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Hiroyuki Nagato

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Hiroyuki Nagato
Nobuko Otowa and Hiroyuki Nagato in the 1956 Japanese movie Gin Shinju
Born
Akio Kato

(1934-01-10)10 January 1934
Kyoto, Japan
Died21 May 2011(2011-05-21) (aged 77)
Juntendo Clinic, Tokyo, Japan
OccupationActor
Years active1940–2011
Spouse
(m. 1961⁠–⁠2009)
Parent(s)Kunitarō Sawamura
Tomoko Makino
FamilyMasahiko Tsugawa (brother)
Sadako Sawamura (aunt)
Daisuke Katō (uncle)

Hiroyuki Nagato (長門裕之, Nagato Hiroyuki, 10 January 1934 – 21 May 2011), stage name of Akio Kato (加藤晃夫), was a Japanese actor.

He starred in Season of the Sun, Endless Desire, My Second Brother, Stolen Desire, and Sukeban Deka, and Yo-Yo Girl Cop.

Life and career

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Nagato was born in Kyoto City and came from an illustrious film family. His younger brother Masahiko Tsugawa is an actor. His wife Yōko Minamida was an actress. His grandfather is the director Shōzō Makino, nicknamed the Father of Japanese Film; his father, Kunitarō Sawamura, and his mother, Tomoko Makino, were both actors. His aunt and uncle through his father are the actors Sadako Sawamura and Daisuke Katō. His niece was the actress Mayuko and she referred to him as "Achi" (Uncle Akio). Masayuki Makino, his cousin from his mother's side, was the first principal of the Okinawa Actors School. He had no children with his wife Yoko. He is distantly related to the modern Japanese comedian Daisuke Miyagawa.

After graduating from Hanazono High School, Nagato entered into Ritsumeikan University's Department of Literature but dropped out. Former Hanshin Tigers coach Yoshio Yoshida attended Ritsumeikan at the same time as Nagato but also dropped out.

Acting career

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His first movie appearance was in the 1940 film Zokushi Mizuminato (續清水港). He was a widely known child actor before World War II. During his school years he took a temporary break from acting but after the war he joined the entertainment company Nikkatsu where he resumed film-making. He starred in the first installment book-turned-movie Taiyouzoku series, Season of the Sun, with his co-star, Yujiro Ishihara who debuted with this movie. Combined with director Shohei Imamura, the movie left him with the reputation of having acting and gave him the nickname of "Nikkatsu's Billboard Star".

In 1961 Nagato married Yoko Minamida and the following year he left Nikkatsu. In 1964, together with his wife, he established the film company Ningen Production. In 1968 he produced and starred in the television drama Katsudoya Ichiyo on MBS. However, due to compounding issues with the series, it plunged him 200 million yen into debt.

From 1982 he also became known as a personality appearing on the KBS Kyoto's charity radio show Great Snail War. The show provided help and raise money for children who were orphaned because of accidents. His wife also participated alongside him starting from 1984. He and his wife continued appearing until the campaign's end in 2005.

He also worked together alongside other celebrities born in the same year as him (1934): Yujiro Ishihara, Kinya Aikawa, Koizumi Ohashi, Ichiro Zaitsu, Jiro Sakagami, Shunji Fujimura, Gorō Mutsumi, Shuichiro Moriyama to form the friendship association Showa 9 Nenkai (昭和9年会). The 9th year of the Showa era is the equivalent of 1934.

To Yoko Controversy

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In November 1985, Nagato published an exposé called To Yoko(洋子へ); it was published by the publisher Datahouse.(データハウス) . It was a series of confessions to his wife, in which he wrote about his numerous infidelities without changing any names of those he had affairs with. It astounded the Japanese media. Junko Ikeuchi, who was among the people included in the book under her real name, voiced a strong objection in response.

Nagato and Datahouse recalled the first edition and issued a revised version in which the problem areas were re-written. Nagato also took out an ad in the Ikeuchi newspaper to apologize over the situation. Nagato argued that, "Because [I] used a ghostwriter, my true intentions were not conveyed." However the entire incident seriously damaged his and his wife's careers. They were forced to resign from all the programs and commercials they had currently appeared in. He went on numerous different celebrity gossip shows for interviews about the event and repeatedly slammed his book against the desk while disparaging it.

After a long time Nagato recovered from the incident and even went back to thriving, performing mainly antagonist or villain roles in television dramas.

Last Years

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In his last years, Nagato devoted himself to making amends with his wife for all his affairs (and the scandal caused by the book) and became her caregiver when she was diagnosed with dementia. At the same time, he also increasingly started co-starring more with his younger brother Tsugawa, who he had been feuding with for many years. He also appeared in works directed by Tsugawa who assumed the name of Makino Masahiko.

On 21 October 2009, Yoko Minamida, died of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) at the age of 76. At a press conference held at the Meiji Theater the day Minamida died, Nagato stated, with tears in his eyes, "From now on, I will step into a world without my wife. Yoko lives on in my memories. This is what eternity means. [...] These four years of caring for her has been my rebirth and has changed my outlook on life."

Death

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After his wife's death, Nagato continued working until right before his own final days. On 21 May 2011, one year and seven months after the death of his wife, Nagato passed away at Juntendo Clinic in Tokyo at 5:20pm. He was 77. That night, Tsukawa stated that his brother's condition was "A complication caused by pneumonia, but he was fine the day before", and revealed that his condition had changed suddenly the day of his death. Tsugawa along with Nagato's private friend of 60 years Ruriko Asaoka, rushed to respond to the press media's coverage.
Upon receiving Nagato's obituary, Enzo Tachibana, who had been close to Nagato for many years and a member of the Showa 9 Nenkai, announced his condolences saying, "(With the death of Hiroshi Tamaki and Sakagami) more and more friends are now gone." Others who had a friendly relationship with Nagato commended their own condolences. Aimi Higa, who co-starred with him in DonDon Hare, wrote a comment on her blog in memory of Nagato. Toshiyuki Nishida, who co-starred with him in Ikenaka Genta 80 Kg, said that the titular character "weeps" for his death. Kinichi Hagimoto, who was long loved by Nagato and his wife like a younger brother, when paying his own condolences and choked up with grief said, "He was the ultimate mentor, friend, and brother."

The wake and funeral service were held on 24 May at Zenpukuji in Minato-ku, Tokyo, with Tsugawa serving as the funeral officiant. The body was then cremated at the Kirigaya Yasaijyou in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. Kiichi Nakai and Takashi Sasano read the condolences at wake while Tetsuko Kuroyagi and Eiji Okuda read the condolences at the funeral and memorial ceremony. Nagato was given the posthumous name, traditional in Buddhist funeral ceremonies, of "Gokugeiin Shijojoaki"(極芸院釋浄晃).

Nagato's last movie appearance was in Aoi Aoi Sora (青い青い空) released on 9 October 2010. His last TV drama appearance was on the last episode of the NHK Saturday drama Onmitu Happyaku Yacho (隠密八百八町) broadcast on 26 March 2011, about two months before his death.

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Role Notes
1940 Seisen aiba fu: Akatsuki ni inoru
1942 Kogen no Tsuki
Sumidagawa
Aikoku no hana
1945 Hisshôka Yuichi
1948 Te o tsunagu kora Kenji Okumura
Ankokugai no tenshi
1951 Oedo go-nin otoko
1953 Onna kanja himon - Akô rôshi Chikara Ôishi
Katame no mao
1954 Konomura Daikichi Gorodayu
Kaiketu taka part 1, 2
Teruhi kumoruhi (zenpen)
1956 Shirogane Shinjū Tamataro
Aijô Tarô Nogami
Season of the Sun Tatsuya Tsugawa Lead role
Tonari no yome
Ningen gyorai shutsugekisu
Okinawa no Tami Kôichi Ôta
1957 Kiken na kankei Shôichi Shima
Gekka no wakamusha Kotarô
Jûnana-sai no teikô Eikichi
Washi to taka Goro
Kaietu taka-dainihen honryuu doto na maki
Judai no wanâ
Hangyaku sha
1958 Kokoro to nikutai no tabi Judge at audition Uncredited
Stolen Desire Shinichi Kunida
Ginza no sabaku Saburo Shigeta
Endless Desire Satoru
Akai lamp no shûressha
Yarô to ôgon
1959 Dai san no shikaku Ichirô Yoshikawa
Saijo kishitsu
Sono kabe o kudake
Yuganda tsuki Masao Katsuragi
My Second Brother Kiichi Yasumoto, eldest brother Lead role
Warera no jidai
Tôboshâ
Fudôtoku kyôiku kôza Keiichi Asabuki
1960 Kizû darakê no ôkite
Kyanpasu hyakutoban: Yori gakusei yaro to masume tachi
Kemono no nemuri
Mikkô zero rain
The Warped Ones Kashiwagi
Jûrokusai Setsuo Homma
1961 Pigs and Battleships Kinta Lead role
Rokudenashi yarô Keigo Tsuruki
Dôdôtaru jinsei Kosuke Kon'ya
Sûkettô kagyô
1962 Hakai Ginnosuke Tsuchiya
Akitsu Springs Shusaku Kawamoto
Nikui an-chikushô Ichirô Umetani
Atariya taisho Lead role
Ratai Takasugi
Ai to shi no katami Kiyoshi Nozaki
Yabai koto nara zeni ni naru Tetsuzô Okita
1963 Daisan no Akumyo Osamu
Twin Sisters of Kyoto' Hideo Otomo
Yushu heiya
Mushukunin-betsuchô Kojuro
Irezumi Hantaro
Haikei tenno heika sama Munemoto
Seishun o kaese Masuo Suda
Jinsei gekijo: Zoku Hishakaku
Kekkonshiki Kekkonshiki Yoshioka
Hiken Chojuro
The Insect Woman Matsunami
1964 Zûzûshii yatsu Seiichi Onoda
Kakedashi keiji Shôsuke Nitta
Hana to dotô
Haikei sôri daijin sama
Zoku zûzûshii yatsu Masaharu Onoda
Nihon kyôkaku-den
Nippon paradaisu Maresuke Kuramoto
Jinsei gekijo: Shin Hishakaku
1965 Kaoyaku Gorô Akita
Dai Nippon hattariden
Daikon to ninjin Kosuki Yamaki
Buraikan jingi Tanimura
Zokû seiun yakuza - ikarî no otoko
Ninkyo otoko ippiki
1965
1967
Nihon Kyokaku-den part 1-3
1966 Tobenai chinmoku
Otoko no shôbu
The Actress vs. the Greedy Sharks
Ôtoko no kao wa kuri fûda
Danshun
1967 Arashi kitari saru
Ârappoi no ha gômen dazê
1968 Kigeki meoto zenzai
Shin Abashiri Bangaichi Tatô Komatsu
1969
1972
Hibotan bakuto part 1, 2
1969 Zankoku onna rinchi
Yakuza hijoshi - mushyo kyodai
Nihon zan kyôsen
Nihon zankyô-den
Bakuto mujô
1970 Onna no keisatsu, Kokusaisen Machiaishitsu Takijima
Shôwa zankyô-den part 1
1972 Kizu darake jinsei furui do de gonzansu
Junko intai kinen eiga: Kantô hizakura ikka Shinkichi
Aa koe naki tomo Kawase
1974 Aka chôchin Middle-aged man
Virgin Blues Middle-aged man
1975 Isho: Shiroi shôjo
Baajin buruusu
1977 Jingi to kôsô Fusajirô Konno
Proof of the Man Takeo Odayama (Naomi's husband)
Hitomi no naka no houmonsha Eiichiro Komori
1978 Kumokiri Nizaemon Kichigorô
Mahiru nari
1979 Nutcracker Fantasy Doctor of Letters Japanese version, Voice
1980 Chichi yo haha yo!
1981 Sudachi no toki kyoiku wa shinazu
1983 Namidabashi
Hometown Denroku
1984 Wangan Doro Nagasawa
1986 Katayoku dake no tenshi
Minami e hashire, umi no michi o! Detective Kume
Michi
1987 Sukeban Deka The Movie Director Kurayami / Dark Director
Hachiko Monogatari Kiku-san
Ore wa otokoda! kanketsu-hen
1988 Sukeban deka: Kazama sanshimai no gyakushû Dark Director Kurayami
Tomorrow Yasuichiro
Revolver Ijichi
1989 Shôgun Iemitsu no ranshin - Gekitotsu Tagaya Rokubee
226 Koichi Kido
1990 Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi Prefectural Assembly Member
Rônin-gai Noodleman
Sawako no koi Sawako's father
1992 Onna goroshi abura no jigoku
Toki Rakujitsu Dr. Kitasato
1993 Yearning Customer
1995 Nemureru bijo Fukura
1996 Gendai ninkyoden Masuzo Munekata
2001 Chinpira
2003 Tegami Uno
Yurusarezaru mono
Yurusarezaru mono
Gokudô kyôfu dai-gekijô: Gozu
The Man in White Part 2: Requiem for the Lion
2004 Onigiri Tetsu Yamatani
Izo
2005 Nezu no ban Master Kyokaku
2006 Sukeban deka: Kôdo nêmu = Asamiya Saki Kurayami Shirei
Yo-Yo Girl Cop Kurayami Shirei
2007 Tenkôsei: Sayonara anata
Kobuhiroba
2008 Hotaru no haka Maichi Kaicho of Mikage
Jirochô sangokushi Father of Onikichi
Dreaming Awake Kiya Kimuro Lead role
Asahiyama Zoo Story: Penguins in the Sky Keisuke Nirasaki
2009 Puraido Gonzaburo Hoshino
Shinjuku Incident Hara Ooda
Tokumei joshi-ana: Namino Yôko
2010 Flowers Endo
Aoi aoi sora Oshou

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1983 Tokugawa Ieyasu Honda Sakuzaemon Taiga drama
1983 Oshin Asadora
1985–1986 Sanada Taiheiki Toyotomi Hideyoshi
1995 Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune Tokugawa Mitsukuni Taiga drama
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