is a Japanese

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 (), li ...

. He won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor in 1984 for '' The Funeral'' and '' Farewell to the Ark''. Yamazaki is well known for his role "Nenbutsu no Tetsu" on the television jidaigeki ''

Hissatsu Shiokinin is a Japanese television ''jidaigeki'' or period drama that was broadcast in 1973. It is the 2nd in the Hissatsu series. Hissatsu Shiokinin is one of the most popular ''jidaigeki'' dramas in Japan. Plot A group of common merchants in Edo city(Tok ...

'' and ''

Shin Hissatsu Shiokinin is a Japanese jidaigeki or period television drama. It is the tenth in the Hissatsu series. The drama is a sequel to Hissatsu Shiokinin. Shin Hissatsu Shiokinin is one of the most popular Jidaigeki dramas in Japan. Former professional Baseball ...

''.

Career

Yamazaki graduated from

Haiyuza Theatre Company The is a Japanese theatre company based in Tokyo, Japan. Along with the Mingei Theatre Company and Bungakuza it is considered one of the "Big Three" among Shingeki theatre troupes. Former Members *Eijirō Tōno *Koreya Senda *Eitaro Ozawa ...

and joined Bungakuza in 1959. He made his film debut in

Kihachi Okamoto was a Japanese film director who worked in several different genres. Career Born in Yonago, Okamoto attended Meiji University, but was drafted into the Air Force 1943 and entered World War II, an experience that had a profound effect on his late ...

`s ''Daigaku no sanzôkutachi'' in 1960. In 1961, he received the Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year. In 1963, he appeared in

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

's ''High and Low''. He worked with Kurosawa twice more: in the director's next film, 1965's ''

Red Beard is a 1965 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, in his last collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. Based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1959 short story collection, '' Akahige Shinryōtan'', the film takes pl ...

'', then fifteen years later, in ''

Kagemusha is a 1980 jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate the dying ''daimyō'' Takeda Shingen to dissuade opposing lords fr ...

''. In 1973, he appeared

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—''Portrait of Hel ...

television drama ''

'' and he played the same role in ''

'' again in 1977. He also starred in director Juzo Itami movies, as a trucker who resembles

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

in ''

Tampopo is a 1985 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami, and starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kōji Yakusho, and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first "ramen western", a play on the term Spaghetti Weste ...

'' (1985) as well as co-starring in ''

The Ramen Girl ''The Ramen Girl'' is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film starring Brittany Murphy about a girl who goes to Japan and decides to learn how to cook ramen. Murphy also co-produced. Plot Abby (Brittany Murphy) is an American girl who goes to Tokyo t ...

'' (2008) with

Brittany Murphy Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Fras ...

. He also played a supporting role in

Yōjirō Takita Yōjirō Takita (滝田洋二郎 ''Takita Yōjirō'', born December 4, 1955) is a Japanese filmmaker. Takita received an Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Best Foreign Language Film for his 2008 drama '' ...

's '' Departures''.

Filmography

Film

TV dramas

Awards and honours

References

External links

* * 1936 births 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors Living people People from Matsudo Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class {{Japan-actor-stub