Kin'ya Kitaōji Explained

Kin'ya Kitaōji
Birth Date:	23 February 1943
Birth Place:	Kyoto, Japan
Occupation:	Actor
Years Active:	1956–present
Parents:	Utaemon Ichikawa (father)

is a Japanese actor.

Biography

Early life

He was born in Kyoto, son of jidaigeki film star Ichikawa Utaemon, and graduated from Waseda University School of Letters, Arts and Sciences II in Tokyo.^[1]

Acting career

Kin'ya made his debut with his father in the 1956 Toei film Oyakodaka^[1] in the role of Katsu Kaishū. He is a contemporary of, and was taken to be a rival of, Hiroki Matsukata, who was also the son of a famous actor (Jūshirō Konoe). In 1964, Kin'ya made his first appearance on stage in Cyrano de Bergerac.

The 1960s and 1970s saw him in many contemporary roles. He appeared in and as well as Karei naru Ichizoku. The title role in the 1975 film Takehisa Yumeji was his.

On television, Kitaōji portrayed Miyamoto Musashi in the Nippon Television show of the same name. A major historical role was Sakamoto Ryōma in the year-long prime-time NHK taiga drama Ryōma ga Yuku (1968). He landed the title role in the long-running cop show Zenigata Heiji, set in the Edo period. In the 1985 twelve-hour New Year special Fūun Yagyū Bugeichō, he played Yagyū Jūbei, and in the following year's special, he portrayed both Tokugawa Yoshimune and Yagyū Shinrokurō. The role of another shogun fell to him in the following new year as TV Tokyo tapped him to play Tokugawa Iemitsu. Kin'ya returned to NHK for the 1987 Taiga drama Dokuganryū Masamune as Date Terumune, father of title character Date Masamune.

Another role he took had been created by his father. Saotome Mondonosuke was the title character in the series Gozonji! Hatamoto Taikutsu Otoko (The Bored Hatamoto). It ran from 1988 to 1994 on TV Asahi. His father, Ichikawa Utaemon, had appeared in numerous films and a 1973-74 TV series as Mondonosuke.

Kin'ya reprised the part of Miyamoto Musashi in the 1990 New Year's special. Toshirō Mifune had portrayed Musashi in the earlier film, also based on the Eiji Yoshikawa story, that had won an Academy Award. He returned to the New Year's special in 1996, again as the famous swordsman, in Tokugawa Kengōden Sore kara no Musashi.

His first portrayal of Ōishi Kuranosuke was in the 1996 Chūshingura. He took up the role again in 2004 for the NHK Saigo no Chūshingura and in 2007, in the New Year special Chūshingura Yōzei-in no Inbō. Other historical roles from the Sengoku period include Azai Nagamasa, Saitō Dōsan, and Yamamoto Kansuke. In addition to historical parts, he appeared in fictional series. His portrayal of Ogami Ittō in Kozure Okami (Lone Wolf and Cub) (2002-2004), which was a series for Asahi TV in Japan, is representative of these appearances.

In 2008, Kitaōji revisited the role of Katsu Kaishū in the taiga drama Atsuhime. He had portrayed Katsu in his 1956 debut.

He won the award for best actor at the 10th Hochi Film Award for Fire Festival and Haru no kane.^[2] Kitaōji played one of the lead roles in Hideo Nakata's psychological thriller film The Incite Mill.

In recent times, Kitaōji voices the Hokkaido-inu character of "Father" in SoftBank Mobile's White Family advertising campaign.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
	Tenka no igagoe: akatsuki no kessen		Sadatsugu Matsuda
	Bored Hatamoto: Acrobats of Death		Yasushi Sasaki
	1960	Hatamoto taikutsu otoko: nazo no yureiji shima		Yasushi Sasaki
1961	Law in Ghost Island			^[3]
	Suke-san Kaku-san oabare		Tadashi Sawashima
	Hanagasa futari wakushu		Yasushi Sasaki	Lead role
	1962	Seizoroi kanhasshu		Yasushi Sasaki
Jirochô to kotengu: nagurikomi kôshûji			Masahiro Makino	Lead role
1963	Seizoroi Tokaido		Sadatsugu Matsuda
	Kaigun		Shinji Murayama	Lead role
1967	Chikumagawa zesshô		Shirō Toyoda	Lead role
	Zoku namonaku mazushiku utsukushiku: Haha to ko	Ichiro Katayama	Zenzō Matsuyama
	Chichi to ko: Zoku Na mo naku mazushiku utsukushiku
1968	Kitahodaka zessho	Jiro Kii	Tadashi Sawashima	Lead role
	Gion matsuri		Daisuke Itô / Tetsuya Yamanouchi
	Nureta futari	Shigeo	Yasuzô Masumura
1969	Boruneo taisho: Akamichi ni tokero	Takeo	Tadashi Sawashima	Lead role
1970	Tenkan no abarembo	Sakamoto Ryōma	Seiji Maruyama
1971	En toiu onna		Tadashi Imai
	Asayake no uta	Asao, Haruko's lover	Kei Kumai
	Nihon kyôka den	Captain Sakagami	Tai Kato
1974	Akumyo: shima arashi	Sada	Yasuzô Masumura
	Â kessen kôkûtai		Kôsaku Yamashita
	1975	Nihon ninkyo-do: gekitotsu-hen	Joji	Kôsaku Yamashita
	Takehisa Yumeji monogatari koi suru	Yumeji Takehisa	Kôichi Saitô	Lead role
Bodo shimane keimusho		Sadao Nakajima
1976	Suri Ranka no ai to wakare		Keisuke Kinoshita	Lead role
1977	Arasuka monogatari	Frank Yasuda	Hiromichi Horikawa	Lead role
1978	Inubue	Detective Konishi	Sadao Nakajima
	Fuyu no hana	Michio Sakata	Yasuo Furuhata
	Seishoku no ishibumi		Shirô Moritani
	1979	Moeru aki		Masaki Kobayashi
1980	Jingi naki tatakai: Sôshûhen	Shoji Yamanaka	Kinji Fukasaku
1981	Hyôryû		Shirô Moritani	Lead role
1982	The Highest Honor	Tachibana	Seiji Maruyama / Peter Maxwell
	Maboroshi no mizuumi	Oda Nobunaga	Shinobu Hashimoto
	1984	Zerosen moyu	Jiro Horikoshi	Toshio Masuda	Special appearance
Shura no mure			Kôsaku Yamashita
1985		Yumechiyo nikki	Masaru Munakata	Kirio Urayama
	Nidaime wa Christian	Eiji	Kazuyuki Izutsu
	1991	Doten		Toshio Masuda	Lead role
	1993	Shin gokudo no onna-tachi: Kakugoshiiya	Shoji Hanamori	Kôsaku Yamashita
1997	Pekin genjin	Dr. Kojima	Jun'ya Satô	Special appearance
2008	Ginmaku ban Sushi ôji!: Nyûyôku e iku	Gengoro	Yukihiko Tsutsumi
	Hana Yori Dango Final	The mysterious gentleman	Yasuharu Ishii	Special appearance
2009	Goemon rokku	Kugai	Takehiko Watanabe
2010	Koisuru naporitan: Sekai de ichiban oishii aisarekata		Yoshinori Muratani
	Sakuradamon-gai no hen	Tokugawa Nariaki	Junya Sato
	2013	Gekijouban SPEC: Kurôzu - Zen no hen	Himiko	Yukihiko Tsutsumi	Special appearance
2016	Monster Strike The Movie	Kentaro Ishibashi (voice)	Shinpei Ezaki
	Usagi Oishi	Moriharu Miura	Akio Kondō
	1956	Virtue in Spades	Young Katsu Kaishū	Debut role
Avenging Father		Minamoto no Yoriie		^[4]
1957	The Mansion of Intrigue			^[5]
	Shadow Over Fuji			^[6]
	Golden Spell			^[7]
1958	Kingdom of Youth	Yamanaka Shikanosuke	Lead role	^[8]
1959	The Idle Vassal Pt.13			^[9]
1961	The Orphan Brother	Zushiōmaru (voice)		^[10]
1962	Tale of Genji Kuro	Minamoto no Yoshitsune	Lead role	^[11]
1964	Wolves, Pigs and Men	Sabu		^[12]
1965	Tokugawa Ieyasu	Matsudaira Motonobu	Lead role	^[13]
1969	Shinsengumi	Okita Sōji		^[14]
1971	Men and War Part II	Shunsuke Godai		^[15]
1973	Men and War Part III	Shunsuke Godai		^[16]
		Shoji Yamanaka	Lead role
1974		Tamotsu Matsumura
	Karei-naru Ichizoku	Yoshihiko Ichinose
1975	Cross the Rubicon!	Takeshi Kiyomoto	Lead role	^[17]
	The Bullet Train	Detective	Special appearance	^[18]
1976	Fumō Chitai	Kaifu		^[19]
1977	Mount Hakkoda	Captain Kanda	Lead role
1978	Dynamaite Don Don	Ginji		^[20]
1982	Future War 198X	Wataru Mikumo (voice)	Lead role	^[21]
1984	Kūkai	Kūkai	Lead role
1985	Fire Festival	Tatsuo	Lead role	^[22]
	Haru no Kane	Rokuheita Narumi	Lead role
1993	Rainbow Bridge	Chōzaemon		^[23]
2010	The Incite Mill	Yoshiya Ando		^[24]
2012	Asura	Buddhist Monk (voice)		^[25]
2016		Raise Max (voice)		^[26]
2019	Whistleblower	Ikuo Tokuyama
2020	The Confidence Man JP: Episode of the Princess	Raymond
2023	The Legend and Butterfly	Saitō Dōsan		^[27]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2014-2017	Sanbiki no Ossan	Kiyokazu Kiyota
2019	Castle of Sand		Special appearance; TV movie
1968	Ryōma ga Yuku	Sakamoto Ryōma	Lead role; Taiga drama	^[28]
1970	Momi no Ki wa Nokotta	Sakai Tadakiyo	Taiga drama	^[29]
1972	Shin Heike Monogatari	Prince Mochihito	Taiga drama	^[30]
1987	Dokuganryū Masamune	Date Terumune	Taiga drama
1991–1998	Zenigata Heiji	Zenigata Heiji	Lead role; 7 seasons	^[31]
2001	Hojo Tokimune	Xie Guoming	Taiga drama
2002-2004	Lone Wolf and Cub	Ogami Itto	Lead role; 3 seasons	^[32]
2007	The Family	Daisuke Manpyo		^[33]
	Liar Game	Hasegawa		^[34]
2008	Atsuhime	Katsu Kaishū	Taiga drama
2008	Genjūrō Hissatsuken	Koyama Genjuro	Lead role	^[35]
2009	Genjūrō's Deadly Sword: The Return of Shinigami	Koyama Genjuro	Lead role; TV movie	^[36]
2010–2018	Zettai Reido	Hideo Nagashima	3 seasons
2011	Gō	Tokugawa Ieyasu	Taiga drama
2012	Man of Destiny	Prime Minister Sahashi		^[37]
2013–2020	Hanzawa Naoki	Ken Nakanowatari	Special appearance; 2 seasons	^[38]
2014	Doctor-X	Yoshihito Tendō	Season 3	^[39]
2015	Burning Flower	Mōri Takachika	Taiga drama
	Massan	Ryūnosuke Uesugi	Asadora	^[40]
2015–2023	Seven Detectives	Shuntaro Domoto	9 seasons
2019–2022	Kioku Sōsa	Ichiro Onizuka	Lead role; 3 seasons	^[41]
2021	Reach Beyond the Blue Sky	Tokugawa Ieyasu	Taiga drama	^[42]
2024		Goro Bando	Special appearance	^[43]

Dubbing

Honours

• Medal with Purple Ribbon (2007)^[45]
• Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2015)^[45]
• Person of Cultural Merit (2023)^[46]

External links

• • 北大路欣也 at JMDB
• Official page at the Horipro agency

Notes and References

1. Web site: Kinya Kitaoji. kotobank. 2 November 2019.
2. Web site: http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/h_award/1985/. ja:報知映画賞ヒストリー. 2010-01-24. ja. Cinema Hochi. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120306194642/http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/h_award/1985/. 2012-03-06.
3. Web site: 幽霊島の掟. July 2, 2024. eiga.com.
4. Web site: 曽我兄弟 富士の夜襲. July 2, 2024. eiga.com.
5. Web site: 旗本退屈男 謎の蛇姫屋敷. July 2, 2024. eiga.com.
6. Web site: 富士に立つ影（1957）. July 2, 2024. eiga.com.
7. Web site: 黄金の伏魔殿. July 2, 2024. eiga.com.
8. Web site: 少年三国志. February 15, 2020. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan.
9. Web site: 旗本退屈男 謎の大文字. July 2, 2024. eiga.com.
10. Web site: 安寿と厨子王丸. April 7, 2023. eiga.com.
11. Web site: 源九郎義経. April 8, 2023. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, Inc..
12. Web site: 狼と豚と人間. July 2, 2024. eiga.com.
13. Web site: 徳川家康. April 7, 2023. eiga.com.
14. Web site: 新選組（1969）. April 7, 2023. eiga.com.
15. Web site: 戦争と人間 第二部・愛と悲しみの山河. October 4, 2023. eiga.com.
16. Web site: 戦争と人間 完結篇. October 4, 2023. eiga.com.
17. Web site: 資金源強奪. April 7, 2023. eiga.com.
18. Web site: 新幹線大爆破. July 2, 2024. eiga.com.
19. Web site: 不毛地帯. April 7, 2023. eiga.com.
20. Web site: ダイナマイトどんどん. April 8, 2023. eiga.com.
21. Web site: FUTURE WAR 198X年. April 8, 2023. eiga.com.
22. Web site: 火まつり. April 6, 2023. eiga.com.
23. Web site: 虹の橋. April 9, 2023. eiga.com.
24. Web site: インシテミル 7日間のデス・ゲーム. April 8, 2023. eiga.com.
25. Web site: アシュラ（2012）. April 8, 2023. eiga.com.
26. Web site: ONE PIECE FILM GOLD. April 8, 2023. eiga.com.
27. Web site: THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY. September 2, 2022. eiga.com.
28. Web site: 北大路欣也 きたおおじきんや. April 6, 2023. NHK.
29. Web site: 大河ドラマ 樅ノ木は残った. March 23, 2022. NHK.
30. Web site: 新・平家物語の出演者・キャスト一覧. July 2, 2024. The Television.
31. Web site: 銭形平次シリーズ. April 9, 2023. Haiyaku Jiten.
32. Web site: エロなし、奇抜武器なしのテレビ事情表したシリーズ 宿敵・柳生烈堂率いる裏柳生との死闘描く全3部作 北大路欣也が熱演. January 1, 2024. Zakzak. 10 November 2023.
33. Web site: 華麗なる一族. July 15, 2021. Ciatr.
34. Web site: LIAR GAME ライアーゲーム. April 8, 2023. TV drama database.
35. Web site: 北大路欣也「血のたぎりをぶつけています」. January 1, 2024. Oricon. 5 October 2016.
36. Web site: 幻十郎必殺剣スペシャル 死神復活. January 4, 2024. TV drama database.
37. Web site: 運命の人. April 7, 2023. TBS.
38. Web site: 記憶捜査2～新宿東署事件ファイル～ ＃3【ドラマセレクション】. April 6, 2023. TV Osaka.
39. Web site: 『ドクターX』最終回27.4%、全11話平均22.9% 今年1番の高視聴率ドラマに. April 7, 2023. Oricon. 19 December 2014.
40. Web site: 北大路欣也、『マッサン』直訴で参戦. April 8, 2023. Oricon. 31 July 2019.
41. Web site: 北大路欣也 主演 風間俊介、上白石萌音などおなじみのキャストと共に刑事・鬼塚が帰ってくる！／記憶捜査2～新宿東署事件ファイル～. February 10, 2021. TV Tokyo.
42. Web site: 【青天を衝け】北大路欣也、徳川家康役で出演「まったく経験したことのない挑戦」. January 27, 2021. Oricon.
43. Web site: Believe-君にかける橋 出演者. April 25, 2024. Asahi TV.
44. Web site: リチャード・ギア、"自分役"の北大路欣也と犬繋がりで初対面. April 6, 2023. Oricon. 5 October 2016.
45. Web site: 「京都国際映画祭2022」牧野省三賞・三船敏郎賞 受賞者決定のお知らせ. April 7, 2023. PR Times. 30 September 2022.
46. Web site: 塩野七生さんら7人文化勲章 功労者に北大路欣也さんら. October 21, 2023. Jiji Press.