is a Japanese actor,
martial artist
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
, and writer of Korean descent.
Biography
Ihara is a
Japanese person of Korean descent, born on November 6, 1963, in
Kitakyūshū
is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one of ...
as Yun Yu-gu (윤유구/尹惟久) and who grew up in
Ikuno-ku, Osaka
image:Ikunoku Area.jpg, 250px, A typical residential area of Ikuno-ku
is one of 24 wards of Japan, wards of Osaka, Japan. The area of Ikuno-ku is well known for the large number of Koreans,Ryall, Julian.Big trouble in Little Korea: spiral of r ...
. He is a graduate of Imamiya Senior High School,
Naniwa-ku, Osaka
is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It has an area of 4.37 km², and a population of 51,567.
General information
Largely a residential area itself, Naniwa-ku is adjacent to and has in recent years blurred into the Namba district, wh ...
.
Career
Ihara joined the Japan Action Enterprise, a theater troupe founded by
Sonny Chiba
, known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.
Born in Fuku ...
, after leaving high school. Soon after, he began to work in numerous
feature films
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
and
television dramas, including the 1996
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
series ''Futarikko''. In 2006, Ihara appeared as the
Baron Takeichi Nishi in
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
's critically acclaimed
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning film ''
Letters from Iwo Jima'', introducing him to a wider international audience.
Ihara authored a book, , published in Japan by Amoeba Books.
Appearances
Films
*''
Kotaro Makaritoru'' (1984) - Sadoya Shunper
*''Bakayarō! Watashi Okkote Masu'' (1988, Kōwa International and
Shochiku
() 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 ...
) - Kazuki Numayama (Episode 1)
*''Byôin e ikô'' (1990) - Hizaki
*''Hong Kong Paradise'' (1990,
Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
) - Ando
*''Onna ga ichiban niau shokugyo'' (1990) - Fumio Tsukada
*''Daida Kyōshi Akiba, Shinken Desu!'' (1991,
Toei and
Nippon TV
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
)
*''Jingi'' (1991,
Toei)
*''Shura no Teiou'' (1994)
*''Yonshima Monogatari'' (1995, Ezaki Guriko)
*''
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'' (1995,
Daiei
, based in Kobe, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni Corporation ...
) - Yoshinari Yonemori
*''Abunai Deka Returns'' (1996,
Nippon TV
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
,
Toei)
*''Hiroin! Naniwa bombers'' (1998)
*''
Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys'' (1999, Daiei)
*''Drug'' (2001) - Masashi Kurata
*''
Minna no Ie
(also known as ''All About Our House'') is a 2001 comedy film written and directed by Japanese director Kōki Mitani. The film is about an affluent couple who decide to build a new house, and the clash between traditional Japanese and modern we ...
'' (2001,
Fuji TV
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...
,
Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
) - Arakawa Jr
*''Hanochi'' (2004)
*''Hinagon'' (2005) - Ichiro Igarashi
*''
Retribution'' (2006) - Tôru Miyaji
*''
Letters from Iwo Jima'' (2006) -
Baron Takeichi Nishi
*''Heat Island'' (2007) - Kakizawa
*''Ginmaku ban Sushi ôji!: Nyûyôku e iku'' (2008) - Haruki / Rin
*''Tsukiji uogashi sandaime'' (2008) - Eiji
*''
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...
'' (2009) - Masazuka
*''Nakumonka'' (2009)
*''
Thirteen Assassins'' (2010) - Kujuro Hirayama
*''
Dirty Hearts'' (2011,
Shindo Renmei) - Takahashi
*''The Tang of Lemon'' (2011)
*''Ai to makoto'' (2012) - Kenta Zaô
*''
Brave Hearts: Umizaru'' (2012) - Kazuhiko Shima
*''
Aibou: The Movie III'' (2014)
*''
Samurai Hustle
is a 2014 Japanese jidaigeki comedy film directed by Katsuhide Motoki and starring Kuranosuke Sasaki, Kyoko Fukada and Tsuyoshi Ihara. It was released on 21 June 2014.
It featured in the Japanese Film Festival in Australia in 2014 under the na ...
'' (2014) - Danzo Kumogakure
*''
Last Knights
''Last Knights'' is a 2015 action drama film directed by Kazuaki Kiriya and written by Michael Konyves and Dove Sussman, based loosely on (and Westernizing, for the most part) the Japanese legend of the forty-seven rōnin. The film, a joint prod ...
'' (2015) - Ito
*''Ashura 2003'' (2015)
*''Sutoreiyâzu kuronikuru'' (2015) - Koichiro Watase
*''Kazoku no hi'' (2016)
*''Chô kôsoku! Sankin kôtai ritânzu'' (2016) - Danzo Kumogakure
*''Iine! Iine! Iine!'' (2016)
*''
The Old Capital
is a novel by Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata first published in 1962. It was one of three novels cited by the Nobel Committee in their decision to award Kawabata the 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature.
''The Old Capital'' was first translated i ...
'' (2016)
*''Lámen Shop'' (2018) - Kazuo
*''They Say Nothing Stays the Same'' (2019)
*''Signal: The Movie'' (2021) - Junki Aoki
*''
Yakuza Princess'' (TBA) - Takeshi
Television dramas
*''
Shadow Warriors (Hattori Hanzō: Kage no Gundan'' series) (
Fuji TV
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...
, 1980-)
**''Kage no Gundan IV''
**''Kage no Gundam Bakumatsu-hen''
*''
Takeda Shingen
, of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.
Shingen was a warlord of great ...
'' (1988
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
Taiga drama; portraying
Oda Nobuyuki
, also known as , was the son of Oda Nobuhide and younger brother of Oda Nobunaga, who lived during the Sengoku period of Japan.
Nobuyuki conspired against his brother Nobunaga with the Hayashi clan (Owari), which Nobunaga viewed as treason. Nob ...
)
*''Oishii no ga suki'' (
TBS, 1989)
*''Kyō, Futari'' (1990 NHK
morning drama)
*''Yonimo Kimyōna Monogatari'' (1991,
Fuji TV
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...
)
*''Futarikko'' (1996, NHK morning drama) - Masao kuroiwa
*''Only You ~Aisarete~'' (1996, Nippon TV)
*''Ichigen no Koto'' (2000, NHK)
*''Star no Koi'' (2001, Fuji TV)
*''Kowloon de Aimashō'' (2002,
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
)
*''Kochira Hon Ikegami Sho'' (2002, TBS)
*''
Mibu Gishi Den ~Shinsengumi de Ichiban Tsuyokatta Otoko~'' (2002; portraying
Hijikata Toshizō
was a Japanese warrior. As of the ''Shinsengumi'', he resisted the Meiji Restoration and fought to his end.
Background
was born on May 31, 1835, in the Ishida village, Tama region of Musashi Province (present day Ishida, Hino, Tokyo), Jap ...
)
*''Koi wa Tattakai'' (2003, TV Asahi)
*''Kochira Hon Ikegami Sho 2'' (2003, TBS])
*''Chūshingura ~ Ketsudan no Toki'' (2003,
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
; portraying
Horibe Yasubei
was a warrior in Japan. Yasubee was born to , a samurai of the Shibata Domain (a Han (country subdivision), ''han'' in present-day Niigata Prefecture) . When Yasubee was 13, his father lost his position and became a rōnin. Soon afterwards, Yaji ...
)
*''
Sky High 2'' (2004, TV Asahi)
*''
Shinsengumi!
is a 2004 Taiga drama historical fiction television series produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK. It was a popular drama about the Shinsengumi, a Japanese special police force from the Bakumatsu period.
Actors include Koji Yamamoto, Tatsuya Fuj ...
'' (2004 NHK Taiga drama; portraying
Sasaki Tadasaburō)
*''Last Christmas'' (2004, Fuji TV)
*''Kochira Hon Ikegami Sho 4'' (2004, TBS)
*''Magari Kado no Kanojo'' (2005, Fuji TV) - Masamitsu Horiuchi
*''Shiawase ni Naritai!'' (2005, TBS)
*''Koi no Jikan'' (2005, TBS)
*''
Grave of the Fireflies
is a 1988 Japanese animated war tragedy film based on a 1967 short story by Akiyuki Nosaka. It was written and directed by Isao Takahata, and animated by Studio Ghibli for Shinchosha Publishing.
The film stars , , and . Set in the city o ...
'' (2005, Nippon TV) - Genzo Sawano (Hisako's husband)
*''Umeko'' (2005, TBS)
*''Kuroi Taiyō'' (2006, TV Asahi)
*''Jotei'' (2007, TV Asahi)
*''
Team Batista no Eiko
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
'' (2008, Fuji TV) - Kiryu Kyoichi
*''
Hanako to An'' (2014; portraying Ando Kippei, NHK Asadora)
*''
Hana Moyu
is a 2015 Japanese historical drama television series, the 54th NHK ''taiga'' drama. The series stars Mao Inoue as Sugi Fumi, a sister of Meiji Restoration scholar Yoshida Shōin. It premiered on January 4, 2015, and ended on December 13, 201 ...
'' (2015 NHK Taiga drama; portraying
Sakamoto Ryōma
was a Japanese ''samurai'', a '' shishi'' and influential figure of the ''Bakumatsu'' and establishment of the Empire of Japan in the late Edo period.
He was a low-ranking ''samurai'' from the Tosa Domain on Shikoku and became an active oppon ...
)
*''
The Naked Director Season 2'' (2021,
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
)
Anime
*''Karasu'' (1995,
Toei)
Theater
*''We Love JAC'' (1986)
*''Jōji ta JAC Kōen''
*''Mayonaka no Party'' (1991)
*''Honkon Rhapsody'' (1993)
*''Dā! Dā! Dā!'' (1993)
*''Hikoma ga Yuku'' (2002)
*''Blood Gets in Your Eyes'' (2003)
*''Rōnin Gai'' (2004)
*''Kātenkōru'' (2005)
*''shuffle'' (2005)
*''Letters from Iwo Jima'' (2006)
Other programs
*''Kimama ni Toygyazā'' (
Mainichi Broadcasting System
, or MBS, is a radio and television broadcasting company headquartered in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network (JRN), National Radio Network (NRN), Japan News Network (JNN) and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region.
It i ...
,
Kansai
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...
Local)
*''Ōra no Izumi'' (December 13, 2006,
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
)
Books
*''Kokorozashite Sōrō'' (author)
References
External links
K DashDrive Music*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ihara, Tsuyoshi
21st-century Japanese male actors
Japanese male film actors
Japanese male actors of Korean descent
Japanese male television actors
Japanese male stage actors
People from Kitakyushu
Male actors from Osaka
Zainichi Korean people
1963 births
Living people