Born Yoshiya Ota in Kyoto on August 29, 1931, Raizo Ichikawa was adopted by Kabuki actor Kudanji Ichikawa at the age of six months, and was given the name Yoshio Takeuchi. At age 17, he had his Kabuki debut in the play “Nakayama Shichiri”. Recognizing the young actor’s talent, Jukai Ichikawa, the great master of Kabuki in Kansai, adopted Raizo in 1951. Soon thereafter, the young actor took the professional name Raizo Ichikawa, now one of the most recognized names in Japanese film.

In 1954, Raizo started his film career under contract with Daiei, making his film debut in “Hana no Byakkotai”(“The Great White Tiger Platoon”). The following year, he played Taira no Kiyomori in Kenji Mizoguchi’s “Shin Heike Monogatari”(“New Tales of the Taira Clan”). Raizo’s status as a film star was assured in 1958 when he appeared in his first modern drama, “Enjo”(“the Conflagration”), directed by Kon Ichikawa.  

A star both in name and reality, he appeared in various film series including the “Sleepy Eyes of Death” (Nemuri Kyoshiro) series, “Ninja” (Shinobi no Mono) series and “Nakano Spy School” (Rikugun Nakano Gakko) series.  

 

By the time of his death on July 17, 1969 at age 37 due to cancer, Raizo starred in 158 films. Though his relatively short, fifteen-year movie career Raizo forever impacted Japanese film and the samurai “Jidaigeki” genre.

Top page