Sonny Chiba
Shinichi Chiba, also known as Sonny Chiba, is a Japanese actor, singer, film producer, film director, and martial artist.
Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.
Early life
Born Sadaho Maeda in Fukuoka, Japan, he was the third of five children in the family of a military test pilot. When he was four years old, his father was transferred to Kisarazu, Chiba, and the family moved to Kimitsu, Chiba.After Chiba went to junior high school in Kimitsu, the physical education teacher advised him to do artistic gymnastics. He also was passionate about track and field sports, baseball and volleyball. He participated in those four sports championships of Chiba Prefecture. In high school, Chiba dedicated himself to artistic gymnastics and won the National Sports Festival of Japan while in his third year. He enjoyed watching Western movies such as Shane and High Noon.
Chiba went to the Nippon Sport Science University in 1957. He was a serious candidate for a place in the Japanese Olympic team in his late teens until he was sidelined by a back injury. While he was a university student, he began studying martial arts with the renowned Kyokushin Karate master Masutatsu "Mas" Oyama, which led to a first-degree black belt on October 15, 1965, later receiving a fourth-degree on January 20, 1984.
Career
Sometime around 1960, he was discovered in a talent search by the Toei film studio, and he began his screen career soon after. The CEO of Toei at the time bestowed him with the stage name "Shinichi Chiba."His acting career began on television, starring in two tokusatsu superhero shows, first replacing Susumu Wajima as the main character Kōtarō Ran/ Seven Color Mask in Seven Color Mask in the second half of the series, then starred as Gorō Narumi/Messenger of Allah in Messenger of Allah. His movie debut and first starring movie role was the 1961 science fiction movie Invasion of the Neptune Men. Later that year, Chiba appeared in the first Kinji Fukasaku film, ', which marked the beginning of a long series of collaborations for the two. Over the next decade, he was cast primarily in crime thrillers. By 1970, Chiba had started his own training school for aspiring martial arts film actors and stunt performers known as J.A.C. He starred in the Karate Kiba, after appearing on the ' in 1973. Karate Kiba was the first movie for him about martial arts. Chiba's breakthrough international hit was The Street Fighter which was brought to Western audiences by New Line Cinema. The film and its sequels established him as the reigning Japanese martial arts actor in international cinema for the next two decades. It was New Line Cinema founder Robert Shaye who gave Chiba the English name "Sonny", which Chiba would adopt as his own from that point on.
His subsequent projects included such pictures as The Bullet Train, Karate Warriors, Doberman Cop, ' and The Assassin. He also occasionally returned to the science fiction genre, in movies such as Message from Space. He began to star also on some jidaigeki such as Shogun's Samurai, The Fall of Ako Castle, G.I. Samurai, Shadow Warriors, Samurai Reincarnation. He was not only actor but also stunt coordinator at G.I. Samurai, Burning Brave, Shogun's Shadow and executive producer, film director at Yellow Fangs.
Chiba was even busier in the 1980s, doing dozens of movies as well as making forays into television, and with roles in such high-profile adventures as the popular Hong Kong comic-based movie: The Storm Riders, starring alongside Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok. His fame in Japan remained unabated into the 1990s.
In his fifties, the actor resumed working as a choreographer of martial arts sequences. At the dawn of the 21st century, Chiba was as busy as ever in feature films and also starring in his own series in Japan. Roles in Takashi Miike's ' and his work with directors Kenta and Kinji Fukasaku in Battle Royale II effectively bridged the gap between modern day and yesteryear cinematic cult legends. Chiba's enduring onscreen career received a tribute when he appeared in a key role as Hattori Hanzo, the owner of a sushi restaurant and retired samurai sword craftsman, in director Quentin Tarantino's bloody revenge epic Kill Bill in 2003.
Chiba has starred in more than 125 films for Toei Studios and has won numerous awards in Japan for his acting. In November 2007, he announced the retirement of the stage name Shinichi Chiba and will now be known as J.J. Sonny Chiba as an actor and Rindō Wachinaga as a film director.
Chiba established the Japan Action Club, now Japan Action Enterprise to develop and raise the level of martial arts techniques and sequences used in Japanese film and television.
Personal life
Chiba divorced his first wife, actress Yōko Nogiwa, with whom he has a daughter, Juri Manase, who is also an actress. He has two sons from his second marriage to Tamami Chiba : child actor Mackenyu, born on November 16, 1996, and Gordon, born in 2000. He currently lives in Yokohama, Japan.His younger brother, Jirō Yabuki, was also an actor.
In Western popular culture
- Christian Slater's character Clarence Worley in True Romance is a fan of Chiba. In a pivotal early scene he watches a Sonny Chiba triple feature. The writer of True Romance, Quentin Tarantino, worked with Chiba ten years later in Kill Bill.
- A modified version of the opening scroll to the English-language version of his movie Karate Kiba was used in the script of Quentin Tarantino's 1994 movie Pulp Fiction.
- The character Takayuki Chiba from the shōnen manga series Kengan Ashura is based upon Chiba and Hiroyuki Sanada.
- A Japanese restaurant named after Sonny Chiba exists in Armadale in Melbourne Australia.
Martial arts ranks
- Kyokushin Karate: 4th Dan
- Ninjutsu: 4th Dan
- Goju-ryu karate: 2nd Dan
- Shorinji Kempo: 2nd Dan
- Judo: 2nd Dan
- Kendo: 1st Dan
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | Police Department Story: Alibi | Detective Nakagawa | |
| 1961 | Police Department Story: The 15 Year Old Woman | Detective Nakagawa | |
| 1961 | ' | Gorō Saionji | |
| 1961 | ' | Gorō Saionji | |
| 1961 | Invasion of the Neptune Men | Shinichi Tachibana/Iron Sharp | |
| 1961 | Vigilante with a Funky Hat | Ichirō Tenka | |
| 1961 | Police Department Story: Twelve Detectives | Detective Nakagawa | |
| 1961 | Vigilante with a Funky Hat: The 20,000,000 Yen Arm | Ichirō Tenka | |
| 1961 | Shinto Boss Series: Employee Ishimatsu is the Man | Nagashima | |
| 1962 | The Kamikaze | Yūki | |
| 1962 | Love School | Shinichi Kogure | |
| 1962 | Escape: The 2/26 Incident | Private First Class Shinohara | |
| 1962 | For Love, the Sun, and the Gang | Yamauchi | |
| 1962 | Higher Than the Stars in the Sky | Yoshio Horimoto | |
| 1962 | Tragedy of Twins | Masaki | |
| 1962 | Four Sisters | Shinkichi Hayami | |
| 1962 | Mid-August Commotion | Dr. Ōmori | |
| 1962 | Gang vs G-Men | Osamu Kaji | |
| 1962 | The Gambler | Mōri | |
| 1962 | The Terrifying Witch | Daisuke Shirono | |
| 1963 | Twins Searching for Mother | Ume-san | |
| 1963 | President Jiro and Employee Ishimatsu: Yasugi Bushi Road | Hiroshi Shiomi | |
| 1963 | The Violent Underworld | Kazuo Ichinoki | |
| 1963 | Special Tactical Police | Detective Naitō | |
| 1963 | Twins in the Meadow | Kenichi Tomizawa | |
| 1963 | Judo for Life | Shirō Hongō | |
| 1963 | Special Tactical Police 2 | Detective Naitō | |
| 1963 | Lure of A Killer | Daisuke Jōno | |
| 1963 | Gambler Tales of Hasshu: A Man's Pledge | Satarō | |
| 1963 | The Chivalrous of Asakusa | Shinsuke Hayama | |
| 1963 | The Navy | Takao Mutaguchi | |
| 1963 | Yakuza's Song | Shunji Nitta | |
| 1963 | Gang Chusingura | Shichirō Yatō | |
| 1963 | White Ball | Yōta Ogiwara | |
| 1963 | Blackmail is My Life | Gorō Ozawa | |
| 1964 | Decree from Hell | Shinichi Ōmatsu | |
| 1964 | Judo for Life: The Devil of Kodokan | Shirō Hongō | |
| 1964 | Tokyo Untouchable: Prostitution Underground Organization | Yoshio Hamada | |
| 1964 | Here Because of You | Makoto Yabuki | |
| 1964 | Dragon and Tiger Generation | Shinichi Matsuhashi | |
| 1965 | Singing to Those Clouds | Jun Tonomura | |
| 1965 | That Cute Girl | Morimoto | |
| 1965 | Hey, Clouds! | Saburō Tatsumi | |
| 1965 | Tale of Japanese Burglars | Attorney Ōki | |
| 1965 | The Fugitive | Saburō Tateishi | |
| 1965 | Yakuza G-Men: Meiji Underworld | Tōru Shibayama | |
| 1965 | A Villain's Code Of Honor | Sōichi Jinnai | |
| 1965 | Abashiri Prison: Hokkai Territory | Hayama | |
| 1966 | Bitches of the Night | Tatsuo Ōtsuki | |
| 1966 | Kamikaze Man: Duel at Noon | Ken Mitarai | |
| 1966 | Terror Beneath the Sea | Abe | |
| 1966 | Abashiri Prison: Duel in the South | Tanimura | |
| 1966 | Dash to the Sun | Takashi Shindō | |
| 1966 | Game of Chance | Bungo Endō | |
| 1966 | Ōgon Bat | Dr.Yamatone | |
| 1967 | Soshiki Bōryoku | Shinji Takasugi | |
| 1967 | Game of Chance 2 | Bungo Endō | |
| 1967 | Diaries of the Kamikaze | Second Sub-lieutenant Hanzawa | |
| 1967 | The North Sea Chivalry | Shūichi Aida | |
| 1967 | King of Gangsters | Matsumoto | |
| 1967 | Game of Chance 3 | Bungo Endō | |
| 1967 | Kawachi Chivalry | Komakichi Sugimoto | |
| 1968 | Human Torpedoes: Kaiten Special Attack Force | Chief navigator Takiguchi | |
| 1968 | Army Intelligence 33 | Kazuo Yamamoto | |
| 1968 | The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze | Second Sub-lieutenant Kodama | |
| 1969 | Delinquent Boss: Ocho the She-Wolf | Mitsuo Fujiki | |
| 1969 | Memoir of Japanese Assassins | Tadashi Onuma | |
| 1970 | Yakuza Deka | Shirō Hayata | |
| 1970 | Yakuza Cop 2: Marijuana Trafficking Syndicate | Shirō Hayata | |
| 1970 | The Last Suicide Squad | Captain Mishima | |
| 1971 | Yakuza Cop 3: Poison Gas Affair | Shirō Hayata | |
| 1971 | Yakuza Cop 4: No Epitaphs for Us | Shirō Hayata | |
| 1972 | Yakuza Wolf: I Perform Murder | Gōsuke Himuro | |
| 1972 | Vice G-Men | Yasuo Kikuchi | |
| 1972 | Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She-Cat Gambler | Ryūji Azuma | |
| 1972 | Yakuza Wolf 2: Extend My Condolences | Tōru Ibuki | |
| 1972 | Vice G-Men 2: Terrifying Flesh Hell | Haruo Kikuchi | |
| 1973 | ' | Katsutoshi Ōtomo | |
| 1973 | Karate Kiba | Naoto Kiba | |
| 1973 | Tokyo-Seoul-Bangkok Drug Triangle | Tatsuya Wada | |
| 1973 | Karate Kiba 2 | Naoto Kiba | |
| 1974 | The Street Fighter | Takuma Tsurugi | |
| 1974 | Return of the Street Fighter | Takuma Tsurugi | |
| 1974 | Military Spy School | Ichirō Kikuchi | |
| 1974 | The Executioner | Ryūichi | |
| 1974 | Sister Street Fighter | Seiichi Hibiki | |
| 1974 | The Street Fighter's Last Revenge | Takuma Tsurugi | |
| 1974 | The Executioner II: Karate Inferno | Ryūichi | |
| 1975 | Killing Machine | Doshin So | |
| 1975 | Young Nobility: Maki of the 13 Steps | Kenichi Hyūga | |
| 1975 | Wolfguy: Enraged Lycanthrope | Akira Inugami | |
| 1975 | The Bullet Train | Aoki | |
| 1975 | Champion of Death | Masutatsu Ōyama | |
| 1975 | Detonation: Violent Riders | Tsugami | |
| 1975 | ' | Bartender | Uncredited |
| 1975 | The Defensive Power of Aikido | Shinbei Natori | |
| 1975 | Karate Bearfighter | Masutatsu Ōyama | |
| 1976 | Dragon Princess | Isshin Higaki | |
| 1976 | Yokohama Underworld: Machine Gun Dragons | Keiichi Komatsu | |
| 1976 | Karate Warriors | Shūhei Sakata | |
| 1976 | The Rugby Star | Rikio Ōtate | |
| 1976 | Jail Breakers | Wataru Kangi | |
| 1976 | Okinawa Yakuza War | Seigō Kunigami | |
| 1977 | Yakuza War: The Japanese Don | Tsuneyoshi Sakota | |
| 1977 | Soul of Chiba | Mu Yun Tek | Planning |
| 1977 | Hokuriku Proxy War | Hachirō Kanai | |
| 1977 | Karate for Life | Mas Oyama | |
| 1977 | Gambler's Code of Japan | Katsuji Kogure | |
| 1977 | Doberman Cop | Jōji Kanō | |
| 1977 | Torakku Yarō | Jōji Niimura | |
| 1977 | ' | Golgo 13/Duke Tōgō | |
| 1977 | Black Jack: The Visitor in the Eye | Drunk | |
| 1978 | Shogun's Samurai | Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi | |
| 1978 | Message from Space | Prince Hans | |
| 1978 | Okinawa: The Ten Year War | Chōyū Inami | |
| 1978 | The Fall of Ako Castle | Kazuemon Fuwa | |
| 1979 | Dead Angle | Yōsuke Ōta | |
| 1979 | Hunter in the Dark | Samon Shimoguni | |
| 1979 | The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf | Mitsuhiko Sakurai | |
| 1979 | G.I. Samurai | Lt. Yoshiaki Iba | Action director |
| 1980 | Virus | Dr. Yamauchi | |
| 1980 | Shogun's Ninja | Shōgen Shiranui | Action director |
| 1981 | The Bushido Blade | Prince Ido | |
| 1981 | Chanbara Graffiti | documentary | |
| 1981 | Samurai Reincarnation | Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi | |
| 1981 | Roaring Fire | Shunsuke Tachikawa | Action director |
| 1981 | The Kamikaze Adventurer | Daisuke Kamikaze | |
| 1981 | The Blazing Valiant | Action Director | |
| 1982 | Fall Guy | Himself | |
| 1982 | Ninja Wars | Yagyū Munetoshi | |
| 1983 | Kabamaru the Ninja | Saizō Igano | Planning |
| 1983 | Legend of the Eight Samurai | Dōsetsu Inuyama | |
| 1984 | Kotaro to the Rescue | Moore County colonel | Planning |
| 1985 | The Last True Yakuza | Ryōzō Kanō | |
| 1986 | Cabaret | ||
| 1987 | ' | Bunshichi Warabeya | |
| 1989 | Tetsuro Tamba's Large Spiritual World | ||
| 1989 | Shogun's Shadow | Shōzaemon Iba | Action director |
| 1989 | Sensei | Makoto Ushiyama | Producer |
| 1990 | Yellow Fangs | Director Producer | |
| 1991 | Gokudo Wars | Takatsugu Kasai | |
| 1992 | Fighting Fist | Superintendent Yamada | Director |
| 1992 | ' | Colonel Sueo Horikoshi | |
| 1992 | A Mine Field | Hiromichi Takagi | Original idea |
| 1992 | The Triple Cross | Shiba | |
| 1994 | Immortal Combat | Jiro 'J.J.' Jintani | |
| 1995 | Body Count | Makoto | |
| 1998 | The Storm Riders | Lord Conqueror | |
| 2000 | The Legend of the Flying Swordsman | 'Dagger' Yuan-ba Li | |
| 2000 | Born to Be King | Ichio Kusakari | |
| 2000 | Chinchiromai | Takeshi Kuroda | |
| 2001 | The Melancholy Hitman | Direct-to-video | |
| 2001 | Akumyoh | Tōyōzō Kuroshima | Direct-to-video |
| 2001 | Koroshi no Gundan | Miyoshi | Direct-to-video |
| 2001 | Koroshi no Gundan 2 | Miyoshi | Direct-to-video |
| 2002 | Akumyoh 2 | Tōyōzō Kuroshima | Direct-to-video |
| 2002 | ' | Yasunori Hijikata | |
| 2002 | Yakuza of Legend: Chapter of Raging Fire | ||
| 2002 | Don no Michi 6 | Takagi | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | Don no Michi 7 | Takagi | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | Don no Michi 8 | Takagi | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | New Shadow Warriors | hanzō Hattori I | Planning |
| 2003 | Yakuza of Legend: Chapter of the Setting Sun | Direct-to-video | |
| 2003 | New Shadow Warriors II | Hanzō Hattori I | Planning |
| 2003 | Don no Michi 9 | Takagi | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | ' | Makio Mimura | |
| 2003 | True Kyūshū Yakuza 1 | Isoji Ōga | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | New Shadow Warriors III | Hanzō Hattori I | Executive producer |
| 2003 | Kill Bill Volume 1 | Hanzō Hattori | Kenjutsu Choreographer |
| 2003 | Namishō no Yamamoto-ja! Kenka Yakyū-hen | Direct-to-video | |
| 2004 | New Shadow Warriors IV | Hanzō Hattori I | Executive producer |
| 2004 | Zenidō | Kōjirō Shinkai | |
| 2004 | Zenidō 2 | Kōjirō Shinkai | |
| 2004 | Zenidō 3 | Kōjirō Shinkai | |
| 2004 | New Boss of Japan | Matsuo Takano | Direct-to-video |
| 2004 | New Boss of Japan 2 | Matsuo Takano | Direct-to-video |
| 2004 | New Boss of Japan 3 | Matsuo Takano | Direct-to-video |
| 2004 | Survive Style 5+ | Kazama | |
| 2004 | Zenidō 4 | Kōjirō Shinkai | Direct-to-video |
| 2004 | Explosive City | Otosan | |
| 2004 | Zenidō 5 | Kōjirō Shinkai | Direct-to-video |
| 2005 | Zenidō 6 | Kōjirō Shinkai | |
| 2005 | New Shadow Warriors V | Hanzō Hattori I | |
| 2005 | New Shadow Warriors VI | Hanzō Hattori I | |
| 2005 | Sarutobi Sasuke and the Army of Darkness 3: Wind Chapter | Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi | |
| 2005 | Sarutobi Sasuke and the Army of Darkness 4: Fire Chapter | Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi | |
| 2006 | ' | Boss Kamata | |
| 2006 | Master of Thunder | Genryū | |
| 2006 | The Winds of God: Kamikaze | Nobutada Ōta | |
| 2006 | True Kyūshū Yakuza 2 | Isoji Ōga | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | True Kyūshū Yakuza 3 | Isoji Ōga | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | Oyaji | Ryūmichi Numata | Director |
| 2009 | Sennen no Matsu | Direct-to-video | |
| 2009 | Sennen no Matsu 2 | Direct-to-video | |
| 2012 | Shura no Hanamichi | Yoshio Sutama | |
| 2012 | Shura no Hanamichi 2 | Yoshio Sutama | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | Gokudō no Monshō Part 18 | Direct-to-video | |
| 2012 | Sushi Girl | Sushi chef | |
| 2013 | Nihon Tōitsu | Seizō Gonda | |
| 2013 | Nihon Tōitsu 2 | Seizō Gonda | Direct-to-video |
| 2014 | Shura no Denshō Araburu Kyō Inu | Shūhei Akiyama | |
| 2014 | Kabukichō High School | Hakkaisan board chairman | |
| 2014 | Kanto Gokudo Association Part 1 | Direct-to-video | |
| 2015 | Take a Chance | Miyamoto Musashi | |
| 2015 | Kanto Gokudo Association Part 2 | Direct-to-video | |
| 2015 | April Fools | Bōryokudan leader | |
| 2015 | So-On: The Five Oyaji | ||
| 2017 | Gokudō Tenka Fubu Part 1 | Motonari Mōriya | |
| 2017 | Teppen | Direct-to-video | |
| 2017 | Gokudō Tenka Fubu Part 2 | Motonari Mōriya | |
| 2017 | Teppen 2 | Direct-to-video | |
| 2017 | Teppen 3 | Direct-to-video | |
| 2017 | Shashin Koshien Summer in 0.5 Seconds | Chair workshop craftsman | |
| 2017 | Gokudō Tenka Fubu Part 4 | Motonari Mōriya | |
| 2019 | Bond of Justice: Kizuna | Jō |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 1960 | Seven Color Mask | Seven Color Mask II/Kōtarō Ran | 26 episodes | |
| 1960 | Messenger of Allah | Gorō Narumi | 26 episodes | |
| 1960 | Wanted: Demon Fire | 1 episode | ||
| 1963 | The Light of Asakusa | TV film | ||
| 1964 | JNR Inspector No. 36 | Railway Inspector Hayakawa | 4 episodes | |
| 1965 | Flag of Glory | Lieutenant Yamanaka | 1 episode | |
| 1965 | Blind Black Belt | Tatsuya Kurami | ||
| 1965 | Special Tactical Police | Detective Komatsu | 1 episode | |
| 1965 | Kiiroi Fūdo | |||
| 1968 | Key Hunter | Yōsuke Kazama | ||
| 1969 | Special Investigation Office | 1 episode | ||
| 1970 | Judo Straight Line | Washio | 3 episodes | |
| 1972 | The Young Detective | Detective Yabuki | 3 episodes | |
| 1973 | Robot Detective | Keitarō Shinjō | 2 episodes | |
| 1973 | Suspense Series: Modern Witch Tale Murderous Love | Shige | 1 episode | |
| 1974 | The Bodyguard | Shūsuke Washimi | 26 episodes | |
| 1975 | The Gorilla Seven | Daisuke Kazami | 26 episodes | |
| 1975 | Blazing Dragnet | Shirō Ōgami | 14 episodes | |
| 1976 | Emergency Line | Masahiro Godai | 10 episodes | |
| 1976 | Nanairo Tongarashi | Tetsuo Samejima | ||
| 1977 | Shingo Tondeke Torimonochō | |||
| 1978 | Crossroads | Junzō Kihara | 3 episodes | |
| 1978 | Omoide no Umibe Papa, Boku Shinitakunai!! | TV film | ||
| 1978 | The Yagyu Conspiracy | Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi | 39 episodes | |
| 1978 | Yukiyama Sanka Aru Seishun: Tateta! Subereta! | TV film | ||
| 1978 | Southern Cross | Miyamoto Musashi | TV film | |
| 1980 | Shadow Warriors | Hanzō Hattori III | 27 episodes | |
| 1980 | Tokyo Great Earthquake Magnitude 8.1 | Kobayashi | TV film | |
| 1980 | Yagyu Abaretabi | Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi | 26 episodes | |
| 1981 | Keishichō Satsujin-ka | 1 episode | ||
| 1981 | Shadow Warriors II | Shinpachi Tsuge | 26 episodes | |
| 1982 | Space Sheriff Gavan | Voicer | 1 episode Uncredited | |
| 1982 | Shadow Warriors III | Hanzō Tarao | 26 episodes | |
| 1982 | Yagyu Jubei Abaretabi | Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi | 26 episodes | |
| 1983 | Space Sheriff Sharivan | Voicer | 1 episode Uncredited | |
| 1984 | Wonderful Circus Guy | Daigaku Maejima | TV film Planning | |
| 1985 | Shadow Warriors IV | Hanzō Hattori XV | 27 episodes | |
| 1985 | Shadow Warriors: The End of an Era | Hanzō Hattori XV | 13 episodes | |
| 1986 | Shinya ni Yōkoso | Kōzō Murata | 4 episodes | |
| 1987 | Taikoki | Mitsuhide Akechi | TV film | |
| 1987 | Tomorrow's Snow | Dr. Sakamoto | TV film | |
| 1987 | A Traveling Girl | Takeshi Ishikawa | ||
| 1987 | Autumn Scenario | Tatsumi | TV film | |
| 1988 | Ieyasu Tokugawa | Kazumasa Ishikawa | TV film | |
| 1988 | Ryokō keba Renzoku Satsujin | Tetsuya Nanjō | TV film | |
| 1989 | Nobunaga Oda | Nobuhide Oda | TV film | |
| 1989 | Iemitsu, Hikoza, and Isshin Tasuke: A National Crisis | Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi | TV film | |
| 1989 | OL Sennyū! Nippon Fūzoku Meisho | Iwata | TV film | |
| 1989 | The Days I Saw in My Dreams | Shinsaku Sekimoto | 10 episodes | |
| 1990 | Yoshitsune Minamoto | Kakunichi Zenrinbō | TV film | |
| 1990 | Shingo's Ten Duels | Tamon Umei | TV film | |
| 1990 | Ashi de Miru-yama | Kurahashi | TV film | |
| 1990 | Seventeen Ninja | Iga no Jingoza | TV film Assistant director | |
| 1991 | Shingen Takeda | Nobutora Takeda | TV film | |
| 1991 | Saito Dosan: Rage of Power | Mitsutsugu Akechi | TV film | |
| 1992 | Tokugawa Buraichō | Lord Conqueror | ||
| 2005 | Legendary Sword fights of Yagyu Jubei | Miyamoto Musashi | 1 episode | |
| 2005 | Team Astro | J. Shuro | ||
| 2007 | Fūrin Kazan | Nobukata Itagaki | 30 episodes | |
| 2011 | Secret Agent Erika | Pastor of St. Francisco Church | 1 episode | |
| 2014 | Owakon TV'' | Genjirō Aramaki | 8 episodes |
Shorts
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Ninja Theory | Ninja master | Voice |
| 2018 | Shakespeare in Tokyo | Calligrapher |