was a Japanese actor, action director, martial artist and sword fight arranger. He served as a sword fight arranger in almost all of the Taiga drama series on

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 terrestri ...

in his lifetime. In 1963, he founded stunt performers production company ''Wakakoma action club''. His final appearance as an actor was in the 2016 Taiga drama series

Sanada Maru The was a small fortification attached to Osaka castle. It is famous for being impregnable and playing a key role in defending the castle in the winter of 1615. Later, it was forcefully destroyed despite being exempt from the reconciliation con ...

, he played the role of

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 Daimyo, daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of ...

. He was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th Japan Action Awards.

Selected filmography

As an actor

* Taiga drama ** ''

Ten to Chi to is a 1990 Japanese film, directed by Haruki Kadokawa and starring Takaaki Enoki, Tsugawa Masahiko, Asano Atsuko, Zaizen Naomi and Nomura Hironobu. The film was released in Japan in June 1990, and an English version was released in North Ameri ...

'' (1969) as Morozumi Torasada ** '' Kaze to Kumo to Niji to'' (1976) as

Fujiwara no Hidesato , was a ''kuge'' (court noble) of tenth century Heian period Japan. He is famous for his military exploits and courage and is regarded as the common ancestor of numerous clans, including the Ōshū branch of the Fujiwara clan. Hidesato served u ...

s vassal ** ''

Dokuganryū Masamune is a 1987 Japanese historical television series. It is the 25th NHK ''taiga'' drama. The broadcast received an average viewer rating of 39.7 percent in the Kanto area. The drama was adapted from the novel of Sōhachi Yamaoka. Plot Toyotomi Hid ...

'' (1987) as Matsubara Tamon ** ''

Hana no Ran was the 33rd Taiga drama to be broadcast on the NHK network in Japan. It premiered on 3 April 1994 and its finale aired on 25 December of the same year. Plot The story takes place during the Muromachi period of Japan, in the midst of the Ōn ...

'' (1994) as Asakura Takakage ** ''Mōri Motonari'' (1997) as Shinagawa Daizen ** ''

Kōmyō ga Tsuji ''Kōmyō ga Tsuji'' (功名が辻) is a 2006 Japanese historical television series and the 45th NHK ''taiga'' drama. It is written by Shizuka Ōishi, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by Ryōtarō Shiba. The series chronicles the lives o ...

'' (2006) as Takenouchi Soemon ** ''

Tenchijin is a 2009 Japanese super historical drama television series, and the 48th taiga drama of NHK. It aired every Sunday from January 4 to November 22, 2009, spanning 47 episodes.It is an unusual Taiga Drama as the final episode will be broadcast as ...

'' (2009) as Kamiizumi Hidetsuna ** ''

'' (2016) as

* ''

Taiyō ni Hoero! , literally ''Roar at the Sun!'', was a long-running prime-time television detective series in Japan, which ran from 1972 to 1986 for a total of 718 episodes. The lead star was Yujiro Ishihara. It also helped further the career of actors such a ...

'' (1972) as an Assassin (ep.1) * ''

Oretachi wa Tenshi da! is an action and comedy Japanese TV series starring Masaya Oki which was originally broadcast on Nippon TV in 1979. The show won great popularity in its time. It is noted for the ad-libbing and jokes by the cast and staff. Plot Masato Asō was ...

'' (1979) (ep.16)

As a sword fight arranger or Action director

* ''

Taikōki The is a biography of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who rose to the office of '' taikō'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama period of Japanese history. The Confucian scholar (1564–1640) published the work in 1626 during the rule of the third Tokugawa shōgu ...

'' (1965) * ''

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo cons ...

'' (1966) * '' Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance'' (1973) * ''

Kunitori Monogatari is a 1973 Japanese television series. It is the eleventh NHK ''taiga'' drama. Plot The series is set in the Sengoku period. Based on Ryōtarō Shiba`s novel of the same name. The story chronicles the lives of Dosan Saito and Nobunaga Oda. Pr ...

'' (1973) * ''

Daitsuiseki was a Japanese comedy-action police TV series. It starred regulars Yūzō Kayama, Masaya Oki, Tatsuya Fuji, Naomi Hase, and Kyohei Shibata, with Fumio Watanabe as a semi-regular. It ran for twenty-six episodes in 1978 and won popularity. It is ...

'' (1978) * ''

Kusa Moeru is a 1979 Japanese television series. It is the 17th NHK taiga drama. Story Kusa Moeru deals with the Kamakura period. Based on Michiko Nagai's novels "Hojo Masako" and "Enkan". The story chronicles the life of Hōjō Masako. Cast Minamot ...

'' (1979) * ''

Oshin is a Japanese serialized morning television drama (''asadora''), which originally aired on NHK from 4 April 1983 to 31 March 1984; it is the 31st ''asadora'' overall to be produced. The 297 15-minute episodes follow the life of during the M ...

'' (1983) * ''

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fel ...

'' (1983) * ''Ghost Warrior a.k.a. Swordkill'' (1984) * ''

Sanada Taiheiki is a Japanese television jidaigeki or period drama that was broadcast on NHK in 1985–1986. It is based on Shōtarō Ikenami's novel Sanada Taiheiki. The drama focuses on the history of the Sanada clan during the late Sengoku period. The comple ...

'' (1985) * ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent r ...

'' (1988) * '' Aoi'' (2000) * ''

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 ...

'' (2004) * '' Yoshitsune'' (2005) * ''

'' (2006) * '' Fūrin Kazan'' (2007) * ''

Ryōmaden is the 49th NHK Taiga drama. It was shown on NHK from January 3 to November 28, 2010, spanning 48 episodes. The story centers on the life of 19th-century Japanese historical figures Iwasaki Yatarō and Sakamoto Ryōma. It has been announced tha ...

'' (2010) * '' Gō'' (2011) * ''

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first s ...

'' (2012) * ''

Yae's Sakura is a 2013 Japanese historical drama television series and the 52nd NHK taiga drama. Written by Mutsumi Yamamoto, the drama focuses on Niijima Yae, who is portrayed by Haruka Ayase. Yae is a strong believer in women's rights and the story follow ...

'' (2013) * '' Gunshi Kanbei'' (2014) * ''

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, 2 ...

'' (2015)

Other appearances

* '' Weapon Masters'' (ep.5 Katana)

Award

* Japan Action Award for Lifetime Achievement Award (2016)

References

External links

Wakakoma Agency
* 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors Japanese ninjutsu practitioners 1939 births 2015 deaths {{Japan-film-actor-stub