, better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor and singer. He appeared in almost 260 feature films and had a unique style of singing. His daughter, Sayaka Tsuruta, is an actress.

Career

Born in

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the total urban area o ...

, Tsuruta was raised in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

by his grandmother, following his parents' divorce. A delinquent in high school, he finished second from the bottom of his class. Tsuruta was studying at

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a Private school, private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai, Osaka, Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as ...

when he was drafted into the

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service The (IJNAS) was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired its first aircraft in ...

in 1944. After the war he joined 's theater troupe and made his film debut at

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 ...

in 1948 with '' Yūkyō no Mure'', gaining a female following for playing handsome leads. He left Shochiku in 1952 to start his own production company. Prior, a romance with actress

Keiko Kishi is a Japanese actress, writer, and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Life and career She made her acting debut in 1951 in Noboru Nakamura's film '' Home Sweet Home''. In the 1950s, David Lean proposed her for the main role in '' The Wind Cannot Read ...

made headlines and Shochiku forced the two to end the relationship. He was attacked by the yakuza in 1953. He notably played

Sasaki Kojirō was a Japanese swordsman who may have lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods and is known primarily for the story of his duel with Miyamoto Musashi in 1612, where Sasaki was killed. Although suffering from defeat as wel ...

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. ...

's ''

Samurai Trilogy The ''Samurai Trilogy'' is a film trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune as Musashi Miyamoto and Kōji Tsuruta as Kojirō Sasaki. The films are based on '' Musashi'', a novel by Eiji Yoshikawa about the famous duelist ...

'' (1954–1956), opposite

Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. He often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commandin ...

. He joined Toei in 1960, and found success with 1963's ''Jinsei Gekijo: Hishakaku''. In his book ''The Yakuza Movie Book : A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films'', Mark Schilling cites this film for starting the '' ninkyo eiga'' trend of chivalrous

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

films. For the next decade Tsuruta was Toei's leading and hardest working star of yakuza films, starring or guest-starring in a different film every month at his peak. Memorable films include ''Bakuto'' (1964) and ''Nihon Kyokakuden Ketto Kanda Matsuri'' (1966). Tsuruta was also a successful singer, scoring hits with such songs as "Kizudarake no Jinsei". However, in the 1970s he struggled and his performances were criticized when the yakuza genre shifted to a modern, more realistic setting. He made his last film in 1985, ''Saigo no Bakuto''. Kōji Tsuruta died from lung cancer on June 16, 1987, at the age of 62.

Selected filmography

Films

* ''Eden no Umi'' (1950) * '' Battle of Roses'' (1950) * '' Tea Over Rice'' (1952) * ''A Night in Hawaii'' (Hawai no Yoru) (1953) * ''

'' (1954–1956) ** '' Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple'' (1955) ** '' Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island'' (1956) * ''A Man Among Men'' (1955) * ''Nemuri Kyōshirō Burai Hikae'' (1956) * '' Yagyu Secret Scrolls'' (1957) * ''Oshidori Kenkagasa'' (1957) * '' Yagyu Secret Scrolls Part II'' (1958) * '' The Loyal 47 Ronin'' (1958) * ''Boss of the Underworld'' (Ankokugai no Kaoyaku) (1959) * '' The Birth of Japan'' (1959) * '' Secret of the Telegian'' (1960) * '' Gang vs. G-Men'' (1962) * '' Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki'' (1962) * ''Jinsei Gekijo: Hishakaku'' (1963) * ''Bakuto'' (1964) * ''Meiji Kyokyakuden – Sandaime Shumei'' (1965) * ''Nihon Kyokakuden Ketto Kanda Matsuri'' (1966) * '' Ceremony of Disbanding'' (1967) * ''Bakuchi-uchi: Socho Tobaku'' (1968) * '' Japan Organized Crime Boss'' (1969) * '' Bloodstained Clan Honor'' (1970) * '' Sympathy for the Underdog'' (1971) * ''Kizudarake no Jinsei'' (1971) * '' Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon'' (1977) * ''Yakuza Senso: Nihon no Don'' (1977) * '' Imperial Navy'' (1981) * '' The Gate of Youth'' (1981) * ''Conquest'' (1982) * ''Saigo no Bakuto'' (1985)

Television

* '' Ōgon no Hibi'' (1978) – as

Sen no Rikyū , also known simply as Rikyū, was a Japanese tea master considered the most important influence on the ''chanoyu'', the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspect ...

* ''

Sanga Moyu ''Sanga Moyu'' (山河燃ゆ) is a Japanese television drama based on the 1983 novel ''Futatsu no Sokoku'' (二つの祖国) by Toyoko Yamazaki. It was NHK's taiga drama in 1984. Synopsis The Amo family lives in Los Angeles, California. Two of ...

'' (1984) – as

Shigenori Tōgō was Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Empire of Japan at both the start and the end of the Axis–Allied conflict during World War II. He also served as Minister of Colonial Affairs in 1941, and assumed the same position, renamed the Minist ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuruta, Koji Japanese male film actors 1924 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Japanese male actors Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II Singers from Hamamatsu Actors from Shizuoka Prefecture Deaths from lung cancer Kansai University alumni 20th-century Japanese male singers 20th-century Japanese singers