Ryūnosuke Tsukigata

Ryūnosuke Tsukigata
Ryūnosuke Tsukigata
Born	March 18, 1902 Miyagi Prefecture
Died	August 30, 1970 (aged 68)
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	Kiyoto Monden
Occupation	actor

Ryūnosuke Tsukigata (月形龍之介 Tsukigata Ryūnosuke, 18 March 1902 – 30 August 1970) was a Japanese actor known especially for his work in jidaigeki in film and television. His real name was Kiyoto Monden.^[1]

Career

Born in Miyagi Prefecture, Tsukigata entered the actor's school at Nikkatsu in 1920, but earned his first starring role working at Shōzō Makino's studio in 1924.^[1] He became a star of chanbara films, but got into trouble when he ran away with Makino's daughter, Teruko Makino, even though he was married.^[2] He eventually left Teruko and returned to the fold, but left again to start his own production company, which soon failed.^[2] Continuing to work at various studios, Tsukigata appeared in films by such masters as Daisuke Itō, Mansaku Itami, and Hiroshi Inagaki. He is probably best known to foreign audiences for playing Sanshiro's rival in Akira Kurosawa's Sanshiro Sugata. After World War II, he moved into supporting roles at the Tōei studio, but also played such major characters as Tokugawa Mitsukuni (Mito Kōmon) on film and television.

Selected filmography

• Zanjin zanbaken (斬人斬馬剣) (1928)
• Chūji uridasu (忠治売出す) (1935)
• Muhōmatsu no isshō (無法松の一生) (1943)
• Sanshiro Sugata (姿三四郎, Sugata Sanshirō) (1943)
• Sanshiro Sugata Part II (續姿三四郎, Zoku Sugata Sanshirō) (1945)
• Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji (血槍富士, Chiyari Fuji) (1955)
• Akō Rōshi (赤穂浪士, Akō Rōshi) (1961)

References

1. "Tsukigata Ryūnosuke". Nihon jinmei daijiten + Plus (in Japanese). Kōdanasha. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
2. Nakata, Masaki. "Tsukigata Ryūnosuke nenpu: senzen hen". Ichioshi Bikenshi (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 February 2011.

External links

• Ryūnosuke Tsukigata at the Internet Movie Database
• Tsukigata Ryūnosuke at the Japanese Movie Database (Japanese)