{{Short description|Japanese actor (1929–2012)}} [[File:Shoichi Ozawa.jpg|thumb|Shōichi Ozawa ]]
{{Nihongo|'''Shōichi Ozawa'''|小沢 昭一|Ozawa Shōichi|April 6, 1929 – December 10, 2012}} was a Japanese actor, radio host, singer, and prominent researcher and expert on Japanese folk art.<ref name=jtimes>{{cite news|title=Actor, folk art researcher Ozawa dies |url=http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2012/12/198317.html |publisher=[[Kyodo]] |date=2012-12-08 |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref> He also founded the Shabondama-za [[theater company]].<ref name=jtimes/>
Ozawa, who was born in Tokyo, graduated from [[Waseda University]].<ref name=jtimes/> He began acting after college, beginning with his debut stage role in 1951.<ref name=jtimes/> He also appeared in television and film roles, acting quite frequently in films directed by [[Shohei Imamura]] and [[Yūzō Kawashima]]. In 1971, Ozawa launched his long running radio show.<ref name=jtimes/>
A respected folk art expert, Ozawa also researched traditional Japanese [[performing art]]s. He recorded and released "Nihon no Horo Gei" ("Japan's Itinerant Arts") based on his research.<ref name=jtimes/>
In 2004, Ozawa became the "mayor" of [[Meiji Mura]], an open-air museum in [[Aichi Prefecture]] which showcases [[Meiji Era]] architecture.<ref name=jtimes/> The Japanese government awarded Ozawa the [[Order of the Rising Sun|Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette]] in 2001 and the [[Medals of Honor (Japan)|Medal with Purple Ribbon]] in 1994 for his body of work.<ref name=jtimes/>
Shōichi Ozawa died on December 10, 2012, at the age of 83.<ref name=jtimes/>
==Filmography== {{div col}} *''[[Suzaki Paradise: Akashingō]]'' (1956) *''[[Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate]]'' (1957) *''[[Endless Desire]]'' (1958) *''[[My Second Brother]]'' (1959) *''[[Pigs and Battleships]]'' (1961) *''[[Foundry Town]]'' (1962) *''[[The Insect Woman]]'' (1963) *''[[Bad Girl (1963 film)|Bad Girl]]'' (1963) * ''[[Kunoichi ninpō]]'' (1964) *''[[Story of a Prostitute]]'' (1965) *''[[Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon]]'' (1965) *''[[The Threat (1966 film)|The Threat]]'' (1966) *''[[The Pornographers]]'' (1966) *''[[Naomi (novel)|A Fool's Love]]'' (1967) *''[[The Human Bullet]]'' (1968) *''[[Summer Soldiers (film)|Summer Soldiers]]'' (1972) *''[[The Gate of Youth (1975 film)|The Gate of Youth]]'' (1975) *''[[Eijanaika (film)|Eijanaika]]'' (1981) *''[[Tora-san's Promise]]'' (1981) *''[[The Ballad of Narayama (1983 film)|The Ballad of Narayama]]'' (1983) *''[[Gonza the Spearman]]'' (1986) *''[[Black Rain (1989 Japanese film)|Black Rain]]'' (1989) *''[[The Eel (film)|The Eel]]'' (1997) *''[[Dr. Akagi]]'' (1998) {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0654726}}
{{Navboxes |title = Awards for Shoichi Ozawa |list = {{Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor}} {{Mainichi Film Award for Best Actor}} }} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozawa, Shoichi}} [[Category:2012 deaths]] [[Category:Japanese male stage actors]] [[Category:Japanese male television actors]] [[Category:Japanese male film actors]] [[Category:Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class]] [[Category:Waseda University alumni]] [[Category:1929 births]]