Shintaro (originally Okumura Toshio), was born November 29, 1931. Nicknamed Katsu-shin, he was a very prolific actor, but also a singer, producer, and director. His introduction to the entertainment world began at a young age; his father was a master of the Shamisen (three-string instrument) and Nagauta (tradition Japanese singing). He and his brother Wakayama Tomisaburo received formal training when they were young children and Shintaro began teaching the Shamisen and Nagauta to Geisha in Fuagawa, Tokyo when he was just a teenager. This upbringing lead some to the conclusion that the brothers’ superb sword fighting styles owe much to their musical background, and that they fight in a certain beautiful classic rhythm because of it.
Beginning with his first film in 1955, Bara Ikutabika, Shintaro appeared in over 100 films in six decades, and along with Ichikawa Raizo was one of Daiei Studios top stars during Japan’s golden age of filmmaking (during the decade of the 1960s, Shintaro… read more
Shintaro (originally Okumura Toshio), was born November 29, 1931. Nicknamed Katsu-shin, he was a very prolific actor, but also a singer, producer, and director. His introduction to the entertainment world began at a young age; his father was a master of the Shamisen (three-string instrument) and Nagauta (tradition Japanese singing). He and his brother Wakayama Tomisaburo received formal training when they were young children and Shintaro began teaching the Shamisen and Nagauta to Geisha in Fuagawa, Tokyo when he was just a teenager. This upbringing lead some to the conclusion that the brothers’ superb sword fighting styles owe much to their musical background, and that they fight in a certain beautiful classic rhythm because of it.
Beginning with his first film in 1955, Bara Ikutabika, Shintaro appeared in over 100 films in six decades, and along with Ichikawa Raizo was one of Daiei Studios top stars during Japan’s golden age of filmmaking (during the decade of the 1960s, Shintaro appeared in over 70 films). His most famous role is, of course, Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman, whom he played in 26 separate movies, beginning in 1962.
At the beginning of the 70s, Daiei Studios closed and he founded Katsu Productions, producing several great films, including the Hanzo the Razor trilogy (starring himself) and the Lone Wolf & Cub series (starring his older brother, Wakayama Tomisaburo).
He even tried his hand at directing. His first effort, a gangster film called Kaoyaku (Boss), nabbed him the Best Actor Award at the Mainichi Film Concours in 1971.
Like many stars of the golden age, Shintaro briefly moved to television in the mid-70s, where he wrote, directed, and starred in a Zatoichi series that lasted four seasons. In the late 70s, he was cast as the star of Kurosawa Akira’s Kagemusha and later dismissed. Accounts differ as to the reasons. Some say it was because the star and the director had artistic differences; others state that Shintaro brought his own film crew to shoot behind-the-scenes footage. In the 80s, he acted in a handful of films, including one last Zatoichi film in 1989 (which he also directed).
His offscreen life was often turbulent. Besides his love of alcohol and cigarettes, his trouble with drugs culminated in 1978 when he was arrested for possession of opium. In 1990, at the airport in Honolulu, Hawaii, he was arrested for possession of marijuana and cocaine. This latter incident became notorious because, according to some tabloid reports, he put the drugs in his underwear, and then, when this was discovered, he exclaimed “I have NO IDEA why this was in my underwear!” The line became a famous quote in Japan.
Katsu died of pharyngeal cancer on June 21, 1997 at the age of 65. During his last few years Katsu-shin spent increasing amounts of time in the hospital, only to be seen lighting up cigars at press conferences held to announce his recovery. Two days after his death, five thousand people attended his memorial service at a Tokyo Temple. The following year, the Mainichi Film Concours and the Japanese Academy posthumously bestowed him with Special Lifetime Awards. —AnimEigo
