# Hiroyuki Nagato

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Japanese actor (1934–2011)

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Hiroyuki Nagato Nobuko Otowa and Hiroyuki Nagato in the 1956 Japanese movie Gin Shinju Born Akio Kato (1934-01-10)10 January 1934 Kyoto, Japan Died 21 May 2011(2011-05-21) (aged 77) Juntendo Clinic, Tokyo, Japan Occupation Actor Years active 1940–2011 Spouse Yōko Minamida ​ (m. 1961⁠–⁠2009)​ Parent(s) Kunitarō Sawamura Tomoko Makino Family Masahiko Tsugawa (brother) Sadako Sawamura (aunt) Daisuke Katō (uncle)

**Hiroyuki Nagato** (長門裕之, **Nagato Hiroyuki**; 10 January 1934 – 21 May 2011), stage name of Akio Kato (加藤晃夫), was a Japanese actor.[1]

He starred in *[Season of the Sun](/source/Season_of_the_Sun)*, *[Endless Desire](/source/Endless_Desire)*, *[My Second Brother](/source/My_Second_Brother)*, *[Stolen Desire](/source/Stolen_Desire)*, and *[Sukeban Deka](/source/Sukeban_Deka)*, and *[Yo-Yo Girl Cop](/source/Yo-Yo_Girl_Cop)*.

## Life and career

Nagato was born in [Kyoto City](/source/Kyoto) and came from an illustrious film family. His younger brother [Masahiko Tsugawa](/source/Masahiko_Tsugawa) is an actor. His wife [Yōko Minamida](/source/Y%C5%8Dko_Minamida) was an actress.[1] His grandfather is the director [Shōzō Makino](/source/Sh%C5%8Dz%C5%8D_Makino_(director)), nicknamed the Father of Japanese Film; his father, [Kunitarō Sawamura](/source/Kunitar%C5%8D_Sawamura), and his mother, [Tomoko Makino](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tomoko_Makino&action=edit&redlink=1), were both actors. His aunt and uncle through his father are the actors [Sadako Sawamura](/source/Sadako_Sawamura) and [Daisuke Katō](/source/Daisuke_Kat%C5%8D). His niece was the actress Mayuko and she referred to him as "Achi" (Uncle Akio). Masayuki Makino, his cousin from his mother's side, was the first principal of the [Okinawa Actors School](/source/Okinawa_Actors_School). He had no children with his wife Yoko. He is distantly related to the modern Japanese comedian [Daisuke Miyagawa](/source/Daisuke_Miyagawa).

After graduating from Hanazono High School, Nagato entered into Ritsumeikan University's Department of Literature but dropped out. Former Hanshin Tigers coach Yoshio Yoshida attended Ritsumeikan at the same time as Nagato but also dropped out.

### Acting career

His first movie appearance was in the 1940 film *Zokushi Mizuminato* (續清水港). He was a widely known child actor before World War II. During his school years he took a temporary break from acting but after the war he joined the entertainment company [Nikkatsu](/source/Nikkatsu) where he resumed film-making. He starred in the first installment book-turned-movie *Taiyouzoku* series, *Season of the Sun*, with his co-star, [Yujiro Ishihara](/source/Y%C5%ABjir%C5%8D_Ishihara) who debuted with this movie. Combined with director [Shohei Imamura](/source/Shohei_Imamura), the movie left him with the reputation of having acting and gave him the nickname of "Nikkatsu's Billboard Star".

In 1961 Nagato married Yoko Minamida and the following year he left Nikkatsu. In 1964, together with his wife, he established the film company Ningen Production. In 1968 he produced and starred in the television drama Katsudoya Ichiyo on MBS. However, due to compounding issues with the series, it plunged him 200 million yen into debt.

From 1982 he also became known as a personality appearing on the KBS Kyoto's charity radio show *Great Snail War*. The show provided help and raise money for children who were orphaned because of accidents. His wife also participated alongside him starting from 1984. He and his wife continued appearing until the campaign's end in 2005.

He also worked together alongside other celebrities born in the same year as him (1934): [Yujiro Ishihara](/source/Y%C5%ABjir%C5%8D_Ishihara), [Kinya Aikawa](/source/Kinya_Aikawa), Koizumi Ohashi, Ichiro Zaitsu, [Jiro Sakagami](/source/Jir%C5%8D_Sakagami), [Shunji Fujimura](/source/Shunji_Fujimura), [Gorō Mutsumi](/source/Gor%C5%8D_Mutsumi), [Shuichiro Moriyama](/source/Sh%C5%ABichir%C5%8D_Moriyama) to form the friendship association Showa 9 Nenkai (昭和9年会). The 9th year of the Showa era is the equivalent of 1934.

### *To Yoko* Controversy

In November 1985, Nagato published an exposé called *To Yoko* (洋子へ); it was published by the publisher Datahouse (データハウス). It was a series of confessions to his wife, in which he wrote about his numerous infidelities without changing any names of those he had affairs with. It astounded the Japanese media. [Junko Ikeuchi](/source/Junko_Ikeuchi), who was among the people included in the book under her real name, voiced a strong objection in response.

Nagato and Datahouse recalled the first edition and issued a revised version in which the problem areas were re-written. Nagato also took out an ad in the Ikeuchi newspaper to apologize over the situation. Nagato argued that, "Because [I] used a [ghostwriter](/source/Ghostwriter), my true intentions were not conveyed." However the entire incident seriously damaged his and his wife's careers. They were forced to resign from all the programs and commercials they had currently appeared in. He went on numerous different celebrity gossip shows for interviews about the event and repeatedly slammed his book against the desk while disparaging it.

After a long time Nagato recovered from the incident and even went back to thriving, performing mainly antagonist or villain roles in television dramas.

### Last Years

In his last years, Nagato devoted himself to making amends with his wife for all his affairs (and the scandal caused by the book) and became her caregiver when she was diagnosed with dementia. At the same time, he also increasingly started co-starring more with his younger brother Tsugawa, who he had been feuding with for many years. He also appeared in works directed by Tsugawa who assumed the name of [Makino Masahiko](/source/Masahiro_Makino).

On 21 October 2009, Yoko Minamida, died of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) at the age of 76. At a press conference held at the [Meiji Theater](/source/Meiji-za) the day Minamida died, Nagato stated, with tears in his eyes, "From now on, I will step into a world without my wife. Yoko lives on in my memories. This is what eternity means. [...] These four years of caring for her has been my rebirth and has changed my outlook on life."

### Death

After his wife's death, Nagato continued working until right before his own final days. On 21 May 2011, one year and seven months after the death of his wife, Nagato died at Juntendo Clinic in Tokyo at 5:20 pm. He was 77. That night, Tsukawa stated that his brother's condition was "A complication caused by pneumonia, but he was fine the day before", and revealed that his condition had changed suddenly the day of his death. Tsugawa along with Nagato's private friend of 60 years [Ruriko Asaoka](/source/Ruriko_Asaoka), rushed to respond to the press media's coverage. Upon receiving Nagato's obituary, Enzo Tachibana, who had been close to Nagato for many years and a member of the Showa 9 Nenkai, announced his condolences saying, "(With the death of Hiroshi Tamaki and Sakagami) more and more friends are now gone." Others who had a friendly relationship with Nagato commended their own condolences. Aimi Higa, who co-starred with him in *DonDon Hare*, wrote a comment on her blog in memory of Nagato. Toshiyuki Nishida, who co-starred with him in *Ikenaka Genta 80 Kg*, said that the titular character "weeps" for his death. [Kinichi Hagimoto](/source/Kinichi_Hagimoto), who was long loved by Nagato and his wife like a younger brother, when paying his own condolences and choked up with grief said, "He was the ultimate mentor, friend, and brother."

The wake and funeral service were held on 24 May at Zenpukuji in Minato-ku, Tokyo, with Tsugawa serving as the funeral officiant. The body was then cremated at the Kirigaya Yasaijyou in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. [Kiichi Nakai](/source/Kiichi_Nakai) and [Takashi Sasano](/source/Takashi_Sasano) read the condolences at wake while Tetsuko Kuroyagi and [Eiji Okuda](/source/Eiji_Okuda) read the condolences at the funeral and memorial ceremony. Nagato was given the posthumous name, traditional in Buddhist funeral ceremonies, of "Gokugeiin Shijojoaki"(極芸院釋浄晃).

Nagato's last movie appearance was in *Aoi Aoi Sora* (青い青い空) released on 9 October 2010. His last TV drama appearance was on the last episode of the NHK Saturday drama *Onmitu Happyaku Yacho* (隠密八百八町) broadcast on 26 March 2011, about two months before his death.

## Filmography

### Films

Year Title Role Notes 1940 Seisen aiba fu: Akatsuki ni inoru 1942 Kogen no Tsuki Sumidagawa Aikoku no hana 1945 Hisshôka Yuichi 1948 Te o tsunagu kora Kenji Okumura Ankokugai no tenshi 1951 Oedo go-nin otoko 1953 Onna kanja himon - Akô rôshi Chikara Ôishi Katame no mao 1954 Konomura Daikichi Gorodayu Kaiketu taka part 1, 2 Teruhi kumoruhi (zenpen) 1956 Shirogane Shinjū Tamataro Aijô Tarô Nogami Season of the Sun Tatsuya Tsugawa Lead role Tonari no yome Ningen gyorai shutsugekisu Okinawa no Tami Kôichi Ôta 1957 Kiken na kankei Shôichi Shima Gekka no wakamusha Kotarô Jûnana-sai no teikô Eikichi Washi to taka Goro Kaietu taka-dainihen honryuu doto na maki Judai no wanâ Hangyaku sha 1958 Kokoro to nikutai no tabi Judge at audition Uncredited Stolen Desire Shinichi Kunida Ginza no sabaku Saburo Shigeta Endless Desire Satoru Akai lamp no shûressha Yarô to ôgon 1959 Dai san no shikaku Ichirô Yoshikawa Saijo kishitsu Sono kabe o kudake Yuganda tsuki Masao Katsuragi My Second Brother Kiichi Yasumoto, eldest brother Lead role Warera no jidai Tôboshâ Fudôtoku kyôiku kôza Keiichi Asabuki 1960 Kizû darakê no ôkite Kyanpasu hyakutoban: Yori gakusei yaro to masume tachi Kemono no nemuri Mikkô zero rain The Warped Ones Kashiwagi Jûrokusai Setsuo Homma 1961 Pigs and Battleships Kinta Lead role Rokudenashi yarô Keigo Tsuruki Dôdôtaru jinsei Kosuke Kon'ya Sûkettô kagyô 1962 Hakai Ginnosuke Tsuchiya Akitsu Springs Shusaku Kawamoto Nikui an-chikushô Ichirô Umetani Atariya taisho Lead role Ratai Takasugi Ai to shi no katami Kiyoshi Nozaki Yabai koto nara zeni ni naru Tetsuzô Okita 1963 Daisan no Akumyo Osamu Twin Sisters of Kyoto' Hideo Otomo Yushu heiya Mushukunin-betsuchô Kojuro Irezumi Hantaro Haikei tenno heika sama Munemoto Seishun o kaese Masuo Suda Jinsei gekijo: Zoku Hishakaku Kekkonshiki Kekkonshiki Yoshioka Hiken Chojuro The Insect Woman Matsunami 1964 Zûzûshii yatsu Seiichi Onoda Kakedashi keiji Shôsuke Nitta Hana to dotô Haikei sôri daijin sama Zoku zûzûshii yatsu Masaharu Onoda Nihon kyôkaku-den Nippon paradaisu Maresuke Kuramoto Jinsei gekijo: Shin Hishakaku 1965 Kaoyaku Gorô Akita Dai Nippon hattariden Daikon to ninjin Kosuki Yamaki Buraikan jingi Tanimura Zokû seiun yakuza - ikarî no otoko Ninkyo otoko ippiki 1965 1967 Nihon Kyokaku-den part 1-3 1966 Tobenai chinmoku Otoko no shôbu The Actress vs. the Greedy Sharks Ôtoko no kao wa kuri fûda Danshun 1967 Arashi kitari saru Ârappoi no ha gômen dazê 1968 Kigeki meoto zenzai Shin Abashiri Bangaichi Tatô Komatsu 1969 1972 Hibotan bakuto part 1, 2 1969 Zankoku onna rinchi Yakuza hijoshi - mushyo kyodai Nihon zan kyôsen Nihon zankyô-den Bakuto mujô 1970 Onna no keisatsu, Kokusaisen Machiaishitsu Takijima Shôwa zankyô-den part 1 1972 Kizu darake jinsei furui do de gonzansu Junko intai kinen eiga: Kantô hizakura ikka Shinkichi Aa koe naki tomo Kawase 1974 Aka chôchin Middle-aged man Virgin Blues Middle-aged man 1975 Isho: Shiroi shôjo Baajin buruusu 1977 Jingi to kôsô Fusajirô Konno Proof of the Man Takeo Odayama (Naomi's husband) Hitomi no naka no houmonsha Eiichiro Komori 1978 Kumokiri Nizaemon Kichigorô Mahiru nari 1979 Nutcracker Fantasy Doctor of Letters Japanese version, Voice 1980 Chichi yo haha yo! 1981 Sudachi no toki kyoiku wa shinazu 1983 Namidabashi Hometown Denroku 1984 Wangan Doro Nagasawa 1986 Katayoku dake no tenshi Minami e hashire, umi no michi o! Detective Kume Michi Boss of the Mizuya clan 1987 Sukeban Deka The Movie Director Kurayami / Dark Director Hachiko Monogatari Kiku-san Ore wa otokoda! kanketsu-hen 1988 Sukeban deka: Kazama sanshimai no gyakushû Dark Director Kurayami Tomorrow Yasuichiro Revolver Ijichi 1989 Shôgun Iemitsu no ranshin - Gekitotsu Tagaya Rokubee 226 Koichi Kido 1990 Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi Prefectural Assembly Member Rônin-gai Noodleman Sawako no koi Sawako's father 1992 Onna goroshi abura no jigoku Toki Rakujitsu Dr. Kitasato 1993 Yearning Customer 1995 Nemureru bijo Fukura 1996 Gendai ninkyoden Masuzo Munekata 2001 Chinpira 2003 Tegami Uno Yurusarezaru mono Yurusarezaru mono Gokudô kyôfu dai-gekijô: Gozu The Man in White Part 2: Requiem for the Lion 2004 Onigiri Tetsu Yamatani Izo 2005 Nezu no ban Master Kyokaku 2006 Sukeban deka: Kôdo nêmu = Asamiya Saki Kurayami Shirei Yo-Yo Girl Cop Kurayami Shirei 2007 Tenkôsei: Sayonara anata Kobuhiroba 2008 Hotaru no haka Maichi Kaicho of Mikage Jirochô sangokushi Father of Onikichi Dreaming Awake Kiya Kimuro Lead role Asahiyama Zoo Story: Penguins in the Sky Keisuke Nirasaki 2009 Puraido Gonzaburo Hoshino Shinjuku Incident Hara Ooda Tokumei joshi-ana: Namino Yôko 2010 Flowers Endo Aoi aoi sora Oshou

### Television

Year Title Role Notes 1983 Tokugawa Ieyasu Honda Sakuzaemon Taiga drama 1983 Oshin Asadora 1984–1986 97th precinct Ch Insp Kenzo Takimura 1985–1986 Sanada Taiheiki Toyotomi Hideyoshi 1995 Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune Tokugawa Mitsukuni Taiga drama

## External links

- [Hiroyuki Nagato](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0619227/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Hiroyuki Nagato](http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0261700.htm) at the [Japanese Movie Database](/source/Japanese_Movie_Database) (in Japanese)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) ["Hiroyuki Nagato - Biography"](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0619227/bio/). *IMDb*. Retrieved 2025-05-05.

v t e Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor So Yamamura (1950) Toshiro Mifune (1951) Hisaya Morishige (1955) Keiji Sada (1956) Frankie Sakai (1957) Ichikawa Raizō VIII (1958) Hiroyuki Nagato (1959) Rentarō Mikuni (1960) Toshiro Mifune (1961) Tatsuya Nakadai (1962) Nakamura Kinnosuke (1963) Keiju Kobayashi (1964) Toshiro Mifune (1965) Hajime Hana (1966) Bunta Sugawara (1975) Tetsuya Watari (1976) Ken Takakura (1977) Ken Ogata (1978) Tomisaburo Wakayama (1979) Tatsuya Nakadai (1980) Toshiyuki Nagashima (1981) Kiyoshi Atsumi (1982) Ken Ogata (1983) Tsutomu Yamazaki (1984) Kin'ya Kitaōji (1985) Kunie Tanaka (1986) Takanori Jinnai (1987) Hajime Hana (1988) Rentarō Mikuni (1989) Yoshio Harada (1990) Naoto Takenaka (1991) Masahiro Motoki (1992) Hiroyuki Sanada (1993) Eiji Okuda (1994) Hiroyuki Sanada (1995) Koji Yakusho (1996) Koji Yakusho (1997) Takeshi Kitano (1998) Ken Takakura (1999) Yūji Oda (2000) Mansai Nomura (2001) Kōichi Satō (2002) Toshiyuki Nishida (2003) Akira Terao (2004) Hiroyuki Sanada (2005) Ken Watanabe (2006) Ryo Kase (2007) Masahiro Motoki (2008) Shōfukutei Tsurube II (2009) Satoshi Tsumabuki (2010) Yutaka Takenouchi (2011) Hiroshi Abe (2012) Kengo Kora (2013) Tadanobu Asano (2014) Yo Oizumi (2015) Kenichi Matsuyama (2016) Sadao Abe (2017) Hiroshi Tachi (2018) Kiichi Nakai (2019) Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (2020) Junichi Okada (2021) Kazunari Ninomiya (2022) Ryunosuke Kamiki (2023) Makiya Yamaguchi (2024) Satoshi Tsumabuki (2025)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hiroyuki Nagato](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroyuki_Nagato) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroyuki_Nagato?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.