor roles.

Selected filmography

• Byakuran no Uta （1939）
• Tsuma no bai （1940）
• Kaigun bakugekitai （1940）
• Nessa no chikai （1940）
• Shidō monogatari （1941）
• Hawaii Mare okikaisen （1942）
• Sanshiro Sugata (姿三四郎 Sugata Sanshirō) aka Judo Saga (1943）
• Kato hayabusa sento-tai (加藤隼戦闘隊) （1944）
• Raigekitai shutsudo （1944）
• Zoku Sanshirō Sugata (aka Sanshiro Sugata Part II) （1945）
• Kita no san-nin （1945）
• The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail (虎の尾を踏む男達 Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi) （1945）
• No Regrets for Our Youth (わが青春に悔なし) （1946）
• A Thousand and One Nights with Toho (東宝千一夜 Toho senichi-ya) (1947)
• Jiyuu gakko （1951）
• Senkan Yamato （1953）
• Himeyuri no tō （1953）
• Non-chan kumo ni noru (1955)
• Meiji tennō to Nichiro daisensō （1957）
• Awa odori naruto no kaizoku （1957）
• Chikyū Bōeigun (aka The Mysterians) （1957）
• The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人 Kakushi toride no san akunin)（1958）
• Watashi wa kai ni naritai （1959）
• Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender (潜水艦イ-57降伏せず, Sensuikan I-57 kofuku sezu) (1959)
• Hawai Middouei daikaikusen: Taiheiyo no arashi (aka Storm Over the Pacific) （1960）
• Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (aka The Bad Sleep Well) （1960）
• Osaka jo monogatari (aka The Tale of Osaka Castle) （1961）
• Yojimbo (用心棒 Yōjinbō)（1961）
• Chushingura – Hana no maki yuki no maki (aka Chushingura: 47 Samurai (1962)
• Taiheiyo no tsubasa (aka Attack Squadron!) （1963）
• Tengoku to jigoku (aka The Ransom, aka High and Low) （1963）
• Chintao yosai bakugeki meirei (aka Siege of Fort Bismarck) （1963）
• Kaitei gunkan (aka Atragon) （1963）
• Kokusai himitsu keisatsu （1964）
• Kyo mo ware ozora ni ari （1964）
• Mothra vs. Godzilla (モスラ対ゴジラ Mosura tai Gojira) (1964）
• Uchu daikaiju dogora (aka Dagora the Space Monster) （1964）
• Horafuki taikoki （1964）
• Samurai Assassin (侍 Samurai)（1965）
• Kiga Kaikyo （1965）
• Taiheiyo kiseki no sakusen Kisuka （1965）
• Frankenstein Conquers the World (フランケンシュタイン対地底怪獣 Furankenshutain Tai Chitei Kaijū Baragon) （1965）
• Nihon no ichiban nagai hi （1967）
• Ultraman (1967)
• Rengo kantai shirei chōkan Yamamoto Isoroku （1968）
• Nihonkai daikaisen （1969）
• Tora! Tora! Tora! （1970）
• Shiosai （1971）
• Seishun no mon （1975）
• Fuyu no hana （1978）
• Ultraman: Great Monster Decisive Battle (1979)
• Rengō kantai （1981）
• Tantei monogatari （1983）

External links

• Susumu Fujita at the Internet Movie Database