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was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 150 films from 1925 to 1975, including 29 of ''
Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...
''’s annual Top-10 winners and three of its 10 best Japanese films of all time. In 2000 the magazine named him one of the 60 most important Japanese actors of the 20th century.


Career

Mitsui was born Hikohide Mitsui in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, where his father managed a
Shochiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed '' kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establis ...
movie theater. He joined the studio in 1924 while a student at the Keio School of Commerce and Industry, making his film debut in 1925 under the stage name Hideo Mitsui (三井秀男). His short stature, soft features, and expressive face and voice suited him for rebellious “younger brother” roles, and he appeared as a youth lead in many silent and early sound films, notably in several
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 ...
classics and the “Yota” series, about the antics of a trio of young idlers that also included Akio Isono and Shōzaburō Abe. Mitsui left Shochiku in 1935 to help found the independent studio Tokyo Hassei (Sound), which was largely staffed by talent who had left Shochiku to bring prestige to the new
talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...
phenomenon. After the studio folded into
Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...
in 1941, Mitsui returned to Shochiku, where he spent the remaining war years making films and traveling with other studio stars to stage
morale Morale ( , ) is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower, ...
-boosting performances, the final of which, in
Ōmihachiman file:Omihachiman City Hall.jpg, 260px, City Hall file:Hachimanbori07s3200.jpg, 260px, Traditional buildings Preservation Area is a Cities of Japan, city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 82,233 in 3474 ...
, starred Mitsui, his then-wife Fusako Maki, Shin Saburi,
Chishū Ryū was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting 65 years, appeared in over 160 films and about 70 television productions. Early life Ryū was born in Tamamizu Village, Tamana, Kumamoto, Tamana County, a rural area of Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu ...
, and Reikichi Kawamura, all of whom heard of Japan's surrender on the radio before the play began. In 1948 he changed his stage name to Kōji Mitsui (三井弘次) and transitioned into the character roles that would define his primary legacy. He joined other Shochiku performers in 1954 to create the Madoka (Picture-Perfect) Group, a film production company intended to provide stability to the lives of actors. In 1964 he was associated with the Ningen Production Company established by actor Hiroyuki Nagato. Like many popular character actors of
post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
Japan, Mitsui occasionally headlined minor films but most often shone in key supporting parts. In 1957,
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 ...
borrowed Mitsui from Shochiku to play the pivotal role of Yoshisaburo the gambler in ''
The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. It became his first ma ...
'', whose final line in the film—annoyed that the suicide of one of the characters has ruined their party—is “always shocking, always devastating when viewed,” and Mitsui's delivery, which breaks the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
, is “absolutely on target: ironic, cruel, funny, horrible.” Kurosawa subsequently borrowed Mitsui (who had appeared in a small part in the director's 1950 Shochiku film ''
Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...
'') for five more of his
Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...
films. Mitsui often played showy drunken scenes, notably in Kurosawa's '' Red Beard'' (1965). Life sometimes imitated art; confronted by director Kaneto Shindo over smelling of alcohol during a scene in which he was supposed to act drunk, Mitsui said, "What's the difference between doing what you say and really doing it?" (Shindo recalled that Mitsui would continue to taunt him with the question whenever they met, including the last time he saw the actor, at a 1975 remembrance for
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 ...
.) At the voting for the 1956
Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan, established in 1950 by , established under the name of the "Association of Tokyo Film Journalists Award", which was formed mainly by film reporters from th ...
, Mitsui lost a tie-breaking vote for Best Supporting Actor to his '' I Will Buy You'' costar Jun Tatara because of concerns among voters about his on-set behavior. Mitsui was reportedly chastened by the experience and resolved not to drink anymore while performing; he won the award the following year and began the most fruitful and highest-profile period of his career. Nonetheless, as recounted in books by Shindo and critic Seiichi Yano, his drinking continued. Notoriously, Mitsui was the actor (unnamed in Stuart Galbraith IV’s ''The Emperor and the Wolf'') who drunkenly called Kurosawa a “coward” at his home for not wanting to make any more movies following the failure of 1970's ''
Dodes'ka-den is a 1970 Japanese drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Toshiyuki Tonomura, and Shinsuke Minami. It is based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1962 novel ''A City Without Seasons'' and is about a group of homeles ...
'' (in which Mitsui had a cameo), after which the director tried to commit suicide; upon learning the news the next day while appearing on a live television program, a horrified Mitsui stopped the interview and rushed to Kurosawa's side. Fellow Kurosawa friend and regular Kamatari Fujiwara, who also had been present that evening, later recounted that he had assured a guilt-ridden Mitsui that Kurosawa wouldn’t have been provoked by Mitsui’s words but rather had been depressed about the state of the film industry in general. Apart from his informal wartime performances, Mitsui did not appear onstage professionally until 1964, when he was asked to co-star in two prestige productions at the Toho Geijutsuza (Art Theater), which was located in the studio's Tokyo office building. His other artistic endeavors included creating brushed ink sketches of popular co-stars such as
Hideko Takamine was a Japanese actress who began as a child actress and maintained her fame in a career that spanned 50 years. She is particularly known for her collaborations with directors Mikio Naruse and Keisuke Kinoshita, with ''Twenty-Four Eyes'' (1954) a ...
that were published in entertainment magazines. In 1971, Mitsui underwent gastric ulcer surgery, further affecting a film career that had slowed by the late 1960s. In poor health throughout the 1970's, he primarily appeared on television programs, notably starring as the family patriarch in the 1969-70 season of the popular
Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...
drama ''Oyome-san'' (''Bride''). Dispirited by the diminishing effect that television had on film production at Shochiku, which at one time had been nicknamed "House of Mitsui" due to his commitment and influence (and as a joking reference to the famous Japanese family to which he bore no relation), he sold his longtime home near the Ōfuna studio and moved his second wife, former
Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway theatre, Broadway-style productions of musicals and stories adapted from films, nov ...
actress Shinobu Omori, and the daughter they had adopted to another part of
Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...
. Mitsui had performed on more than 100 television shows by the time he played his final role in 1978, on the
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...
adaptation of the
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series '' Haguregumo''. When he died of heart failure in 1979, among the survivors were his younger brothers Naomaro Mitsui, a noted artist and associate of the poet Makoto Tsuji, and Tadao Mitsui, a renowned
anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
who had studied as a
Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...
at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
and served as the president of the Japanese Association of Anatomists from 1975 to 1982.


Honors

In 1957 Mitsui won the Mainichi Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''
The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. It became his first ma ...
'' as well as his performances in two films directed by Minoru Shibuya, ''Kichigai buraku (The Unbalanced Wheel)'' and ''Seigiha (Righteousness)''. That year he also won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''
The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. It became his first ma ...
'' and ''Kichigai buraku''. With these two awards for ''
The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. It became his first ma ...
'', Mitsui was able to distinguish himself among the top performers in Japanese cinema, whom Kurosawa had selected and dress-rehearsed on-set for 60 days to create the ultimate acting ensemble. On May 24, 1960, Mitsui was the subject of the
Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...
Interview, an honor reserved for notable members of the arts, sports, political, and business communities. A 1962 English-language feature article on Mitsui in the ''
Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honol ...
'' called him " e of Japan's top 'villains' in motion pictures." He acknowledged 1957 as "a great year in my 37 years as a movie actor." In 1993, Mitsui was named one of the 50 all-time greatest Japanese actors in a film-industry survey conducted and published by '' Bungei Shunjū'' magazine. In 2000, ''
Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...
'' designated Mitsui as one of the top 60 Japanese male stars of the 20th century as determined by a committee of 74 critics, writers, and journalists. Mitsui was one of the actors commemorated in ''Seven Supporting Characters'', a 2008 film festival held at the now-defunct Cinema Artone in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa entertainment district.


Distinctions

Mitsui was a voice actor in Japan's first sound cartoon, ''
Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka is a 1933 anime short film by Kenzō Masaoka and the first Japanese anime of any type to feature voiceovers. The film was released in black and white. There are no known prints of this film available, and it is considered a lost film. ''Chikar ...
'' (1933; now lost), and appeared in both Japan's first color film, '' Carmen Comes Home'' (1951), and first color television series, '' Ashita Koso (Tomorrow)'' (1968-69). A star of Ozu's 1934 original silent version of '' A Story of Floating Weeds'', he was stunt-cast in the director's own widely acclaimed 1959 color remake, '' Floating Weeds'', which
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
named as one of the ten greatest films of all time. Mitsui was featured as a
seppuku , also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...
second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
in footage pulled from pre-war
jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...
films that was edited into Frank Capra's
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 ...
propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...
'' Know Your Enemy: Japan'' (1945). In addition to his many performances for prominent directors such as Kurosawa, Ozu,
Kobayashi Kobayashi (Japanese language, Japanese: , 'small woods') is the 8th most common Japanese surname. A less common variant is . Notable people with the surname include: Arts Film, television, theater and music *, Japanese actress and voice a ...
, and Kinoshita, Mitsui is best known to
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
audiences as the duplicitous village elder in
Hiroshi Teshigahara was a Japanese avant-garde filmmaker and artist from the Japanese New Wave era. He is best known for the 1964 film ''Woman in the Dunes''. He is also known for directing other titles such as '' The Face of Another'' (1966), ''Natsu no Heitai'' ...
's
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-nominated ''
Woman in the Dunes is a 1964 Japanese New Wave avant-garde psychological thriller film directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara and starring Eiji Okada, Kyōko Kishida, and Kōji Mitsui. It received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for two Academy Awards. ...
'' (1964), for which he received above-the-title billing on the original film poster along with stars Eiji Okada and Kyōko Kishida.


Legacy

Mitsui's portrayal of the lazy nihilist in ''
The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. It became his first ma ...
'' is well-remembered as a showcase for his improvisational talents and his “oboe-like,” “beautiful voice with its unique charm and sense of rhythm.” The film's final act becomes a tour de force for Mitsui, who mockingly impersonates Bokuzen Hidari (whose character's humanistic influence has been defeated by the gambler's cynicism), leads the remaining denizens in song, and ends the film with his brutal remark. According to frequent co-star Kyōko Kagawa, he was “fabulous” in the film and “great in any role.” Contemporary film reviewers continue to discover Mitsui as “an incredible actor with no sense of fear hose gambleris a visceral treat. He is real and relaxed, with no sense of pride or regret.” Mitsui's largest part for Kurosawa after ''
The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. It became his first ma ...
'' was the lead journalist who comments on the wedding reception that opens ''
The Bad Sleep Well is a 1960 Japanese neo-noir crime mystery film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was the first film to be produced under Kurosawa's own independent production company. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival. The film stars ...
'' (1960); his role as a sarcastic observer was noted by Kurosawa scholar
Donald Richie Donald Richie (April 17, 1924 – February 19, 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also ...
to parallel traits of Yoshisaburo the gambler in the prior film, and Mitsui's “particularly enthralling” performance helped to associate his legacy with sardonic characters as well as boozy ones. In her 1976 memoir ''My Professional Diary'',
Hideko Takamine was a Japanese actress who began as a child actress and maintained her fame in a career that spanned 50 years. She is particularly known for her collaborations with directors Mikio Naruse and Keisuke Kinoshita, with ''Twenty-Four Eyes'' (1954) a ...
recalled working with the 23-year-old Mitsui as a child actress on a 1933 "Yota" film, remembering him as "petite, sharp-eyed, and rather quirky. eleft an impression on me, ndsince then, for more than 40 years, I have been watching imobsessively." She referred to him as "Ibushi Gin," a term of respect for distinguished elder actors likening them to rich, oxidized silver. Kaneto Shindo's 1980 book ''People I Met'' includes a chapter remembering Mitsui and the skillful acting style he had developed since childhood. According to Shindo, Mitsui was able to emanate an aura of personality even when motionless, both onscreen and off. A portrait of Mitsui was featured in ''Postwar Focus 293: The Brightness of Dreams ream Shine', a 1983 retrospective of works by the noted
photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...
Jun Yoshida. A 1995 issue of the
Bungeishunjū is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine '' Bungeishunjū''. The company was founded by Kan Kikuchi in 1923. It grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well a ...
monthly ''No Side'' commemorating Japan's great postwar actors included a full-page essay by the writer Midori Nakano celebrating the familiar clear-eyed urban attitude of the characters Mitsui played for Kurosawa, particularly his role in ''
The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. It became his first ma ...
''. In 2005 she reiterated the point, writing in the publisher's '' Bungei Shunjū'' magazine, "I don't know about foreigners, but if you're Japanese, you surely recognize his type." In 2000, the
rakugo is a form of Japanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed in '' yose'' theatres. (Bibliographyvolume 38(1)article
T ...
star and film critic Shiraku Tatekawa named Mitsui one the top three Japanese actors of the 20th century, calling him "addictive," "haunting," and "unforgettable." At a 2017 event, the actor Tatsuya Nakadai stated that during the filming of Kurosawa's 1963 '' High and Low'', he felt added pressure having to deliver a 10-minute
monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...
because Mitsui was in the scene. The two also appeared onscreen together in Kobayashi's '' The Human Condition'' (1959) and ''The Inheritance'' (1962), as well as Okamoto's ''
Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...
'' (1971); in 1975, Nakadai appeared in a stage production of Gorky's ''
The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. It became his first ma ...
'' as the gambler character who was closely associated in Japan with Mitsui's portrayal in Kurosawa's 1957 film version. In media coverage of the 2017-2018
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.reality series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
“The Supporting Actors,“ which featured six popular character actors living together, the stars repeatedly cited Kōji Mitsui as a major influence and an example of a distinctive and superlative member of their profession. The November 15, 2022 installment of the cat-oriented
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
''Mon-chan and Me'', published in Fusosha's popular
webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the computer ...
''Joshi Spa!'' (Women's Spa!), featured several panels with a guest character designed as a caricature of Mitsui. The January 24, 2023 installment featured him again, as robbery suspect "Shūji Mitsui," derived from blending the
kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
characters from the actor's two professional first names, Hideo (秀男) and Kōji (弘次), to create "秀次," literally " Hidetsugu" but more popularly a representation of " Shūji." In his February 19, 2024 "Cigarette Burn“ column posted in the
webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the computer ...
''Kemur'', author Daisuke Kodama called Kōji Mitsui the quintessential " Shōwa smoker" due to his deftness with match-lighting and blowing of
smoke ring A smoke ring is a visible vortex ring formed by smoke in a clear atmosphere. Smoking, Smokers may blow smoke rings from the mouth, intentionally or accidentally. Smoke rings may also be formed by sudden bursts of fire (such as lighting and i ...
s in the film '' Floating Weeds''.


Partial filmography

English-language reference works frequently cite Mitsui as a performer in the film '' Nanami: The Inferno of First Love'', but the role is played by a different actor whose name's
Kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
characters (満井幸治) also translate to "Kōji Mitsui," and whose only film credit is that role.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitsui, Koji 1910 births 1979 deaths Male actors from Yokohama Japanese male film actors