Nook NotesPick a film
So Yamamura

Actor

So Yamamura

Born February 24, 1910 in Tenri, Nara, JapanDied May 26, 2000181 films

So Yamamura (山村聰, Yamamura So, 24 February 1910 – 26 May 2000) was a Japanese actor and film director. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1947 and 1991, and directed four films. He was also known by the name Satoshi Yamamura, while his actual birth name is Koga Hirosada. In the US, he is well known for his portrayals of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Combined Fleet, in Tora! Tora! Tora!, and of Mr. Sakamoto, the CEO of Assan Motors in Gung Ho.

Start here

The best way into So Yamamura's work
Tokyo Story posterFirst watchTokyo Story19538.1as Koichi HirayamaThe elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Tora! Tora! Tora! poster7.2Tora! Tora! Tora!1970The Human Condition I: No Greater Love poster8.1The Human Condition I: No Greater Love1959Tokyo Twilight poster7.7Tokyo Twilight1957Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah poster6.9Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah1991Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril poster7.3Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril1972Early Spring poster7.5Early Spring1956Gung Ho poster6.1Gung Ho1986Sound of the Mountain poster7.4Sound of the Mountain1954

Filmography

181 films as actor
  1. 1997Going West: to the WestShogo Kawahara
  2. 1992Tokugawa Ieyasu: The Conqueror of Japan
  3. 1991Godzilla vs. King GhidorahPrime Minister
  4. 1990The Yagyu Code 2: Fifty BladesYagyu Munenori
  5. 1990Tange Sazen
  6. 1989Nemuri Kyōshirō
  7. 1987Tokyo BordelloIsaburo Okura
  8. 1986Gung HoMr. Sakamoto
  9. 1985The Second Is a ChristianNakatsugawa
  10. 1983Kanei Command Performance
  11. 1983AntarcticaIwakiri Sencho
  12. 1982The Mysterious Gemini • Y&S
  13. 1980Yagyu Abaretabi
  14. 1980Shadow Warriors: Hattori HanzoMasayuki Hoshina
  15. 1978Shag
  16. 1975Main Line to Terror
  17. 1974Prophecies of NostradamusPrime Minister Kuroki
  18. 1974Professional Killers – Assignment by NightHanemon(Otowaya)
  19. 1973Professional Killers – Assassin's QuarryHanemon(Otowaya)
  20. 1973Professional KillersHanemon(Otowaya)
  21. 1972Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in PerilGômune Jindaiyu
  22. 1970The MilitaristsMitsumasa Yonai
  23. 1970Tora! Tora! Tora!Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
  24. 1967Japan's Longest DayNavy Minister Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai
  25. 1965The Retreat from KiskaKawashima
  26. 1965With Beauty and SorrowToshio Ôki
  27. 1965The School of Flesh
  28. 1965Ane to imôtoYoshirô Takaoka
  29. 1964A Public BenefactorKappei Arima
  30. 1963Daybreak ChorusShingo Koide
  31. 1963Gang Loyalty and VengeanceTachibana
  32. 1963Shinobi no Mono 2: VengeanceMitsuhide
  33. 1963The House Where Flowers Bloom
  34. 1963Ano hito wa ima
  35. 1963At the Side of the Bridge 3
  36. 1962Born in Sin
  37. 1962Diary of a Mad Old ManTokusuke Rôjin
  38. 1962A Flame at the Pier
  39. 1962Records of loyal vassals
  40. 1962Glory on the Summit
  41. 1962Star of Hong KongGentaro Sugimoto
  42. 1962Akitsu Hot SpringsMikami
  43. 1962Ano sora no hate ni hoshi wa matatakuKojiro Yamaguchi
  44. 1962The Pacific War and Himeyuri CorpsTaiwan Army Chief of Staff
  45. 1962Musume to watashi
  46. 1962The InheritanceSenzô
  47. 1962Drunkard's Paradise
  48. 1962Yume de aritai
  49. 1962A Roaring Trade
  50. 1962Their Legacy
  51. 1961Love's Family Tree
  52. 1961The Last WarPrime Minister Masaki
  53. 1961The Man Who Challenged 8,000,000-KokuCouncilor Matsudaira Izu
  54. 1961Netsuai shaMurai
  55. 1961Haitoku no mesuNaoyuki Nishizawa
  56. 1961A Geisha's DiaryKiyomasa Tsutsui
  57. 1961The Estuary
  58. 1961The Orphan BrotherFujiwara No Morozane (voice)
  59. 1961An Eagle Eyed Lord
  60. 1961Epitaph to My LoveKimura
  61. 1961Last-Ditch Glory
  62. 1961Samurai Hawk
  63. 1961Women of TokyoShoichi Kagami
  64. 1961The Harbor Lights
  65. 1961I Am The Magician From Hell
  66. 1961The Prickly Mouthed Geisha, Part 4
  67. 1960Deep River Melody
  68. 1960The Sand City in ManchuriaIshigami
  69. 1960Life of a Country Doctor
  70. 1960Ninja Assassins
  71. 1960Police Precinct Part 14Maruyama
  72. 1960Victory and DefeatKimpei Minegishi
  73. 1960Ryuji, the Gun Slinger
  74. 1960The Prickly Mouthed Geisha Part 2
  75. 1960続べらんめぇ芸者
  76. 1959Across the DarknessTakazawa
  77. 1959The Silent Murder
  78. 1959Sudden Attack of the Christian Lord
  79. 1959Hell's Companion
  80. 1959HahakogusaMr. Fujiki
  81. 1959Whirlwind Magistrate
  82. 1959The Bastards of Lawless Town
  83. 1959The Human Condition I: No Greater LoveOkishima
  84. 1959The 47 Masterless Samurai
  85. 1959Shingo's Original Challenge, Part 1 and 2
  86. 1958Sister with SisterMichisuke Nishikata
  87. 1958The Purple Hood
  88. 1958The Barbarian and the GeishaGovernor Tamura
  89. 1958With Songs in My Heart
  90. 1958Detective Duel
  91. 1958Oban kanketsu hen
  92. 1958His Pistol is Hell
  93. 1958Gendai MushukuNonomiya Shin
  94. 1958Little PeachHeishiro Hirayama, the father
  95. 1957Roar and Earth
  96. 1957Hole in OneKeikichi Shirasu
  97. 1957First Love StoryShohei Ganmaru
  98. 1957Night ButterfliesIchiro Shirasawa
  99. 1957The Chieko StoryKotaro Takamura
  100. 1957Blooms of Hell
  101. 1957When It Rains, It Pours
  102. 1957Tokyo TwilightSeki Sekiguchi
  103. 1957Typhoon Over Nagasaki
  104. 1957Hakuji no hitoZensuke, Kanako's father
  105. 1956恐怖の空中殺人劉元章
  106. 1956Yonjū-hassai no teikō
  107. 1956Tsukigata HanpeitaKatsura Kogoro
  108. 1956Summer in EclipseKozo Mishima
  109. 1956Darkness at NoonYuji
  110. 1956Ma no kisetsu: Haru no mizuumi
  111. 1956Early SpringYutaka Kawai
  112. 1955The Doctor
  113. 1955Seven Masks of Revenge
  114. 1955If Indeed One LovesGorô (segment 3)
  115. 1955Till We Meet AgainDaisuke Kaji
  116. 1955Princess Yang Kwei-feiAn Lushan
  117. 1955Ghost Story of YouthTetsuya, father of Chiharu
  118. 1955Frame of SnowAmagiri (Yūko’s grandfather)
  119. 1955A Young Samurai
  120. 1955Burden of LoveJozaburo Araki