Hiroyuki Nagato

Hiroyuki Nagato (長門裕之, Nagato Hiroyuki, 10 January 1934 – 21 May 2011), stage name of Akio Kato (加藤晃夫), was a Japanese actor.

Hiroyuki Nagato
Nobuko Otowa and Hiroyuki Nagato in the 1956 Japanese movie Gin Shinju
Born	Akio Kato (1934-01-10)10 January 1934 Kyoto, Japan
Died	21 May 2011(2011-05-21) (aged 77) Juntendo Clinic, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1940–2011
Spouse	Yōko Minamida ​ (m. 1961⁠–⁠2009)​
Parent(s)	Kunitarō Sawamura Tomoko Makino
Family	Masahiko Tsugawa (brother) Sadako Sawamura (aunt) Daisuke Katō (uncle)

He starred in Season of the Sun, Endless Desire, My Second Brother, Stolen Desire, and Sukeban Deka, and Yo-Yo Girl Cop.

Life and career

Nagato was born in Kyoto City and came from an illustrious film family. His younger brother Masahiko Tsugawa is an actor. His wife Yōko Minamida was an actress. His grandfather is the director Shōzō Makino, nicknamed the Father of Japanese Film; his father, Kunitarō Sawamura, and his mother, Tomoko Makino, were both actors. His aunt and uncle through his father are the actors Sadako Sawamura and Daisuke Katō. His niece was the actress Mayuko and she referred to him as "Achi" (Uncle Akio). Masayuki Makino, his cousin from his mother's side, was the first principal of the Okinawa Actors School. He had no children with his wife Yoko. He is distantly related to the modern Japanese comedian Daisuke Miyagawa.

After graduating from Hanazono High School, Nagato entered into Ritsumeikan University's Department of Literature but dropped out. Former Hanshin Tigers coach Yoshio Yoshida attended Ritsumeikan at the same time as Nagato but also dropped out.

Acting career

His first movie appearance was in the 1940 film Zokushi Mizuminato (續清水港). He was a widely known child actor before World War II. During his school years he took a temporary break from acting but after the war he joined the entertainment company Nikkatsu where he resumed film-making. He starred in the first installment book-turned-movie Taiyouzoku series, Season of the Sun, with his co-star, Yujiro Ishihara who debuted with this movie. Combined with director Shohei Imamura, the movie left him with the reputation of having acting and gave him the nickname of "Nikkatsu's Billboard Star".

In 1961 Nagato married Yoko Minamida and the following year he left Nikkatsu. In 1964, together with his wife, he established the film company Ningen Production. In 1968 he produced and starred in the television drama Katsudoya Ichiyo on MBS. However, due to compounding issues with the series, it plunged him 200 million yen into debt.

From 1982 he also became known as a personality appearing on the KBS Kyoto's charity radio show Great Snail War. The show provided help and raise money for children who were orphaned because of accidents. His wife also participated alongside him starting from 1984. He and his wife continued appearing until the campaign's end in 2005.

He also worked together alongside other celebrities born in the same year as him (1934): Yujiro Ishihara, Kinya Aikawa, Koizumi Ohashi, Ichiro Zaitsu, Jiro Sakagami, Shunji Fujimura, Gorō Mutsumi, Shuichiro Moriyama to form the friendship association Showa 9 Nenkai (昭和9年会). The 9th year of the Showa era is the equivalent of 1934.

To Yoko Controversy

In November 1985, Nagato published an exposé called To Yoko(洋子へ); it was published by the publisher Datahouse.(データハウス) . It was a series of confessions to his wife, in which he wrote about his numerous infidelities without changing any names of those he had affairs with. It astounded the Japanese media. Junko Ikeuchi, who was among the people included in the book under her real name, voiced a strong objection in response.

Nagato and Datahouse recalled the first edition and issued a revised version in which the problem areas were re-written. Nagato also took out an ad in the Ikeuchi newspaper to apologize over the situation. Nagato argued that, "Because [I] used a ghostwriter, my true intentions were not conveyed." However the entire incident seriously damaged his and his wife's careers. They were forced to resign from all the programs and commercials they had currently appeared in. He went on numerous different celebrity gossip shows for interviews about the event and repeatedly slammed his book against the desk while disparaging it.

After a long time Nagato recovered from the incident and even went back to thriving, performing mainly antagonist or villain roles in television dramas.

Last Years

In his last years, Nagato devoted himself to making amends with his wife for all his affairs (and the scandal caused by the book) and became her caregiver when she was diagnosed with dementia. At the same time, he also increasingly started co-starring more with his younger brother Tsugawa, who he had been feuding with for many years. He also appeared in works directed by Tsugawa who assumed the name of Makino Masahiko.

On 21 October 2009, Yoko Minamida, died of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) at the age of 76. At a press conference held at the Meiji Theater the day Minamida died, Nagato stated, with tears in his eyes, "From now on, I will step into a world without my wife. Yoko lives on in my memories. This is what eternity means. [...] These four years of caring for her has been my rebirth and has changed my outlook on life."

Death

After his wife's death, Nagato continued working until right before his own final days. On 21 May 2011, one year and seven months after the death of his wife, Nagato passed away at Juntendo Clinic in Tokyo at 5:20pm. He was 77. That night, Tsukawa stated that his brother's condition was "A complication caused by pneumonia, but he was fine the day before", and revealed that his condition had changed suddenly the day of his death. Tsugawa along with Nagato's private friend of 60 years Ruriko Asaoka, rushed to respond to the press media's coverage.
Upon receiving Nagato's obituary, Enzo Tachibana, who had been close to Nagato for many years and a member of the Showa 9 Nenkai, announced his condolences saying, "(With the death of Hiroshi Tamaki and Sakagami) more and more friends are now gone." Others who had a friendly relationship with Nagato commended their own condolences. Aimi Higa, who co-starred with him in DonDon Hare, wrote a comment on her blog in memory of Nagato. Toshiyuki Nishida, who co-starred with him in Ikenaka Genta 80 Kg, said that the titular character "weeps" for his death. Kinichi Hagimoto, who was long loved by Nagato and his wife like a younger brother, when paying his own condolences and choked up with grief said, "He was the ultimate mentor, friend, and brother."

The wake and funeral service were held on 24 May at Zenpukuji in Minato-ku, Tokyo, with Tsugawa serving as the funeral officiant. The body was then cremated at the Kirigaya Yasaijyou in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. Kiichi Nakai and Takashi Sasano read the condolences at wake while Tetsuko Kuroyagi and Eiji Okuda read the condolences at the funeral and memorial ceremony. Nagato was given the posthumous name, traditional in Buddhist funeral ceremonies, of "Gokugeiin Shijojoaki"(極芸院釋浄晃).

Nagato's last movie appearance was in Aoi Aoi Sora (青い青い空) released on 9 October 2010. His last TV drama appearance was on the last episode of the NHK Saturday drama Onmitu Happyaku Yacho (隠密八百八町) broadcast on 26 March 2011, about two months before his death.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1940	Seisen aiba fu: Akatsuki ni inoru
1942	Kogen no Tsuki
	Sumidagawa
	Aikoku no hana
1945	Hisshôka	Yuichi
1948	Te o tsunagu kora	Kenji Okumura
	Ankokugai no tenshi
1951	Oedo go-nin otoko
1953	Onna kanja himon - Akô rôshi	Chikara Ôishi
	Katame no mao
1954	Konomura Daikichi	Gorodayu
	Kaiketu taka		part 1, 2
	Teruhi kumoruhi (zenpen)
1956	Shirogane Shinjū	Tamataro
	Aijô	Tarô Nogami
	Season of the Sun	Tatsuya Tsugawa	Lead role
	Tonari no yome
	Ningen gyorai shutsugekisu
	Okinawa no Tami	Kôichi Ôta
1957	Kiken na kankei	Shôichi Shima
	Gekka no wakamusha	Kotarô
	Jûnana-sai no teikô	Eikichi
	Washi to taka	Goro
	Kaietu taka-dainihen honryuu doto na maki
	Judai no wanâ
	Hangyaku sha
1958	Kokoro to nikutai no tabi	Judge at audition	Uncredited
	Stolen Desire	Shinichi Kunida
	Ginza no sabaku	Saburo Shigeta
	Endless Desire	Satoru
	Akai lamp no shûressha
	Yarô to ôgon
1959	Dai san no shikaku	Ichirô Yoshikawa
	Saijo kishitsu
	Sono kabe o kudake
	Yuganda tsuki	Masao Katsuragi
	My Second Brother	Kiichi Yasumoto, eldest brother	Lead role
	Warera no jidai
	Tôboshâ
	Fudôtoku kyôiku kôza	Keiichi Asabuki
1960	Kizû darakê no ôkite
	Kyanpasu hyakutoban: Yori gakusei yaro to masume tachi
	Kemono no nemuri
	Mikkô zero rain
	The Warped Ones	Kashiwagi
	Jûrokusai	Setsuo Homma
1961	Pigs and Battleships	Kinta	Lead role
	Rokudenashi yarô	Keigo Tsuruki
	Dôdôtaru jinsei	Kosuke Kon'ya
	Sûkettô kagyô
1962	Hakai	Ginnosuke Tsuchiya
	Akitsu Springs	Shusaku Kawamoto
	Nikui an-chikushô	Ichirô Umetani
	Atariya taisho		Lead role
	Ratai	Takasugi
	Ai to shi no katami	Kiyoshi Nozaki
	Yabai koto nara zeni ni naru	Tetsuzô Okita
1963	Daisan no Akumyo	Osamu
	Twin Sisters of Kyoto'	Hideo Otomo
	Yushu heiya
	Mushukunin-betsuchô	Kojuro
	Irezumi Hantaro
	Haikei tenno heika sama	Munemoto
	Seishun o kaese	Masuo Suda
	Jinsei gekijo: Zoku Hishakaku
	Kekkonshiki Kekkonshiki	Yoshioka
	Hiken	Chojuro
	The Insect Woman	Matsunami
1964	Zûzûshii yatsu	Seiichi Onoda
	Kakedashi keiji	Shôsuke Nitta
	Hana to dotô
	Haikei sôri daijin sama
	Zoku zûzûshii yatsu	Masaharu Onoda
	Nihon kyôkaku-den
	Nippon paradaisu	Maresuke Kuramoto
	Jinsei gekijo: Shin Hishakaku
1965	Kaoyaku	Gorô Akita
	Dai Nippon hattariden
	Daikon to ninjin	Kosuki Yamaki
	Buraikan jingi	Tanimura
	Zokû seiun yakuza - ikarî no otoko
	Ninkyo otoko ippiki
1965 1967	Nihon Kyokaku-den		part 1-3
1966	Tobenai chinmoku
	Otoko no shôbu
	The Actress vs. the Greedy Sharks
	Ôtoko no kao wa kuri fûda
	Danshun
1967	Arashi kitari saru
	Ârappoi no ha gômen dazê
1968	Kigeki meoto zenzai
	Shin Abashiri Bangaichi	Tatô Komatsu
1969 1972	Hibotan bakuto		part 1, 2
1969	Zankoku onna rinchi
	Yakuza hijoshi - mushyo kyodai
	Nihon zan kyôsen
	Nihon zankyô-den
	Bakuto mujô
1970	Onna no keisatsu, Kokusaisen Machiaishitsu	Takijima
	Shôwa zankyô-den		part 1
1972	Kizu darake jinsei furui do de gonzansu
	Junko intai kinen eiga: Kantô hizakura ikka	Shinkichi
	Aa koe naki tomo	Kawase
1974	Aka chôchin	Middle-aged man
	Virgin Blues	Middle-aged man
1975	Isho: Shiroi shôjo
	Baajin buruusu
1977	Jingi to kôsô	Fusajirô Konno
	Proof of the Man	Takeo Odayama (Naomi's husband)
	Hitomi no naka no houmonsha	Eiichiro Komori
1978	Kumokiri Nizaemon	Kichigorô
	Mahiru nari
1979	Nutcracker Fantasy	Doctor of Letters	Japanese version, Voice
1980	Chichi yo haha yo!
1981	Sudachi no toki kyoiku wa shinazu
1983	Namidabashi
	Hometown	Denroku
1984	Wangan Doro	Nagasawa
1986	Katayoku dake no tenshi
	Minami e hashire, umi no michi o!	Detective Kume
	Michi
1987	Sukeban Deka The Movie	Director Kurayami / Dark Director
	Hachiko Monogatari	Kiku-san
	Ore wa otokoda! kanketsu-hen
1988	Sukeban deka: Kazama sanshimai no gyakushû	Dark Director Kurayami
	Tomorrow	Yasuichiro
	Revolver	Ijichi
1989	Shôgun Iemitsu no ranshin - Gekitotsu	Tagaya Rokubee
	226	Koichi Kido
1990	Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi	Prefectural Assembly Member
	Rônin-gai	Noodleman
	Sawako no koi	Sawako's father
1992	Onna goroshi abura no jigoku
	Toki Rakujitsu	Dr. Kitasato
1993	Yearning	Customer
1995	Nemureru bijo	Fukura
1996	Gendai ninkyoden	Masuzo Munekata
2001	Chinpira
2003	Tegami	Uno
	Yurusarezaru mono
	Yurusarezaru mono
	Gokudô kyôfu dai-gekijô: Gozu
	The Man in White Part 2: Requiem for the Lion
2004	Onigiri	Tetsu Yamatani
	Izo
2005	Nezu no ban	Master Kyokaku
2006	Sukeban deka: Kôdo nêmu = Asamiya Saki	Kurayami Shirei
	Yo-Yo Girl Cop	Kurayami Shirei
2007	Tenkôsei: Sayonara anata
	Kobuhiroba
2008	Hotaru no haka	Maichi Kaicho of Mikage
	Jirochô sangokushi	Father of Onikichi
	Dreaming Awake	Kiya Kimuro	Lead role
	Asahiyama Zoo Story: Penguins in the Sky	Keisuke Nirasaki
2009	Puraido	Gonzaburo Hoshino
	Shinjuku Incident	Hara Ooda
	Tokumei joshi-ana: Namino Yôko
2010	Flowers	Endo
	Aoi aoi sora	Oshou

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Tokugawa Ieyasu	Honda Sakuzaemon	Taiga drama
1983	Oshin		Asadora
1985–1986	Sanada Taiheiki	Toyotomi Hideyoshi
1995	Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune	Tokugawa Mitsukuni	Taiga drama

External links

• Hiroyuki Nagato at IMDb
• Hiroyuki Nagato at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)