is a Japanese actor. Matsuda began acting in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

when a girl he had a crush on convinced him to join the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

club. He later joined the sho-gekijo theatrical troupe Haiyu-Za. Nowadays known for roles such as Kagero in the low-budget films ''Shinobi: The Law of Shinobi'', 2002, and its sequels ''Shinobi: Runaway'', 2005 (not related to the 2005 film '' Shinobi: Heart Under Blade''), ''Shinobi: Hidden Techniques'', and ''Shinobi: A Way Out''. He is probably best known in Japan for numerous roles he has played in the

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

genre: starting with ''

Kamen Rider Hibiki is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series, serving as the fifteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei Company, Toei. ''Kamen Rider Hibik ...

'' as Zaoumaru Zaitsuhara/

Kamen Rider Zanki is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series, serving as the fifteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. ''Kamen Rider Hibiki'' first air ...

(as well as related characters: Buddhist monk

Kamen Rider Touki is the movie for the Japanese tokusatsu production Kamen Rider Hibiki, directed by Taro Sakamoto and written by Toshiki Inoue. The movie's title and plot is a reference to the classic Akira Kurosawa film, the Seven Samurai. This movie marks the de ...

in the movie special - a Sengoku-era version of Zanki - and an alternate Zanki from the Hibiki World as depicted in ''

Kamen Rider Decade is the title of the first installment of the 2009 editions of the long-running Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu dramas. ''Decade'', as its title suggests, is the tenth of the Heisei Rider special anniversary Series, having begun with ''Kamen Rider ...

''), and in ''

Kamen Rider Kiva is the 2008 ''Kamen Rider'' Japanese ''tokusatsu'' television series produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions. It is the series' ninth series in its Heisei era, and 18th series overall since the debut of ''Kamen Rider'' in 1971. It prem ...

'' as Jiro/Garulu (who made a cameo appearance in '' Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations: The Onigashima Warship''). He has also appeared in a cameo in the ''

Kamen Rider G is the title of the first installment of the 2009 editions of the long-running Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu dramas. ''Decade'', as its title suggests, is the tenth of the Heisei Rider special anniversary Series, having begun with ''Kamen Rider ...

'' special and has a recurring role in the series Garo: Makai Senki. He played the role of Raizo Gabi in ''

Shuriken Sentai Ninninger is a Japanese television series, the 39th entry of Toei's long-running Super Sentai metaseries, following '' Ressha Sentai ToQger''. It is the third ninja-based Sentai, and the fourth to be based on Japanese mythology and culture (after Samurai ...

''. He is most internationally known, however, for his role as the

butterfly knife A butterfly knife, also known as a Balisong, fan knife or Batangas knife, is a type of folding pocketknife that originated in the Philippines. Its distinct features are two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the bl ...

-wielding gangster in

Ryuhei Kitamura (born May 30, 1969) is a Japanese film director, producer, and screenwriter. Biography Early life Kitamura was born in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He dropped out of high school at age 17 and relocated to Sydney, Australia, where he attended a sch ...

's pop culture hit film, ''

Versus Versus (Latin, 'against') may refer to: Film and television * ''Versus'' (2000 film), a Japanese zombie film * ''Versus'' (2016 film), a Russian sports drama film * ''Versus'' (2019 film), a French thriller film * Versus (TV channel), form ...

''. He has also lent his voice to the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

video game

Dragon Quest Swords ''Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors'' is a role-playing video game developed by Genius Sonority and 8ing and published by Square Enix for the Wii game console. The game is a spin-off from the ''Dragon Quest'' series, an ...

as the hero's father, Baud. He also play the role of Zebra from the series

Toriko is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro. It follows the adventures of Toriko, a Gourmet Hunter, as he searches for rare, diverse foods to complete a full-course meal. On his journey, he is accompanied b ...

''.

External links

Official blog
* 1971 births Living people Kamen Rider People from Ibaraki, Osaka Japanese male actors {{Japan-actor-stub