Kunie Tanaka
Acting1932Toki, Gifu, Japan
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.
Known For
Acting History
2010
2009
The Sun in Kurobe
TVas Genkichi
2004
The Hidden Blade
as Kanbê Katagiri
2003
2001
All About Our House
as Chouichirou Iwata
2000
As the River Flows
as Matsuda (The Shopkeeper)
1998
1996
The Rainbow Seeker
as Tsune-san
Oishinbo
as Tattsan
1993
1992
1991
Castle of Sand
as Eitaro Imanishi
A Desirable Marriage
as Mr. Kawamata
Baian the Assassin
TVas Han-Emon of Otowa
1990
1988
Tomorrow
as Shoji's stepfather
1986
1985
Demon
as Keita
Early Spring Story
as Okino, Hitomi's father
1984
Sukanpin Walk
as Keizo Fukami
Ghost Reunion
as Inspector Joichi Uno
1983
Choji Snack Bar
as Iwashita
1981
At This Late Date, the Charleston
as Army Minister
Station
as Sugawara
Private Detective DOBU 1
as Dobu
Return of the Champ
as Shinjiro Ishiyama
Kita no kuni kara
TVas 黑板五郎• 24 eps
1980
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Complete Saga
as Masakichi Makihara
May Love Be Restored
as Yugiri-ro client
Aoki Ookami Narukichiomoase no Shougai
TVas ボオルチュ
1979
The Inferno
as Unpei Ikegata
The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi
as Lt. Todoroki
Murder in the Doll House
as Detective Naraki
Ghost Festival in Zenjin Village
as Inspector Joichi Uno
The Bride of the Ghost Lake
as Inspector Joichi Uno
1978
Winter's Flower
as Kokichi Minami
Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron
as Rikichi Komadera
Dynamite Don-Don
as Sakuzo
Never Give Up
as Bartender
The Demon
as Policeman
Ghost Coast
as Inspector Joichi Uno
1977
The Love and Adventures of Kuroki Taro
as Kuroki Taro
Sugata Sanshiro
as Yasuyoshi
Older brother
TVas Kintaro
Dazzling Cops
TVas Nangou Goro
1976
Yoake no hata matsumoto jiichirō Den
as Toramatsu Otani
Manhunt
as Yokomichi Keiji
1975
Great Jailbreak
as Goda
Shimane Prison Riot
as Yoshikazu Minagawa
Light of Africa
as Katsuhiro
The Wild Trucker
as Borsalino 2
Graveyard of Honor
as Katsuji Ozaki
The Bullet Train
as Koga's Brother
Cops vs. Thugs
as Kinpachi Komiya
The International Gang of Kobe
as Teruo Maruyama
The Nagasaki Crime Chronicles
TVas Yoshitoshi Kogure
1974
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode
as Masakichi Makihara
Evil of Dracula
as Dr. Shimomura
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
Machi no Hi
as Goro
Submersion of Japan
TVas Tatsuno
1973
Stray Dog
as Sagawa
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War
as Masakichi Makihara
Yakuza of the Present
as Zen san
Battles Without Honor and Humanity
as Masakichi Makihara
Deeper Than Blue
as Ajikawa
1972
Summer Soldiers
as Fujimura
Kogarashi Monjiro 2: Secret of Monjiro's Birth
as Johei Yawata
The Shin Hasegawa Series
TVas 蛙ヶ池の仙太
1970
Banner of the Young
as Taro
It's a Man's Way of Life
as Heihachirou Yanai
Duel at Fort Ezo
as Kurobei
Dodes'ka-den
as Hatsutaro Kawaguchi
The Kingpin of Fair Ladies
as Tadao Ueda
Charming Men
as Kuramoto Kuraji
Zoku Isoginchaku
as Takashi Takai
Live Again Tomorrow
as 刈田勝利
1969
Tenchu!
as Rokkaku Prison Officer
The Great Japanese Pick-Pocket Club
as Kanegai
Forward, Young People!
as Taro
Goyokin
as Hirosuke
1968
Outlaw: Black Dagger
as Doctor Michio Hongô
Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2
as Katsuji Nemoto
Young People
as Taro
In Broad Daylight
as March
Hymn to a Tired Man
as Hisataro Ohno
1967
Mesu ga osu o kuikorosu: Kamakiri
as Ken Takahashi
Let's Go! Young Guy
as Shinjirou Ishiyama
Young Guy in the South Pacific
as Shinjiro Ishiyama
1966
Koto—The Lake of Tears
as Kenkichi Ohara
It Started In The Alps
as Shinjiro Ishiyama / Aodaisyô
Zatoichi's Pilgrimage
as Storyteller
The Face of Another
as Mentally Ill Man #1
Cash Calls Hell
as Umegaya
Golden Ninja
as Risuke
The Front Line Showdown
as Sawamura
The Sword of Doom
as Senkichi
1965
Kwaidan
as Yasaku (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2
as Kirikawa
Young Guy at Sea
as 石山新次郎（青大））
Sword of the Beast
as Tanji
Abashiri Prison
as Otsuki
Prison Walls of Abashiri 3
as Otsuki
Yakuza G-Men
as Masayoshi Imanishi
若い野ばら
as 石丸雄吉
1964
The Desperate
as Chiba
Red Diamond
as George Takase
1963
1962
Sanjuro
as Samurai
Pitfall
as Man in White Suit
Pride of the Campus
as Shinjiro Ishiyama (Aodaisho)
Operation Sewer Rats
as Private Anayama
1961
Sir Galahad in Campus
as Shinjiro Ishiyama (Aodaisho)
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