was a Japanese character actor and narrator. He is known for his work with Japanese New Wave director Nagisa Oshima, and for several films with Kaneto Shindo, such as Onibaba and Kuroneko. He won the best actor award from Kinema Junpo for the films The Ceremony and Nihon no akuryō. He also worked as a narrator for many documentaries, both on television and film.
Provenance The Sato family was an ancestral Aizu Domain samurai, and after losing the Boshin War, they ran a wholesale business of lacquerware materials. In addition, Kinuko, the wife of Zensuke Shibukawa, who participated in the February 26 incident and died in prison, is an aunt.
After graduating from the dyeing and weaving department of Fukushima Prefectural Aizu Technical School (currently Fukushima Prefectural Aizu Technical High School), while working at the Aizuwakamatsu City Hall Family Register Section
In his early days as an actor, before his success in The Human Condition, he supported himself by producing gariban hand-written mimeographs, and he maintained his interest in hand-printing to the end of his life.
In 1981 he appeared in the film Daydream performing an unsimulated sex scene with actress Kyoko Aizome. The involvement of a mainstream actor in a hardcore film made good press coverage and brought audiences to the theater "in droves".
Due to his physical condition, he began to refrain from working after the age of 80. He died at 4:19 p.m. on May 2, 2010 at a hospital in Tokyo due to pneumonia at the age of 81.
Filmography
Films Date Title Role Notes 1959 The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity Shinjo 1960 Cruel Story of Youth Akira Matsuko The Sun's Burial Sakaguchi Night and Fog in Japan Sakamaki1962 Harakiri Masakatsu Fukushima Ningen Hachizo Pitfall 1963 Bushido, Samurai Saga Brave Records of the Sanada Clan Ōno Harunaga League of Gangsters Takamoto 1964 Onibaba Hachi Kwaidan Ghost samurai Segment: "In a Cup of Tea" ("Chawan no naka") 1965 Akumyo Nobori Endo Samurai Spy Takanosuke Nojiri, lieutenant Pleasures of the Flesh Police inspector 1966 Violence at Noon Eisuke Oyamada The Sword of Doom Kamo Serizawa Zatoichi's Vengeance Boss Gonzo 1967 Band of Ninja Sakagami Shuzen (voice) Japanese Summer: Double Suicide Otoko 1968 Death by Hanging Prison warden Kuroneko Raiko Diary of a Shinjuku Thief Actor Kei Satō Three Resurrected Drunkards Y Chong-iru - I Chong-il Hymn to a Tired Man Suzuki 1970 Onna Gokuakuchō 1971 The Ceremony Sakurada Kazuomi Inn of Evil 1972Dear Summer SisterShinkō Kuniyoshi 1973 Zatoichi's Conspiracy Magistrate Hanzo the Razor: The Snare Shobei Hamajima 1976 Yakuza Graveyard 1978 Satsujin Yugi Empire of Passion (uncredited) 1979 The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf Shimizu The Man Who Stole the Sun Dr. Ichikawa 1981 Daydream Dentist Imperial Navy Shigenori Kami 1983 International Military Tribunal for the Far East Narrator 1984 Godzilla 1985 Chief Editor Gondo 1991 No Worries on the Recruit Front 1999 Spellbound Takashi Hisayama Gohatto Narrator 2005 The Whispering of the Gods Father Togawa 2009 Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler Kazutaka Hyōdō
Television Year Title Role Network Notes Ref. 1965TaikōkiAkechi MitsuhideNHKTaiga drama 1967Shiroi KyotōGoro ZaizenNETLead role 1973The Water MarginCao ChiuNTV 1974 Unmeitōge Asahina Genzaemon KTV Episode 11 1974–75 Karei-naru Ichizoku Ataru Mima NET 1983 Tokugawa Ieyasu Takeda Shingen NHK Taiga drama1984 Sanga Moyu Ryūkichi Tanaka NHK Taiga drama Mujaki na Kankei TBS 1985–86 Sanada Taiheiki NHK 1986 Byakkotai Tanaka Tosa NTV 1988 Takeda Shingen Abe Katsuyoshi NHK Taiga drama 1992 Nobunaga: King of Zipangu Imai Sōkyū NHK Taiga drama 1993–94 Homura Tatsu Minamoto no Yoriyoshi NHK Taiga drama 1995 Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune Arai Hakuseki NHK Taiga drama 1996 Kenpō wa Madaka Hitoshi Ashida NHK Miniseries 2000 Aoi Mashita Nagamori NHK Taiga drama 2000–01 Honmamon NHK Asadora 2007 Fūrin Kazan Seiin NHK Taiga drama
References
External links
JMDB