was a Japanese actor.

Life and career

Kawazu was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

on 12 May 1935. While still a student at

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

, Kawazu signed with

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 1958 and debuted in Kinoshita's ''The Eternal Rainbow''. He became one of the studio's leading young stars, notably headlining Ōshima's ''

Cruel Story of Youth is a 1960 Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima, starring Yusuke Kawazu and Miyuki Kuwano as teenage delinquents and lovers. It is Ōshima's second feature film and is known for its elements of Japanese '' nuberu bagu''. The film won the 1960 ...

'' in 1960. In later years he turned to character roles in film and television, also writing several books and establishing a reputation in calligraphy, painting, ceramics, and cooking. On 26 February 2022, he died of chronic heart failure at age 86.

Selected filmography

Films

*'' The Human Condition'' (1959) *''

'' (1960) *''

The River Fuefuki is a 1960 Japanese historical drama film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita and starring Hideko Takamine. It is based on a novel by Shichirō Fukazawa. Plot The film is set in the Sengoku period in Japan, spanning in time from the Battle of Iidagaw ...

'' (1960) *'' A Soldier's Prayer'' (1960) * '' The Sun's Burial'' (1960) *''

Killers on Parade is a 1961 Japanese satirical comedy directed by Masahiro Shinoda. Plot When a band of assassins come after a young journalist she turns to another assassin for help. Cast * Yūsuke Kawazu * Shima Iwashita * Kayoko Honoo * Fumio Watanabe * ...

'' (1961) *''

Ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer * ''Ken'' (film), a 1965 Japanese film * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine * Ken Masters, a main character in th ...

'' (1964) *'' Manji'' (1964) *'' Kiri no Hata'' (1965) *''

Fighting Elegy , also titled ''Elegy to Violence'' and ''The Born Fighter'', is a 1966 Japanese drama film directed by Seijun Suzuki. It is based on the novel ''Kenka erejii'' by Takashi Suzuki. Plot Kiroku Nanbu is a Catholic teenager attending a military-too ...

'' (1966) *''

Curse of the Blood is a 1968 Japanese jidaigeki Horror film directed by Kazuo Hase and screenplay by Masashige Narusawa. It stars Masakazu Tamura. Curse of the Blood was adapted from the novel ''Kaidan Kasanegafuchi'' written by Renzaburō Shibata. Plot Source: ...

'' (1968) *''

Black Lizard Black Lizard may refer to: * ''The Black Lizard'', a 1934 novel by Edogawa Ranpo ** ''Black Lizard'', a 1961 play by Yukio Mishima adapted from Ranpo's novel ** ''Black Lizard'', a 1962 film directed by Umetsugu Inoue adapted from Ranpo's novel ** ...

'' (1968) *''

Genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

'' (1968) *''

Black Rose Mansion , also known as ''Black Rose'', is a 1969 Japanese drama film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Plot The millionaire Kyohei Sako converts his mother's old villa into an entertainment parlor for his hobbies called the Black Rose Mansion. Ryuko Fujio, a ...

'' (1969) as Tsugawa *''

Yakuza Zessyō also known as Ode to the Yakuza is a 1970 Japanese film directed by Yasuzo Masumura. Katsu and Masumura worked together for the first in 5 years. It is based on Jūgo Kuroiwa's novel ''Nishi Naruyama Hotel Gake no Hana''. The movie depicts a ...

'' (1970) *''

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) *''

Young Girls in Love is a 1986 Japanese film directed by Kazuki Ōmori. Awards 11th Japan Academy Prize *Nominated: Best Director - Kazuki Ōmori *Nominated: Best Screenwriter - Kazuki Ōmori was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Osaka, ...

'' (1986) *'' Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II'' (1993) *'' Gamera 2: Attack of Legion'' (1996) as Akio Nojiri *'' Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris'' (1999) as Akio Nojiri *''

Number Ten Blues Number Ten Blues (, zh, link=no, 第十藍調, ) or Goodbye Saigon (, zh, link=no, 告别西貢, ) is a 1975 Japanese 35mm fujicolor film directed by . This movie, shot between December 1974 and April 1975, remained unfinished and was consid ...

'' (2013; filmed in 1975)

Television

*'' Taikōki'' (1965) as

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

*''

Wild 7 is a Japanese manga series by creator Mikiya Mochizuki that debuted on 1969 on '' Weekly Shōnen King'' where it ran until 1979. The creation of the manga had been based on the condition that Japan and other non-communist countries were f ...

'' (1972–1983) as Masaru Kusanami *''

G-Men '75 was a long-running prime-time popular television detective series in Japan. It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:54 p.m. time slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) network from May 24, 1975 to April 3, 1982. A sequel, ''G-Men ' ...

'' (1979–1981) as Yoshiaki Nagumo *'' Akō Rōshi ''(1979) as Heihachi Kobayashi *''

Kinpachi-sensei is a Japanese television drama that aired from 1979 to 2011. The official English title is ''Mr. Kinpachi in Class 3B''. ''Kinpachi-sensei'' tells the story of a third-year junior high school class in Japan; its teacher is Kinpachi Sakamoto, pla ...

''(1980–1981) as Teacher Kamibayashi *''

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

'' (1983) as

Shima Sakon , also known as Shima Tomoyuki and Shima Katsutake, was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period. His nickname was (Shima Nearby on the Left). Sakon eventually left the service of the Hatakeyama clan, Tsutsui Junkei, Toyotomi Hidenaga an ...

*''

Under the Same Roof Under may refer to: Music *''Under'', an album by Savoy, 2024 * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *"Under", a song by Sampha from ''Process'', 2017 People *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz � ...

'' (1993) as Takao Sakaki

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawazu, Yusuke 1935 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Japanese male actors Japanese male film actors Japanese male stage actors Japanese male television actors Keio University alumni Male actors from Tokyo