was a Japanese

film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

most famous for starring roles in

gendaigeki ''Gendai-geki'' ( 現代劇) is a genre of film and television or theater play in Japan. Unlike the ''jidai-geki'' genre of period dramas, whose stories are set in the Edo period, ''gendaigeki'' stories are contemporary dramas set in the mode ...

of the silent era.

Career

Suzuki was born in Tokyo and was a championship swimmer at

Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...

when he first appeared in ''

Souls on the Road is a 1921 Japanese silent film directed by Minoru Murata. Film critic Mark Cousins (film critic), Mark Cousins wrote that it was "the first landmark film in Japanese history". See also * Cinema of Japan References Further reading * * * * ...

'' in 1921 under the name Zeya Tōgō (東郷是也, a pun on the English "to go there"). After graduating in 1924, he joined the

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...

studio and began acting under his own name. He moved to

Shōchiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

Kamata Kamata can refer to: Places *Kamata, Tokyo, a neighborhood in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan **Kamata High School, a school located in the Kamata neighborhood, Ōta, Tokyo, Japan * Kamata Kingdom, a 13th-century kingdom in Assam, India * Kamata, New Zealand ...

studio the next year and became a major star appearing in youth films often directed by

Kiyohiko Ushihara was a Japanese film director most famous for his gendaigeki of the silent era. Career Born in Kumamoto Prefecture and graduating from Tokyo University, Ushihara joined the Shochiku studio in 1920 on the invitation of Kaoru Osanai. Starting out ...

. He also worked with directors such as

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Uget ...

Minoru Murata was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor who was one of the major directors of the silent era in Japan. Career Born in Tokyo, Murata started out as a shingeki actor on the stage. Murata's troupe appeared in the first " pure films ...

Masahiro Makino was a Japanese film director. He directed more than 260 films, primarily in the chanbara and yakuza genres. His real name was , but he took the stage name Masahiro, the kanji for which he changed multiple times (including , , and ). Career Masa ...

, and

Yasujirō Shimazu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, and a pioneer of the ''shomin-geki'' (common people drama) genre at the Shōchiku studios in pre-World War II Japan. Biography Shimazu was born in Tokyo, the second son of merchant Otojirō Shimazu ...

. He also directed some films and even ran for political office, though unsuccessfully.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (路上の霊魂, Rojō no reikon) (1921) * '' Marching On'' (進軍, Shingun) (1930) * '' The Mountain Pass of Love and Hate'' (愛憎峠 Aizo toge) (1934) * ''

Ahen senso (or ) aka ''The Opium War '' is a 1943 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Masahiro Makino. "Ahen senso" in Japan refers to the First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series ...

'' (阿片戦争) (1943)

References

External links

* * Japanese male film actors 1900 births 1985 deaths Japanese male silent film actors Male actors from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese male actors {{Japan-film-actor-stub