Shintarō Katsu

Shintaro Katsu (Japanese: 勝 新太郎, Hepburn: Katsu Shintarō; 29 November 1931 – 21 June 1997) was a Japanese actor, singer, and filmmaker. He is known for starring in the Akumyo series, the Hoodlum Soldier series, the Hanzo the Razor series, and the Zatoichi series.

Born Toshio Okumura (奥村 利夫 Okumura Toshio) on 29 November 1931. Shortly after his birth in Chiba, he was brought to the Okumura family's ancestral home in Fukagawa, Tokyo, where he was raised. He was the son of Minoru Okumura (奥村 実), a noted kabuki performer who went by the stage name Katsutōji Kineya (杵屋 勝東治) and who was renowned for his nagauta and shamisen skills. He was the younger brother of actor Tomisaburo Wakayama.

Shintaro Katsu began his career in entertainment as a shamisen player. He switched to acting because he noticed it was better paid. In the 1960s he starred simultaneously in three long-running series of films, the Akumyo series, the Hoodlum Soldier series, and the Zatoichi series.

He played the role of blind masseur Zatoichi in a series of 25 films between 1962 and 1973, in 100 episodes across a four season television series from 1974 to 1979, and in a 26th and final film in 1989, which he also directed.

In 1967, Katsu formed the company Katsu Productions.

In 1972, Katsu Productions released the initial chanbara film in a trilogy with the Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice based on a gekiga by Koike Kazuo. Hanzo the Razor: The Snare would be released in 1973, and Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold? in 1974.

Katsu had a troubled personal life. A heavy drinker, Katsu had several brushes with the law over drug use as well, including marijuana, opium and cocaine with arrests in 1978, 1990 and 1992.

He had also developed a reputation as a troublemaker on set. When director Akira Kurosawa cast him for the lead role in Kagemusha (1980), Katsu left before the first day of shooting was over. Though accounts differ as to the incident, the most consistent one details Katsu's clash with Kurosawa regarding bringing his own film crew to the set (to film Kurosawa in action for later exhibition to his own acting students). Kurosawa is reputed to have taken great offense at this, resulting in Katsu's termination (he was replaced by Tatsuya Nakadai). In her book, Waiting on the Weather, about her experiences with director Kurosawa, script supervisor Teruyo Nogami chalks the differences between Katsu and Kurosawa up to a personality clash that had unfortunate artistic results.

He was the husband of actress Tamao Nakamura (married in 1962), and father of actor Ryutaro Gan (Gan Ryūtarō).

Stunt actor Yukio Kato was killed on the set of the 26th Zatoichi film by Katsu's son, who was co-starring, when an actual sword was mistaken for a prop, fatally wounding Kato.

In her biographical book The Flower Warfare of Geisha Mineko, Kyoto geisha Mineko Iwasaki disclosed her relationship with Katsu (whom she referred to by his given name, Toshio). Spanning from 1965 to 1976, it was an 11-year relationship encompassing a six-year courtship and a five-year romance. The two eventually restored a close friendship that lasted until his death.

Katsu produced the manga-based Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Okami) series of jidaigeki films starring his brother Tomisaburo Wakayama, two of which were later compiled into the movie Shogun Assassin, as well as co-writing, producing, and acting alongside his brother in the TV jidaigeki series Oshizamurai Kiichihōgan (Mute Samurai) and Tsūkai! Kōchiyama Sōshun.

His other television work includes the police drama Keishi-K [Wikidata] (Superintendent K) which he starred in (as Katsutoshi Gatsu), co-wrote, directed, and produced. His daughter, Masami Okumura [Wikidata], co-starred.

His film work includes the Hanzo the Razor series as Detective Itami Hanzo. He was also an accomplished shamisen player, as well as a vocalist, recording several albums in both pop and Enka.

He died of pharyngeal cancer on 21 June 1997.

Shintaro Katsu practiced Nichiren Buddhism, and both his family and personal life were bound by a deep connection with the sect.

The Okumura family possessed a statue of Nichiren Shonin carved from highly flammable white sandalwood. Near the end of the Pacific War, the Okumura residence in Tokyo was completely destroyed by American air raids, leading the family to believe the statue had been lost to the fire. However, when Katsu and his mother evacuated to Nikko, the statue miraculously appeared inside his clothing bag without anyone having placed it there, becoming his mother's spiritual support during their gruelling period of evacuation. After the war, the newly built residence of the Okumura family was struck by another major fire and reduced to ashes. Once again, the statue survived completely unscathed and was discovered by Katsu in the ruins. Deeply shaken by this miracle, his father devoutly believed in Nichiren Buddhism from that day forward.

Just before Katsu entered the film industry, a Buddhist monk named Reiko Ueda told him, "You will become a pillar. You will become a pillar of the film industry. The statue of Nichiren is backing you up; it has entered your body. Though waves of extreme volatility will crash through your life ahead, you will become a central pillar." Katsu chanted the sect's sacred Daimoku, "(Namu) Myōhō Renge Kyō," in his films, such as Samaritan Zatoichi (1968) and Osho (1973). Furthermore, when facing moments of danger or terror in his personal life, he would clasp his hands in prayer and chant "Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō."

Shintaro Katsu and Tamao Nakamura had known each other since Tamao was still a schoolgirl. In 1955, Katsu and Tamao, who were both under Daiei Film Co., Ltd. at the time, made their first appearance together in the film The Cancan Insect Sings. Although they continued to co-star in numerous subsequent films, Katsu later recalled, "I never had a single thought that I would end up marrying Tamao-chan."

Originally, Tamao had been deeply in love with her childhood friend Raizo Ichikawa, who was already a top star at Daiei. Masaichi Nagata, president of Daiei, also actively promoted marriage arrangements between Raizo and Tamao as a union between two prestigious families of Kansai Kabuki (Tamao's father was Nakamura Ganjiro II, heir to a prominent Kansai Kabuki lineage). However, Raizo showed no romantic interest in Tamao and made it clear that he had no intention of taking her as his wife. Under these circumstances, Katsu and Tamao co-starred in the 1960 film Shiranui Kengyo (The Blind Menace). During their intense clash of acting on set, Katsu found himself drawn to Tamao's feminine charm and inner resilience.

Originally, Katsu had sought to marry a "pure, non-feisty woman." According to Katsu, while they were dating in secret, he felt that Tamao was giving her all to marry him, and during their relationship, her cheerful compliance—always responding to whatever he said with "Yes, yes"—sounded extremely pleasant to his ears. However, at the time, not only did the media continuously report on a romance between Tamao and Raizo for months (or up to a year according to one account), but public rumors of their impending marriage were also widespread. Katsu himself was fully aware that Tamao held affection for Raizo. Furthermore, hearing rumors that Masaichi Nagata and Nakamura Ganjiro—unaware of the secret dating—were still scheming to marry Tamao off to Raizo, Katsu's sense of rivalry and possessiveness was ignited, which led him to propose to Tamao in a manner that snatched her away.

Unexpectedly and surprisingly, around the time of their engagement in 1961 (or "the very next day following their engagement" according to another account), Katsu realized that their personalities were fundamentally incompatible. This realization struck him as Tamao's feisty nature became exposed, prompting Katsu to later recall his mindset at that moment: "It seems I made a mistake (in choosing her)." At the time, Katsu further felt that, in contrast to his own impulsive and direct nature, Tamao possessed an elusive, hard-to-grasp inner side.

On March 7, 1962, the couple held their wedding ceremony at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. However, their views on family were entirely different. Katsu loathed tranquility and could not stand the domestic atmosphere, stating that he could only be satisfied by constantly moving around; in contrast, Tamao yearned to establish an ideal family. Furthermore, their vastly different economic concepts rendered them incompatible. At the time of their marriage, relatives and friends remarked, "A colander and a tightly bound pouch have married." As they said, shortly after the marriage, Tamao regretted marrying an outrageous person, and Katsu himself also revealed that marrying Tamao was a mistake.

Within the very year of their marriage (1962), the couple began to quarrel, and Tamao returned to her parents' home repeatedly. In the following year, 1963, Katsu moved out of the house and resided regularly at the Hotel Fujita in Kyoto, and the two began living separately. After this, the two quarreled intensely, and it turned into a "regular league match." Around 1964, Katsu expressed an intention to divorce Tamao but was dissuaded by close associates and reconsidered. In 1965, the marital crisis became exposed to the public through the media, but it ultimately came to nothing.

According to numerous published reports, Tamao managed Katsu in crowded public places, and challenged Katsu or competed for victory in various aspects of daily life. Furthermore, she lost her temper in professional social settings due to marital dissatisfaction, trampling Katsu's dignity and leaving him behind to depart alone; moreover, after scaring off the guests at their home late at night, she fiercely slapped Katsu across the face with blazing fury. Katsu neither felt Tamao as a woman nor recognized her as his spouse. Meanwhile, Katsu, who was well-known for being popular among women, was rumored to have affairs. While Tamao loathed his unfaithfulness, Katsu regularly encouraged Tamao to commit adultery herself—the two stood opposed in their perceptions of companionship and fidelity.

For the sake of their children attending an international school to properly learn English, Tamao moved with their two children from Kyoto to Yokohama, while Katsu had to remain in Kyoto for work. The two lived in different locations, adding a further layer of complexity to this marriage.

On the night of August 17, 1971, at the Katsu Production office in Roppongi, Tokyo, Tamao's interference in company business caused a heated argument between Katsu and Tamao. When Tamao proposed a separation, Katsu stated, "I have been waiting for those words for ten years," and immediately notified reporters to announce a "divorce declaration." Afterward, Katsu went abroad for performances, during which period Tamao consistently insisted that she would not divorce.

After weeks of turmoil, it is said that Tamao knelt and kowtowed before Katsu to apologize, pleading, "No matter what, please let me stay." Katsu replied, "I am not going to change my lifestyle." On September 13, 1971, Katsu issued a declaration dissolving the divorce; on the same day, Tamao held a solitary press conference, stating, "I am filled with a sense of self-reflection. From now on, I want to do my utmost for my husband." Only then did this divorce controversy come to an end.

Afterward, the two tried to avoid conflict, and Katsu did not travel with Tamao. Even when they needed to travel abroad together for social purposes, they would travel to the airport in separate cars; this was to avoid situations where they could not go together and return together due to arguing inside the car. Katsu expressed that once filming began for television dramas such as Zatoichi, they lived separately and he did not return home even once in half a year; he stated, "Since we do not see each other often, it is quite good," and that "even though we are a couple, each has their own world."

In September 1981, Katsu Production went bankrupt due to massive debts. According to reports, Tamao, who was one of the directors, proposed a divorce, to which Katsu roared, "Are you abandoning me?" Ultimately, Katsu vowed to make a comeback as an actor, and Tamao assumed the position of president to tide over the crisis. Subsequently, in March 1982, their children were arrested on suspicion of violating the Cannabis Control Act. After the couple engaged in a fierce conflict regarding educational methods and responsibility, it was reported that Tamao proposed a divorce with a separation method where "the son goes to the father, and the daughter goes to the mother." A state of cold war between the couple had reportedly persisted since then.

In the 1990s, Katsu consistently rejected offers to play supporting roles in films; with his film work and economic activities largely stagnant, he lived on the assistance of friends. During this period, although there were conflicts as before, the two lived together as a couple in their apartment in Tokyo. In 1996, to celebrate the birthday of Katsu's close friend, the painter Balthus, the couple made their first and final trip together as just the two of them (a Swiss trip of about two days).

Tamao had previously proposed multiple projects to play the leading role in films directed by Katsu, but none came to fruition. The final time she was recognized by Katsu as an actress was in the 1996 stage play Meoto Zenzai (Marital Relations) which they performed together; however, during the tour of the show, Katsu was discovered to have cancer.

Although Tamao achieved massive success on variety television programs since 1994, Katsu did not financially rely on his wife. During his recuperation period, Katsu gave his father's heirloom (katami) shamisen as a token of gratitude to the sponsor who was willing to continuously sign checks and provide financial aid until the very end. On June 21, 1997, Katsu passed away before Tamao's eyes. It was as Tamao stated, "Just when I felt we had become like a real married couple finally, he died."