Acting
Kazuo Hasegawa
Born 1908-02-27 · Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
Kazuo Hasegawa was a Japanese film and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 films from 1927 to 1963. Born to a sake brewing family in Kyoto, he first appeared on stage at age five in a theater run by his family as a side business. In 1918, he became a student of Nakamura Ganjirō I and performed kabuki in the Kansai region. He joined the Shochiku studio in 1927 and made his film debut in Chigo no kenpō under the name Chōjirō Hayashi. His good looks and graceful fighting style made him a major jidaigeki star, and he appeared in more than 120 films for Shochiku in 11 years, with the best works being directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. He moved to the Toho studio in 1937. On 11 November 1937, however, he was attacked by ruffians and his face slashed with razor blades. According to the historian Daisuke Miyao, "Even though there was no clear evidence, it was widely assumed that this violent incident was Shochiku's retaliatory measure against Hayashi's so-called betrayal." He recovered and changed his stage name to his real name, Kazuo Hasegawa. Hasegawa appeared in many successful films for Toho, including several "national-policy pictures with Chinese settings," such as Song of the White Orchid (1939) and China Night (1940), with co-star Ri Koran. He moved to Daiei Film in 1950 and continued appearing in the popular Zenigata Heiji series. He also appeared in many classic films including Kozaburo Yoshimura's The Tale of Genji (1951), Kinugasa's Gate of Hell (1953), and Kenji Mizoguchi's The Crucified Lovers (1954). He was appointed to Daiei's board of directors in 1957. To celebrate his 300th film, Hasegawa appeared in a new version of Yukinojō henge (known abroad as An Actor's Revenge) in 1963, directed by Kon Ichikawa. He left Daiei that year and continued to appear on stage and television, including starring in the second NHK Taiga drama Akō Rōshi in 1964. He also directed the Takarazuka Revue version of The Rose of Versailles in 1974.
Acting credits
7.8When the wife of a 17th-century Kyoto scrollmaker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves truly falling for one another.
Chikamatsu Monogatari
1954
6.3Japan, 1701. A group of samurai become rônin after their lord is forced to commit seppuku for assaulting a court official, who will become the target of a merciless revenge.
The Loyal 47 Ronin
1958
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Idaten Kaido
1944
6.6In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.
An Actor's Revenge
1963
5.0The story is based on the serial novel by Tsunoda Kikuo.
The Seven Changes of a Paper Crane (Part 1)
1941
NRKazuo Hasegawa's debut at Daiei.
Koga Manshion
1949
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Hana no sando gasa
1954
10.0The film depicts how the work to build the Great Buddha overcame a number of obstacles as proponents and opponents clashed over the construction of the Buddha. This work is based on a play by Hideo Osada, which was performed by the Shin Kyodo Theater Company in 1940.
Dedication of the Great Buddha
1952
6.0Jyuta, an honest owner of a taxi company, has a younger half-brother who is involved in the yakuza world and doesn’t get along well with his mother. Jyuta tries to correct him…
My Elder Brother
1934
NRAboard a ship connecting Kyoto and Osaka, Osan was pickpocketed by a sham blind biwa player. A man who looked like a merchant retrieved the wallet for her. Osan was a woman being sold off for the sake of her yakuza-like brother, Nin'kichi. The man in the guise of a merchant turned out to be the Rat Thief, Jirokichi, the infamous thief of Edo. Due to this chance encounter, the two ended up staying at the same hot spring inn. However, one morning, as Jirokichi was about to leave alone, Osan, with the intuition of a smitten woman, confessed she knew he was the famed Rat Thief.
治郎吉格子
1952
NRAboard a ship connecting Kyoto and Osaka, Osan was pickpocketed by a sham blind biwa player. A man who looked like a merchant retrieved the wallet for her. Osan was a woman being sold off for the sake of her yakuza-like brother, Nin'kichi. The man in the guise of a merchant turned out to be the Rat Thief, Jirokichi, the infamous thief of Edo. Due to this chance encounter, the two ended up staying at the same hot spring inn. However, one morning, as Jirokichi was about to leave alone, Osan, with the intuition of a smitten woman, confessed she knew he was the famed Rat Thief.
治郎吉格子
1952
NRA series of murders surrounds the 70,000 ryō in buried treasure hidden by the Kanayama Magistrate.
Zenigata heiji torimono hikae: Kiniro no ōkami
1953
No synopsis available yet.
Coming Up of Kodokan
1953
7.1Japan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married.
Gate of Hell
1953
10.0This film stars Tanaka Kinuyo as the mother of the heir to the Hosho name, a famous lineage of Noh actors. The heir, Hosho Yagoro, is played by Hasegawa Kuzuo who went on to become familiar among Ichikawa Kon fans as Yukinojo in An Actor's Revenge, which was also co-written by Ito, adding to the relatedness of An Heir's Place.
An Heir's Place
1953
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Hana no kenkajō
1953
7.0Film directed by Kenji Misumi.
Gambler and the Princess
1959
6.1In one of Japan's most frequently-told ghost stories, a murdered wife returns in an act of vengeance.
The Ghost of Yotsuya
1959
5.0Two cowardly palanquin carriers know the culprit of a murder, but are too scared to report it to the police. In the meantime, an innocent man is arrested as the murderer and chaos ensues.
The Palanquin Carrier Magistrate
1935
NRKichigoro, a firefighter from the Maeda family of the Kaga Principality, rescues Oshimo, the younger sister of Jirokichi, a city firefighter from the Ha-gumi group, from a samurai who is trying to kidnap her. Oshimo has feelings for Kichigoro. At this moment, a fire warning bell sounds in the city...
The Fighting Firemen
1939
NRA murder case tied to a missing love letter… Heiji heads west along the Tōkaidō in pursuit of thirteen suspicious individuals.
Zenigata heiji torimono hikae: Koibumi dōchū
1951
8.0A film about the Ghost of Okiku that's based on the kabuki play Bancho Sarayashiki.
A Samurai's Love
1954
6.0Police detective Heiji is assigned to catch the masked Maboroshi gang of robbers who have terrorized all of Edo leaving few clues as to who their leader is.
Case Files of Zenigata Heiji: Heiji Covers All of Edo
1949
NRA sentimental tale of the filial love between shogun Iemitsu (matinee idol Hasegawa) and his loyal old retainer Hikoza (comedian Roppa, playing somewhat against type).
Iemitsu and Hikoza
1941
