Kōji Mitsui
Acting
Biography
Mitsui Koji ( March 6, 1910 - April 20, 1979 ) was a Japanese actor. His real name was Mitsui Hikohide. After the war, he played an active role as a supporting actor in films directed by Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu . His former stage name was Mitsui Hideo. Changed his stage name to Mitsui Koji in Ozu's Hen in the Wind (1948) . His role as the playboy Kisaburo in Kurosawa Akira 's The Lower Depths (1957) won him the Best Supporting Actor award at the 12th Mainichi Film Awards and the 8th Blue Ribbon Awards, solidifying his status as a supporting actor. After going freelance in 1960, he worked not only in films but also in television dramas and on stage, but after undergoing surgery for a stomach ulcer in 1971, his health deteriorated and he scaled back his acting career. He died of heart failure on April 20, 1979 at a hospital in Kamakura. He was 69 years old.
Born: March 6, 1910
Place of Birth: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Known For
Times of Joy and Sorrow
The story of the trials and tribulations of a lighthouse keeper and his wife.
High and Low
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
Woman in the Dunes
A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
Red Beard
Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
The Monster Cat of the Fifty-Three Stations
A power struggle in the fief of Okazaki causes the death of Namiji, a nobleman's daughter. As her fiancé seeks revenge, he finds Namiji's cat helping him, along the Fifty-Three stations of the Tokaido Road. Co-starring Shintarô Katsu and Takako Irie.
The Hidden Fortress
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
The Bad Sleep Well
In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death.
The Battle of Okinawa
The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs. The mission quickly degenerates as vital resources and troops are diverted to other islands. After a civilian evacuation ends in tragedy most of non-combatants are forced to remain on the island. Many convert to soldier status. Tokyo sends mixed messages that squander time and resources, as when they order the defenders to build an airstrip for aircraft that never come. The truth soon becomes obvious: the high command decides that the island cannot be held and effectively abandons the Okinawan defenders. When the Americans land many troops are deployed in the wrong places. As the slaughter mounts, a suicidal attitude takes hold. Okinawa becomes a death trap, for civilian volunteers and non-combatants as well.
Early Spring
A young Tokyo salary man and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he has an extramarital affair.
Filmography
as Foodstand owner
as Yagi
as Mr. Otagaki
as Old Journalist
as Mizorogi
as Heikichi
as Motojima
as Furui
as Village Elder
as Yabe Senjuro
as Second Reporter
as Narcotics Control Agent Hayashi
as Shuzo, Tomie's father
as Torikie
as Genji
as Reporter A
as Hobara
as Kichinosuke
as Man A
as Hangoro Iizuka
as Shopkeeper
as Guard (uncredited)
as Mr. Kanemaki
as Yoshisaburo the Gambler
as Tamekichi Kurita
as Hirayama
as 父長助
as 岡本五郎右衛門
as Iwakichi
as 弥之助
as 和尚廓念
as 古門前の長次
as Kodaira
as Moriyama
as Shige
as Oka
as Kichitarō
as Cameraman A
as Seki
as Hideo
as Yoshioka
as Kawanishi
as Murakami
as Graduate
as Kensuke Ide
as Hideo Nemoto
as Shinkichi
as Kousaku
as Guest (at café)
as Kitamura
as Hiroshi
as Guy on bike