was a Japanese actor and film director who appeared in more than 300 films in his 45 years spanning career, working with directors such as Kaneto Shindō,

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese filmmaker who directed roughly 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), '' Ugetsu'' (1953), and ' ...

and

Kōzaburō Yoshimura was a Japanese film director. Biography Born in Shiga Prefecture, he joined the Shōchiku studio in 1929. He debuted as director with a short film in 1934, but, after being denied a promotion by head of the studio Shirō Kido, continued working ...

Biography

Sugai was born in Rukahara (now Higashiyama Ward),

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. He left junior high school prematurely and entered the Kyoto section of the

Nikkatsu is a Japanese film studio located in Bunkyō. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Motion Pictures". Shareholders are Nippon Television Holdings (35%) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (28.4%). ...

film company in 1925. In the 1930s, he first switched to Shinkō Kinema before founding the actors group Dai-ichi kyōdan and becoming a freelance actor in 1939. Notable films of this era include Kenji Mizoguchi's '' The Water Magician'' (1933) and ''The Straits of Love and Hate'' (1937). After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sugai became a sought after supporting actor. In addition to numerous films by directors Shindō, Mizoguchi and Yoshimura, he appeared in films by

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

Keisuke Kinoshita was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Ronald Berganbr>"A satirical eye on Japan: Keisuke Kinoshita" ''The Guardian'', 5 January 1999. While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and ...

Tadashi Imai was a Japanese film director known for social realist filmmaking informed by a left-wing perspective. His most noted films include '' An Inlet of Muddy Water'' (1953) and '' Bushido, Samurai Saga'' (1963). Life Although leaning towards left-win ...

Shōhei Imamura was a Japanese film director. His main interest as a filmmaker lay in the depiction of the lower strata of Japanese society. A key figure in the Japanese New Wave, who continued working into the 21st century, Imamura is the only director from J ...

and

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese filmmaker. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. The most pr ...

. Sugai directed two films himself, ''Dorodarake no seishun'' (1954) and ''Furanki no uchūjin'' (1957).

Selected filmography

* '' The Water Magician'' (1933) * ''The Straits of Love and Hate'' (1937) * ''

Spring on Leper's Island ''Spring on Leper's Island'' () is a 1940 Japanese drama film directed by Shirō Toyoda. It is based on the memoir of Masako Ogawa, a Japanese doctor who specialised in leprosy treatment, and is noted by film historians for its Humanism, humanist ...

'' (1940) * ''

Sanshiro Sugata is a 1943 Japanese martial arts drama film and the directorial debut of the Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa. First released in Japan on March 25, 1943 by Toho film studios, the film was eventually released in the United States on April 28 ...

'' (1943) * '' The Most Beautiful'' (1944) * '' Sanshiro Sugata Part II'' (1945) * ''

Minshū no Teki is a 1946 Japanese drama film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was released on April 25, 1946. Cast *Susumu Fujita *Akitake Kōno *Kogiku Hanayagi *Ureo Egawa *Takashi Shimura *Ichiro Sugai Reception At the 1st Mainichi Film Award, Tadashi Imai won ...

'' (1946) * '' Aru yo no Tonosama'' (1946) * ''

Apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...

'' (1948) * ''

Stray Dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of wh ...

'' (1949) * '' Flame of My Love'' (1949) * '' Story of a Beloved Wife'' (1951) * '' Early Summer'' (1951) * ''

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

'' (1952) * '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952) * ''

Epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

'' (1953) * '' A Geisha'' (1953) * '' Life of a Woman'' (1953) * ''

Sansho the Bailiff is a 1954 Japanese period film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi based on a 1915 short story of the same name by Mori Ōgai (translated as "Sanshō the Steward" in English), which in turn was based on a (oral lore) appearing in written form in the ...

'' (1954) * ''

The Crucified Lovers , also titled ''A Story from Chikamatsu'', is a 1954 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It was adapted from Monzaemon Chikamatsu's 1715 bunraku play ''Daikyōji mukashi goyomi''. Plot In Edo-period Japan, Mohei is an apprentice ...

'' (1954) * ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

'' (1955) * ''

Shirogane Shinjū , also romanised as ''Gin Shinjū'', is a 1956 Japanese drama film written and directed by Kaneto Shindō. It is based on a novel by Torahiko Tamiya. Cast * Nobuko Otowa as Sakie / Umeko * Hiroyuki Nagato as Tamatarō * Jūkichi Uno as Kiich ...

'' (1956) * '' Ryūri no Kishi'' (1956) * '' Night Drum'' (1958) * '' Endless Desire'' (1958) * ''

Odd Obsession is a 1959 Japanese satirical comedy drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It is based on the 1956 novel '' The Key'' by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. Plot Art historian Kenji Kenmochi is married to the much younger Ikuko. Due to his waning virility, he ...

'' (1959) * '' Kenju burai-chō Nukiuchino Ryu'' (1960) * ''

Blood Is Dry , also titled ''Blood Thirsty'', is a 1960 Japanese drama film written and directed by Yoshishige Yoshida and starring Keiji Sada. It is Yoshida's second film and an early exponent of the Japanese New Wave. Plot During a meeting, the executive ...

'' (1960) * '' Black Test Car'' (1962) * '' The Pornographers'' (1966) * '' Gamera vs. Barugon'' (1966) * '' The Yoshiwara Story'' (1968) * '' Daimon Otokode Shinitai'' (1969) * '' Chōkōsō no Akebono'' (1969) * '' Heat Wave Island'' (1969) * '' Yakuza's Law: Yakuza Keibatsushi: Rinchi'' (1969)

References

External links

* 1907 births 1973 deaths Japanese male film actors Male actors from Kyoto People from Higashiyama, Kyoto 20th-century Japanese male actors {{Japan-film-actor-stub