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Kunie Tanaka

Kunie Tanaka

Acting • 1932-11-23 • Toki, Gifu, Japan

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

Battles Without Honor and Humanity7.3

Battles Without Honor and Humanity

1973

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity8.2

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity

1959

Sword of the Beast7.5

Sword of the Beast

1965

Pitfall7.3

Pitfall

1962

Zatoichi's Pilgrimage7.1

Zatoichi's Pilgrimage

1966

Evil of Dracula6.8

Evil of Dracula

1974

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Filmography