Eijirō Tōno

Eijirō Tōno (東野英治郎 Tōno Eijirō, 17 September 1907 – 8 September 1994) was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961), and films by Yasujirō Ozu, such as Tokyo Story (1953) and An Autumn Afternoon (1962). He also appeared in Kill! by Kihachi Okamoto and Tora! Tora! Tora!, a depiction of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. His final film was Juzo Itami's A-ge-man (Tales of a Golden Geisha) in 1990. Tōno also starred as the title character in the long-running television jidaigeki series Mito Kōmon from 1969 to 1983. In the early years of his career he acted under the name of Katsuji Honjo (本庄克二).

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Tokyo Story (1953)

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The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasujirō Ozu
CAST:  Chishū Ryū  •  Chieko Higashiyama  •  Setsuko Hara  •  Haruko Sugimura

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasujirō Ozu
CAST:  Chishū Ryū  •  Chieko Higashiyama  •  Setsuko Hara  •  Haruko Sugimura

Tales of a Golden Geisha (1990)

The film stars two of Itami's regular actors, Nobuko Miyamoto as a geisha who brings luck to the men with whom she sleeps, and Masahiko Tsugawa as her unfaithful, sometimes partner. As well as showing her relationships with the man she loves and the men who employ ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jūzō Itami
CAST:  Nobuko Miyamoto  •  Masahiko Tsugawa  •  Hiroshi Okochi  •  Ryūnosuke Kaneda

The film stars two of Itami's regular actors, Nobuko Miyamoto as a geisha who brings luck to the men with whom she sleeps, and Masahiko Tsugawa as her unfaithful, sometimes partner. As well as showing her relationships with the man she loves and the men who employ ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jūzō Itami
CAST:  Nobuko Miyamoto  •  Masahiko Tsugawa  •  Hiroshi Okochi  •  Ryūnosuke Kaneda

An Autumn Afternoon (1962)

Shuhei Hirayama is a widower with a 24-year-old daughter. Gradually, he comes to realize that she should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasujirō Ozu
CAST:  Chishū Ryū  •  Shima Iwashita  •  Keiji Sada  •  Mariko Okada

Shuhei Hirayama is a widower with a 24-year-old daughter. Gradually, he comes to realize that she should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasujirō Ozu
CAST:  Chishū Ryū  •  Shima Iwashita  •  Keiji Sada  •  Mariko Okada

Good Morning (1959)

A lighthearted take on director Yasujiro Ozu’s perennial theme of the challenges of inter­generational relationships, Good Morning tells the story of two young boys who stop speaking in protest after their parents refuse to buy a television set. Ozu weaves a wealth ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasujirō Ozu
CAST:  Yoshiko Kuga  •  Chishū Ryū  •  Kuniko Miyake  •  Haruko Sugimura

A lighthearted take on director Yasujiro Ozu’s perennial theme of the challenges of inter­generational relationships, Good Morning tells the story of two young boys who stop speaking in protest after their parents refuse to buy a television set. Ozu weaves a wealth ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasujirō Ozu
CAST:  Yoshiko Kuga  •  Chishū Ryū  •  Kuniko Miyake  •  Haruko Sugimura

High and Low (1963)

A shoe company executive who has mortgaged everything he has becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and is conflicted over whether he should pay the ransom.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Tatsuya Nakadai  •  Kyōko Kagawa  •  Tatsuya Mihashi

A shoe company executive who has mortgaged everything he has becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and is conflicted over whether he should pay the ransom.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Tatsuya Nakadai  •  Kyōko Kagawa  •  Tatsuya Mihashi

I Live in Fear (1955)

Kiichi Nakajima, an elderly foundry owner, is convinced that Japan will be affected by an imminent nuclear war, and resolves to move his family to safety in Brazil. His family decides to have him ruled incompetent and Dr. Harada, a Domestic Court counselor, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Minoru Chiaki  •  Eiko Miyoshi

Kiichi Nakajima, an elderly foundry owner, is convinced that Japan will be affected by an imminent nuclear war, and resolves to move his family to safety in Brazil. His family decides to have him ruled incompetent and Dr. Harada, a Domestic Court counselor, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Minoru Chiaki  •  Eiko Miyoshi

Kill! (1968)

A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kihachi Okamoto
CAST:  Tatsuya Nakadai  •  Etsushi Takahashi  •  Yuriko Hoshi  •  Tadao Nakamaru

A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kihachi Okamoto
CAST:  Tatsuya Nakadai  •  Etsushi Takahashi  •  Yuriko Hoshi  •  Tadao Nakamaru

Pigs and Battleships (1961)

In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Shōhei Imamura
CAST:  Hiroyuki Nagato  •  Jitsuko Yoshimura  •  Masao Mishima  •  Tetsurō Tamba

In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Shōhei Imamura
CAST:  Hiroyuki Nagato  •  Jitsuko Yoshimura  •  Masao Mishima  •  Tetsurō Tamba

Red Beard (1965)

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Yūzō Kayama  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Kyōko Kagawa

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Yūzō Kayama  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Kyōko Kagawa

Samurai Assassin (1965)

Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their misfortune.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kihachi Okamoto
CAST:  Keiju Kobayashi  •  Michiyo Aratama  •  Yūnosuke Itō  •  Toshirō Mifune

Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their misfortune.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kihachi Okamoto
CAST:  Keiju Kobayashi  •  Michiyo Aratama  •  Yūnosuke Itō  •  Toshirō Mifune

Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)

After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hiroshi Inagaki
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Koji Tsuruta  •  Kaoru Yachigusa  •  Mariko Okada

After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hiroshi Inagaki
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Koji Tsuruta  •  Kaoru Yachigusa  •  Mariko Okada

Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)

A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hiroshi Inagaki
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Koji Tsuruta  •  Kaoru Yachigusa  •  Mariko Okada

A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hiroshi Inagaki
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Koji Tsuruta  •  Kaoru Yachigusa  •  Mariko Okada

Stray Dog (1949)

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Keiko Awaji  •  Eiko Miyoshi

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Keiko Awaji  •  Eiko Miyoshi

Sword of the Beast (1965)

Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hideo Gosha
CAST:  Mikijiro Hira  •  Gō Katō  •  Shima Iwashita  •  Kunie Tanaka

Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hideo Gosha
CAST:  Mikijiro Hira  •  Gō Katō  •  Shima Iwashita  •  Kunie Tanaka

The Last War (1961)

This Japanese film speculates on the events which lead the U.S. and the Soviet Union into a nuclear Armageddon.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Shūe Matsubayashi
CAST:  Frankie Sakai  •  Akira Takarada  •  Yuriko Hoshi  •  Nobuko Otowa

This Japanese film speculates on the events which lead the U.S. and the Soviet Union into a nuclear Armageddon.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Shūe Matsubayashi
CAST:  Frankie Sakai  •  Akira Takarada  •  Yuriko Hoshi  •  Nobuko Otowa

The Lower Depths (1957)

Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an aging actor, get drawn into a love triangle that turns violent. When amoral thief Sutekichi breaks off his affair with landlady Osugi to romance her younger sister, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Isuzu Yamada  •  Kyōko Kagawa  •  Minoru Chiaki

Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an aging actor, get drawn into a love triangle that turns violent. When amoral thief Sutekichi breaks off his affair with landlady Osugi to romance her younger sister, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Isuzu Yamada  •  Kyōko Kagawa  •  Minoru Chiaki

Seven Samurai (1954)

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Yoshio Inaba  •  Seiji Miyaguchi

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Yoshio Inaba  •  Seiji Miyaguchi

Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words use by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Richard Fleischer  •  Toshio Masuda  •  Kinji Fukasaku
CAST:  Martin Balsam  •  Sō Yamamura  •  Joseph Cotten  •  Tatsuya Mihashi

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words use by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Richard Fleischer  •  Toshio Masuda  •  Kinji Fukasaku
CAST:  Martin Balsam  •  Sō Yamamura  •  Joseph Cotten  •  Tatsuya Mihashi

Yojimbo (1961)

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Tatsuya Nakadai  •  Yōko Tsukasa  •  Isuzu Yamada

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Tatsuya Nakadai  •  Yōko Tsukasa  •  Isuzu Yamada

Horus: Prince of the Sun (1968)

Young Horus lives in a mythical Scandinavia of the Iron Age. Recovering the stolen Sword of the Sun from a rock giant, he learns he must travel to the lands of his ancestors, encountering the beautiful but enigmatic Hilda as his journey leads to a series of adventures.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Isao Takahata
CAST:  Yukari Asai  •  Mikijiro Hira  •  Etsuko Ichihara  •  Masao Mishima

Young Horus lives in a mythical Scandinavia of the Iron Age. Recovering the stolen Sword of the Sun from a rock giant, he learns he must travel to the lands of his ancestors, encountering the beautiful but enigmatic Hilda as his journey leads to a series of adventures.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Isao Takahata
CAST:  Yukari Asai  •  Mikijiro Hira  •  Etsuko Ichihara  •  Masao Mishima
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