Japanese stage and film actor Tatsuya Nakadai, famed for his performances in Akira Kurosawa films including Ran and Kagemusha, has died at the age of 92, his acting school Mumeijuku announced on Tuesday.
Nakadai first rose to prominence under director Masaki Kobayashi, starring in the anti-war epic trilogy The Human Condition during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
He had a minor role in Kurosawa’s 1954 classic Seven Samurai, but later became the director’s leading man after Toshiro Mifune pursued other projects. Nakadai’s notable Kurosawa roles include the warlord in Ran (1985) and the titular character in Kagemusha (1980), which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Nakadai also appeared in the 1961 samurai film Yojimbo, alongside Mifune, and collaborated with acclaimed directors such as Hiroshi Teshigahara and Kon Ichikawa.
In 1975, he co-founded Mumeijuku, a private acting school and troupe, with his late wife Yasuko Miyazaki, mentoring a new generation of actors. Among his students is Koji Yakusho, who won Best Actor at Cannes in 2023 for Perfect Days.
Nakadai continued performing into his 90s, appearing this year at a theatre in the Noto region, still recovering from a deadly earthquake earlier in 2025.
No further details on the circumstances of his death were provided.
Nakadai leaves behind a profound legacy in both Japanese cinema and theatrical education, remembered as one of the most versatile and influential actors of his generation.
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