Akira Nagoya

Acting

Akira Nagoya

Born — Died

1930-12-08 — 2003-06-24

Place of birth

Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan

Known for

Acting

Credits

78 titles

Akira Nagoya was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator who specialized in playing comical roles. He's well know for playing Yūtarō Asahina in the Tokusatsu superhero series Ultraman Taro. After graduating from junior high school in 1949, he entered the Tokyo Broadcasting Company (NHK) training school as a third-year student. His classmates included Hisashi Katsuta and Kazue Takahashi, who later became active as voice actors. In 1959, he joined the Bungakuza theatre company; in 1963, he participated in the founding of the theatre company Kumo. When Kumo disbanded in 1975, he moved on to work as a freelance theatre artist, appearing on stages such as Jijinkai and Komatsuza.

Known for

Film credits

1990s · 11 titles

Princess Mononoke poster
8.3

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

Princess Mononoke

1997

Succession poster
7.7

A bumbling stockbroker-turned-yakuza is tasked with ensuring that an alcoholic boss is up to the task of arbitrating his syndicate's succession ceremony.

Succession

1992

Basara: The Princess Goh poster
7.0

Furuta Oribe is ordered to become tea master under Toyotomi Hideyoshi after his teacher Sen no Rikyū, the former tea master, was ordered to commit suicide. Princess Goh, daughter of the lord but adopted by Hideyoshi, is outraged when Rikyū's severed head is thrown in the Nijo River. She sends Usu, Oribe's servant, to retrieve the head and deliver it to Rikyū's adopted daughter.

Basara: The Princess Goh

1992

Woman in Witness Protection poster
6.4

Vain, middle-aged actress Biwako is placed in witness protection while authorities investigate the brutal murder she witnessed. Under the watch of two dedicated cops, Biwako struggles to maintain her career, her public image, and her personal life as she prepares for her new role on the witness stand.

Woman in Witness Protection

1997

Round About Midnight poster
7.0

While on a cigarette break in between sets, Koji, a jazz musician, witnesses a murder and runs into a girl, Linda, who is being pursued by the killers. Mistakenly identified as prime suspects, they have to solve the crime but time is running out: Koji has to be back to perform in his club by midnight, as a very special guest will be attending.

Round About Midnight

1999

Yakuza Ladies: Decision poster
7.5

Kasuga’s husband gets arrested for a murder of his beloved protégé. She and her family investigate and find out he was trapped by greedy Nagoshi, the boss of their rival yakuza family. She has to make a decision to revenge Nagoshi.

Yakuza Ladies: Decision

1998

Love Letter poster
8.0

Goro, a small-time thug who manages an adult video store, is approached with a proposal for a sham marriage. Seeing no option to refuse, he agrees to lend his family registry in exchange for money and the promise that he’d be “helping someone out.” His partner in the marriage is a Chinese woman named Bai Lan, who plans to use the money she earns after obtaining Japanese citizenship to support her family back home. Goro and Bai Lan meet only once, during her immigration screening, after which they each go their separate ways. A while later, Goro receives some unexpected news.

Love Letter

1998

Yakuza Ladies: Red Murder poster
6.0

11th installment of the 16-film franchise.

Yakuza Ladies: Red Murder

1999

Bokyo poster
9.0

In 1940, Kubota Shoten, which has been in business for generations, goes bankrupt due to the debauched lifestyle of its president, Kunimitsu Kubota. Subsequently, Kunimitsu moves back to his hometown and his children are sent to live with other relatives.

Bokyo

1993

Kwaidan poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kwaidan

1992

Tale of the Crane Princess poster
NR

Oyamazumi Shrine still remains in Omi Island, surrounded by the Seto Sea. During the Warring States Era, a beautiful princess was born to the Ohori family, guardians of the shrine. Ohori was the chief priest of the shrine, and the princess was destined to be the leader of the Seto Sea pirates. Her name was Tsuru, and she was as brave as the ‘Dragon God’. While her birth was a gift from heaven, her life was filled with tragedy. This is an historical drama on a dynamic scale telling the story of Princess Tsuru, who rose to the post of admiral of the Mishima navy, as well as being a young woman watching her loved ones perish in the terrible wars of that time. Exciting battles and treacherous assassinations highlight this heartfelt tale of a young princess who must be as strong as a man in wartime, while still feeling the emotions of a woman.

Tale of the Crane Princess

1993

1980s · 13 titles

Lovers Lost poster
6.5

A poignant love story between a 29-year-old woman, who has once been a prostitute but is now the mistress of a wealthy jewelry merchant, and a 19-year-old college student.

Lovers Lost

1982

Kaito Ruby poster
7.0

Toru Hayashi is an unremarkable bachelor who lives with his mother, until one day a young woman named Rumi moves in in the apartment upstairs. Rumi is a self-proclaimed master thief, but she needs socially awkward Toru's help to actually kickstart her so-called career.

Kaito Ruby

1988

Station poster
6.2

A detective goes out of his way to crack the case of a serial killer who specialises in murdering police officers.

Station

1981

Mahjong Horoki poster
7.0

A mahjong neophyte loses everything to game master only to hone his skills, take on all challenges and plan for an ultimate revenge match.

Mahjong Horoki

1984

Mister, Missus, Miss Lonely poster
7.5

Two men and a woman plan to steal 1.5 Billion yen.

Mister, Missus, Miss Lonely

1980

Suspicion poster
7.0

A car going at 25 mph plunges into the sea at Shinko Harbour, Toyama prefecture. Inside is the local business magnate Fukutaro Shirakawa, who perishes. Riding alongside him and surviving unhurt is his second wife, Kumako. It soon comes to light that Kumako’s husband was insured for 300 million yen and she is arrested on suspicion of murdering her husband for the insurance money. The newspapers denounce her as an evil woman, while the public is in no doubt about Kumako’s crime. Ritsuko Sahara is chosen as her defence attorney but the pair clash over almost everything...

Suspicion

1982

Lullaby of Death poster
6.2

Also known as: For My Daughter's 7th Birthday. Many years following her mother’s suicide, Maya seeks out her father, who deserted them, for revenge. All intertwined with the investigation of journalists into local murders, the manipulations of a palmist known as the “blue moth”, and political corruption.

Lullaby of Death

1982

Free and Easy poster
7.5

Densuke Hamazaki is an office worker at Suzuki Construction and gets transferred to the main Tokyo office. After settling in to his surrounding along with his wife Eri, Densuke befriends an elderly man named Ichinosuke Suzuki. Ichinosuke is a lonely and old man who learns to enjoy life again through his friendship with Densuke. Meanwhile, Densuke is completely unaware that Ichinosuke is the boss of his construction company. The two men become friends through their shared passion for fishing.

Free and Easy

1988

Time and Tide poster
7.3

An antique shop "Jidaiya" sells time not antiques. One day a lady run into this shop with a cat.

Time and Tide

1983

Lone Wolf & Child: Assassin on the Road to Hell poster
6.8

The tale of Ogami Itto and his son Daigoro has come full circle with the greatest sword actor of all time, Wakayama Tomisaburo now playing Lone Wolf's mortal enemy, the evil Lord Yagyu Retsudo, who masterminded Ogami's fall from grace. Brilliant sword actor Takahashi Hideki takes over as the former shogunate decapitator, and his stunning swordsmanship is second to none! The story of Lone Wolf and Child has been told many times, but never before like this. With the magnificent sword skills of Takahashi Hideki as Ogami Itto, the Shogun's Decapitator and Wakayama Tomisaburo as the power hungry Lord Yagyu Retsudo the story has come full circle.

Lone Wolf & Child: Assassin on the Road to Hell

1989

A Tale of Young Elopement poster
9.0

A 30-year-old man's life gets up-ended when his girlfriend accepts an arranged marriage meeting with a more successful man.

A Tale of Young Elopement

1987

The Great Department Store Robbery poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

The Great Department Store Robbery

1987

Ellie My Love poster
5.0

Based on the comic by Mako Takami.

Ellie My Love

1987

1970s · 16 titles

Invitation of Lust poster
7.5

Hirobe is a lonely man. After witnessing her girlfriend die with a terminal illness, he wanders through the city like a shadow. One day, he meets Masako and they begin an affair. Masako is in an unhappy marriage with Yazawa, who is also cheating on her with a younger lover. The tension builds up to an unforgiving, yet quiet climax...

Invitation of Lust

1975

A Portrait of Shunkin poster
7.8

Okoto is blind since childhood. Her young servant Sasuke is in love of her. One day Koto is badly scarred on her face. In order to preserve the memory of her once beautiful face, Sasuke takes away his own sight.

A Portrait of Shunkin

1976

Follow the Girls poster
8.0

Comedy of an entertainment agent and strip-teasers.

Follow the Girls

1971

Kōkōsei burai hikae: Kanjirū Muramasa poster
NR

Based on the comic by Kazuo Koike

Kōkōsei burai hikae: Kanjirū Muramasa

1973

Return of Ultraman: Terror of the Waterspout Monsters poster
6.0

A theatrical release of The Return of Ultraman episodes 13-14. It was released on December 12, 1971 as part of the Toho Champion Festival along with Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Earth's Greatest Battle (edited from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster) and shorter versions of The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee, and The Little Match Girl.

Return of Ultraman: Terror of the Waterspout Monsters

1971

No artwork available
NR

A junior high school teacher is raped by several students inside the school.

A Young Female Instructor

1978

Comedy: Love and Justice Among Cheaters poster
10.0

Ex-conman Junpei plots revenge on a corrupt corporation by leading a team of swindlers posing as politicians. A slick crime comedy of cons and payback.

Comedy: Love and Justice Among Cheaters

1974

Aoba shigereru poster
7.0

Based on the novel of the same name by Hisashi Inoue.

Aoba shigereru

1974

Ônna himitsu chosain-kuchibiru ni kakerô poster
NR

Japanese crime film

Ônna himitsu chosain-kuchibiru ni kakerô

1970

First-Decade Boss vs. Second-Decade Staff: Mon-Fri-Fri poster
10.0

After a highway accident forces a motel stay, a company president devises a plan to create spring-based beds, sparking unexpected business deals, romantic entanglements, and corporate hurdles.

First-Decade Boss vs. Second-Decade Staff: Mon-Fri-Fri

1971

Kandagawa poster
8.0

Based on a blockbuster song by Kaguyahime, a folk group. Makoto, a college student who belongs to a puppet theatre club, meets Michiko, who works at a printing factory, and they come to learn the bitterness and sadness of love. The two live humbly by the River Kanda, but are viewed coldly by people around them.

Kandagawa

1974

Return of Ultraman poster
6.3

Episodes 5 and 6 of Return of Ultraman show, screened at Toho Champion Festival.

Return of Ultraman

1971

Hajimete no Tabi poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Hajimete no Tabi

1971

Kôkôsei burai hikae: Tsuki no Muramasa poster
NR

Based on the comic by Kazuo Koike

Kôkôsei burai hikae: Tsuki no Muramasa

1973

The Lucky Status Symbol poster
NR

Hiroshi (Tatsuo Umemiya) has the biggest penis in all of Japan and everyone who touches (or is touched by) it, is blessed by good fortune. After buying his sister a washing machine for her wedding, he travels to Tokyo, where he must help his friend Masa out of a half-million yen debt. Among other hijinks, he becomes a penis god in the process.

The Lucky Status Symbol

1972

Nihon Kaidan Gekijō: The Peony Lantern — Onibi no Maki / Hotarubi no Maki poster
NR

Nobuo Nakagawa’s two-part adaptation of San’yūtei Enchō’s classic ghost tale follows the doomed romance between Shinzaburō and Otsuyu, whose death does not end their relationship. As Otsuyu’s spirit returns night after night, the greed of their neighbour Banzō sets in motion a widening chain of betrayal, murder and supernatural revenge. In 2007, the two parts were screened together theatrically as a single 95-minute work during a repertory run at Cinema Vera Shibuya in Tokyo.

Nihon Kaidan Gekijō: The Peony Lantern — Onibi no Maki / Hotarubi no Maki

1970

1960s · 18 titles

High and Low poster
8.4

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

High and Low

1963

A Thousand and One Nights poster
6.7

Aldin, a vagabond water vendor, embarks of a series of fantastical and tragic misadventures through the Middle East in search of love, fortune, and power.

A Thousand and One Nights

1969

A Wanderer's Notebook poster
7.2

Based on the life and career of novelist Fumiko Hayashi, she bitterly struggles for literary recognition in the first half of the 20th-century – her affairs with feckless men, the jobs she took to survive (peddler, waitress, bar maid), and her arduous, often humiliating attempts to get published in a male-dominated culture.

A Wanderer's Notebook

1962

The Symbol of a Man poster
7.0

A Japanese intelligence officer faces personal crises in the years preceding the Manchurian conflict.

The Symbol of a Man

1963

The Age of Lawless Moneymaking poster
NR

Contemporary comedy.

The Age of Lawless Moneymaking

1961

Fort Graveyard poster
6.1

Charged with insubordination for punching a superior, Sergeant Kosugi is shipped to China in the last desperate days of the Second World War. His commander, Captain Sakuma, is vicious and dictatorial. Sakuma places Kosugi in charge of training for combat what once was the military band. Kosugi must somehow prepare his inept soldiers for the rigors of combat.

Fort Graveyard

1965

Sweet Sweat poster
8.3

This film by Toyoda depicts the hard life of an unmarried mother in Tokyo. Umeko (Machiko Kyo), at 36, is working in a bar, struggling valiantly to keep her family together. Her 17-year-old daughter Takeko becomes increasingly upset by her mother's constant drinking and yakuza boyfriend, and runs away from home. Kyo's performance was highly praised.

Sweet Sweat

1964

Flying Phantom Ship poster
6.2

Hayato's home city is under attack from a gigantic robot. His parents are lying dead in the rubble and the only remaining friend is his dog. His only thought now is revenge against the owner of the Phantom Ship (from where the robot said he was sent). He ends up in the house of Kuroshio, the leader of the fight against the Phantom Ship and the most important person in the city. By complete accident, Hayato finds his way to an underground passageway where he realises that the true nature of events does not mesh with what Kuroshio has told him. His life is now in great danger, and only he can stop the plans of the evildoers.

Flying Phantom Ship

1969

The Dragon Crest poster
NR

A violent story of loyalty and revenge among the many "yakuza" or gambling groups in Japan.

The Dragon Crest

1963

Akitsu Hot Springs poster
6.5

Just after WW2, a romance between an innkeeper and a man with tuberculosis unravels near a thermal spring.

Akitsu Hot Springs

1962

The Twilight Story poster
8.5

In this Japanese drama, a village girl goes to Tokyo and becomes a sex worker to support her ailing mother. While there she meets a teacher and falls in love.

The Twilight Story

1960

Young Challengers poster
8.0

A story depicting the challenges faced by today's youth in working to build a better tomorrow, based on the theme of Toshiba's progress as one of Japan's leading manufacturers of electronic and electric goods.

Young Challengers

1968

Could I But Live poster
8.0

After receiving a phone call from a woman whose child has contracted polio, government official Masayoshi Sakata decides to do everything he can to eradicate the disease.

Could I But Live

1964

The Kanto Region Is Also Expanding poster
NR

A man who was released from prison wanders around the Kanto region and gets involved with the local yakuza.

The Kanto Region Is Also Expanding

1967

Retirement of a Train Engineer poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Retirement of a Train Engineer

1965

Chivalry Broken from All Sides poster
NR

This is a magnificent drama about love and chivalry, telling about the stormy fate of Seiji, nicknamed "The Rising Dragon", who swore never to take up a sword again because of the emptiness of the Yakuza's life, and the passionate fate of his named sister Maki, nicknamed "The Scarlet Cherry Blossom", who falls in love with him without suspecting that he was the one who was responsible for her father's death and to whom she should take revenge.

Chivalry Broken from All Sides

1966

Dreams Come True at Night poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Dreams Come True at Night

1967

Birth of a Fighter poster
7.0

A young boss proves his right to rule his gang.

Birth of a Fighter

1967

Series credits

Furuya Ikkou's Great Detective Kindaichi Kousuke Series poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Furuya Ikkou's Great Detective Kindaichi Kousuke Series

1983

Furuya Ikkou's Great Detective Kindaichi Kousuke Series poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Furuya Ikkou's Great Detective Kindaichi Kousuke Series

1983

Tabiji poster
9.0

The 7th NHK Asadora. Starring Tadashi Yokouchi in a narrative about an employee of the national railroad living through 50 years of modern history with his wife.

Tabiji

1967

Return of Ultraman poster
8.6

Another being from Nebula M-78, identical to the original Ultraman, combines with car racer-turned-MAT patrol member Hideki Gô, and fights assorted menaces in a frightening new "Age of Monsters."

Return of Ultraman

1971

Taikouki poster
NR

Based on the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi (February 2, 1537 – September 18, 1598) a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan.

Taikouki

1965

Ultraman Taro poster
7.9

After being killed in a monster attack, adolescent young man Kotarô Higashi is transformed by the entire Ultra Family into a powerful new Ultra-being, Ultraman Tarou.

Ultraman Taro

1973

Ponytail Won't Look Back poster
NR

After her family breaks apart and she ends up behind bars, a defiant teen fights her way back into the world through rhythm and rebellion, driven by a dream to start a band and rewrite her life.

Ponytail Won't Look Back

1985

Prime Minister of Yuhigaoka poster
NR

A maverick man arrives at Yūhigaoka School. The drama incorporates educational issues as well as family problems and adult romance, and can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Prime Minister of Yuhigaoka

1978

Stepsisters poster
NR

A moving story of intense love, hate, and reconciliation born out of a fateful encounter between the only daughter of a conglomerate leader and a girl from a poor family.

Stepsisters

1985

No artwork available
NR

A collection of sci-fi stories based on Sakyou Komatsu's writing.

Sakyou Komatsu's Animation Theater

1989

Oretachi no Tabi poster
NR

A milestone in Japanese teen drama, representing the 1970s. It questions the meaning of life, worries, and joys.

Oretachi no Tabi

1975

Kokugo Gannen poster
NR

Set in 1874 at the residence of an official of the Ministry of Education of Japan who was ordered with establishing a common national spoken language, this humorous drama focuses on how the national language used today was created.

Kokugo Gannen

1985

They Called Me a Bad Girl poster
NR

Shoko's life, marked by delinquency and a harsh upbringing, takes an unexpected turn when Tetsuya's devoted affection and the soulful strains of his "sho"—a traditional Japanese gagaku wind instrument—offer her a melody of hope and a chance for reform.

They Called Me a Bad Girl

1984

No artwork available
NR

To infiltrate a violent school campus an elite police officer puts his career on hold to go undercover as a teacher. With the help of his team on the inside, they fight to prevent crime and delinquency in this school-plus-detective drama. Of course, there is love and action to keep you entertained.

The School Cop

1988

Murder Case: Lover Swap poster
NR

Yoshiko Konno went on a winter trip in a car driven by her fiance, Yoichi Itokawa, but got lost due to a blizzard and arrived at a mountain cottage in the depths of a grove. They decide to rent a room. After greeting several men and women sitting by the fireplace, they enter the bedroom. In the middle of the night, Yoshiko woke up and, hearing a woman's voice from the next room, left the room to see what was going on...

Murder Case: Lover Swap

1982

An Early Autumn poster
NR

A former couple, separated for over 20 years, were reunited after being told their son had only 3 months to live. What should they do as parents? As they worried, they soon began to feel the weight of their family ties...

An Early Autumn

1987

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

松本清張の聞かなかった場所

1979

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

津軽海峡殺しの双曲線 最後の青函連絡船殺人事件

1988