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Kōji Mitsui

Actor

Kōji Mitsui

Born March 6, 1910 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, JapanDied July 20, 1979143 films

Mitsui Koji ( March 6, 1910 - April 20, 1979 ) was a Japanese actor. His real name was Mitsui Hikohide. After the war, he played an active role as a supporting actor in films directed by Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu . His former stage name was Mitsui Hideo.

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Changed his stage name to Mitsui Koji in Ozu's Hen in the Wind (1948) . His role as the playboy Kisaburo in Kurosawa Akira 's The Lower Depths (1957) won him the Best Supporting Actor award at the 12th Mainichi Film Awards and the 8th Blue Ribbon Awards, solidifying his status as a supporting actor.

After going freelance in 1960, he worked not only in films but also in television dramas and on stage, but after undergoing surgery for a stomach ulcer in 1971, his health deteriorated and he scaled back his acting career.

He died of heart failure on April 20, 1979 at a hospital in Kamakura. He was 69 years old.

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The best way into Kōji Mitsui's work
High and Low posterFirst watchHigh and Low19638.4as Second ReporterA Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
The Hidden Fortress poster8.0The Hidden Fortress1958Woman in the Dunes poster8.2Woman in the Dunes1964Red Beard poster8.2Red Beard1965The Human Condition I: No Greater Love poster8.1The Human Condition I: No Greater Love1959The Bad Sleep Well poster7.7The Bad Sleep Well1960Floating Weeds poster7.5Floating Weeds1959Dodes'ka-den poster7.1Dodes'ka-den1970The Lower Depths poster7.1The Lower Depths1957

Filmography

143 films as actor
  1. 1975Great Jailbreak
  2. 1972Beyond the Rainbow
  3. 1971The Battle of OkinawaOld Man
  4. 1970Dodes'ka-denFoodstand owner
  5. 1969Our Miyo-chanYagi
  6. 1968Nanami: The Inferno of First LoveMr. Otagaki
  7. 1967The Greatest Challenge of All
  8. 1967Japan's Longest DayOld Journalist
  9. 1966Punch Guy
  10. 1966Ohana hanMizorogi
  11. 1965Red BeardHeikichi
  12. 1965Salaryman's Medal
  13. 1965A Fugitive from the PastMotojima
  14. 1964Japan's No. 1 BraggartFurui
  15. 1964I Am a Medical Examiner
  16. 1964Woman in the DunesVillage Elder
  17. 1964How to Make Money
  18. 1964The Honest Fool
  19. 1963Legends of Honor
  20. 1963Young SwordsmanYabe Senjuro
  21. 1963Young Guy in Hawaii
  22. 1963High and LowSecond Reporter
  23. 1962Aitsu bakari ga naze moteru
  24. 1962The Body
  25. 1962Zoku aizen katsura
  26. 1962Hadashi no hanayome
  27. 1962Shin kitsune to tanuki
  28. 1962Gang vs. Gang
  29. 1962Tokyo BayNarcotics Control Agent Hayashi
  30. 1962Mother Country
  31. 1962Otoko no Uta
  32. 1962The Inheritance
  33. 1962Drunkard's Paradise
  34. 1962A Roaring Trade
  35. 1961With Wife, Children, and Friends
  36. 1961Kigeki: Kane no naru ki ni koi ga saku
  37. 1961Furimuita hanayomeYasunosuke Fukuhara
  38. 1961Koi no gashūShuzo, Tomie's father
  39. 1961Hikkoshi yatsure
  40. 1961Epitaph to My LoveTorikie
  41. 1961Aoi kairyū
  42. 1961Killers on Parade
  43. 1961Hijō no otoko
  44. 1961Incidental MurdersGenji
  45. 1960The Last Trump CardYaichi Saito
  46. 1960The Bad Sleep WellReporter A
  47. 1960Irohanihoheto
  48. 1960Banana
  49. 1960Only She Knows
  50. 1960Hot Corner MurderHobara
  51. 1959Floating WeedsKichinosuke
  52. 1959Tokyo Omnibus
  53. 1959Thus Another DayMan A
  54. 1959Koko ni otoko ari
  55. 1959Fox and RaccoonHangoro Iizuka
  56. 1959Kiku and Isamu: Two Siblings Born in JapanShopkeeper
  57. 1959Lucky Dragon No. 5
  58. 1959The Human Condition I: No Greater LoveFuruya
  59. 1958The Hidden FortressGuard (uncredited)
  60. 1958Maria of the Ant Village
  61. 1958Tabi sugata nezumi kozō
  62. 1958Modan dôchû: Sono koi matta nashi
  63. 1958Police Precinct Part 8
  64. 1958BotchanNodaiko
  65. 1958Firefly Light
  66. 1958Monthly Salary: 13,000 Yen
  67. 1958A Bridge for Two Alone
  68. 1958Hibi no haishin
  69. 1957The Unbalanced Wheel
  70. 1957The Lower DepthsYoshisaburo the Gambler
  71. 1957Times of Joy and SorrowMr. Kanemaki
  72. 1957A Tale of Dung and Urine
  73. 1957The Lonely Swordsman (Part 2)
  74. 1957A Case of Honor
  75. 1957Tokyo is a Fine Place
  76. 1956Typhoon Furor
  77. 1956I Will Buy YouTamekichi Kurita
  78. 1956The Thick-Walled RoomNishimura
  79. 1956Horeruna Yanpachi
  80. 1956The Monster Cat of the Fifty-Three Stations
  81. 1956Sound of Youth
  82. 1956Headquarters of Crime Detection
  83. 1956Early SpringHirayama
  84. 1955元祿美少年記父長助
  85. 1955Iroha Elegy
  86. 1955Ejima and Ikushima岡本五郎右衛門
  87. 1955Christ in BronzeIwakichi
  88. 1955The Vassal's Neck
  89. 1955Chutaro of Banba
  90. 1955Here Is a Spring
  91. 1954Bored Hatamoto: The Million-ryo Mystery
  92. 1954Surprising 53 Stations of the Tokaido
  93. 1954Beautiful Tengu弥之助
  94. 1954Youth’s Romance Seat: Sitting on the Green Grass
  95. 1954慶安水滸傳和尚廓念
  96. 1953Love Letter
  97. 1953Always in My Heart Part 2
  98. 1953Kurama tengu: Aomen yasha古門前の長次
  99. 1953Always in My Heart
  100. 1952Tange Sazen
  101. 1952Avalanche
  102. 1952Our Chief, Our Doctor
  103. 1951Five Men of EdoKodaira
  104. 1951Fireworks Over the SeaMoriyama
  105. 1951Jōen no hatoba
  106. 1951Weeping DollShige
  107. 1951Carmen Comes HomeOka
  108. 1951The Inner Palace ConspiracyKichitarō
  109. 1950The Actress and the Detective
  110. 1950Crazy Uproar
  111. 1950ScandalCameraman A
  112. 1950Onna no ryūkō
  113. 1949A Fool's LoveSeki
  114. 1949Ishimatsu of the Forest
  115. 1949Jealousy
  116. 1948The Most Beautiful Day of My Life
  117. 1948A Hen in the WindHideo
  118. 1948Great XYoshioka
  119. 1946Iki na fûraibôGentarô
  120. 1945Victory SongKawanishi