{{short description|Japanese actor (1910–2000)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} {{Infobox person | image = Yamamura So.JPG | caption = | name = Sō Yamamura | birth_date = {{birth date|1910|2|24|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Tenri, Nara|Tenri]], Japan | birth_name = Koga Hirosada | death_date = {{death date and age|2000|5|26|1910|2|24|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Tokyo]], Japan | other_names = Satoshi Yamamura | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1936–1997 }} {{Nihongo|'''Sō Yamamura'''|山村聰|Yamamura Sō|24 February 1910 – 26 May 2000}}, sometimes credited as '''Satoshi Yamamura''', was a Japanese actor and film director.<ref name="citwf">{{cite web|url=http://www.citwf.com/person442015.htm |title=So Yamamura |access-date=2 June 2012 |work=Complete Index to World Film}}</ref>
==Biography== Yamamura was born Koga Hirosada in [[Tenri, Nara|Tenri]], [[Nara Prefecture]], and graduated from the [[University of Tokyo]].<ref name="kotoba"/> In 1942, Yamamura and [[Isao Yamagata]] formed the Bunkaza Theatre Company.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%B1%B1%E5%BD%A2%20%E5%8B%B2-1657364|title=新撰 芸能人物事典 明治～平成「山形 勲」の解説|work=KOTOBANK|access-date=July 25, 2021}}</ref>
He began his career as a screen actor in 1946<ref name="kotoba" /> and appeared in over one hundred films between 1947 and 1997.<ref name="kinenote">{{cite web|url=http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/person.aspx?person_id=89567 |title=山村聰 |website=Kinenote |language=ja |access-date=7 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="jmdb">{{cite web|url=http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0146480.htm |title=山村聰 |website=Kinenote |language=ja |access-date=7 August 2023}}</ref> In 1953, he debuted as a director with his film ''Kanikōsen'',<ref name="kotoba" /> the first of six films he directed.<ref name="kinenote" /><ref name="jmdb" /> Yamamura was introduced to Western audiences in the 1958 film ''[[The Barbarian and the Geisha]]''.<ref name="kotoba" /> 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,<ref name="kotoba">{{cite web|url= https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%B1%B1%E6%9D%91%E8%81%A1-155471 |title= So Yamamura|publisher=kotobank.jp|access-date=15 December 2020}}</ref> the CEO of Assan Motors in ''[[Gung Ho (film)|Gung Ho]]''.
Yamamura appeared in many [[jidaigeki]] television dramas. He played the role of [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] in the [[taiga drama]] ''[[Haru no Sakamichi (TV series)|Haru no Sakamichi]]'' in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thetv.jp/program/0000944754/|title=春の坂道|publisher=the.tv|access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref> His major historical roles were [[Yagyū Munenori]] in the 1978 ''[[The Yagyu Conspiracy]]'' and [[Hoshina Masayuki]] in the 1980 ''[[Shadow Warriors (TV series)|Shadow Warriors]]''.<ref>春日太一『時代劇は死なず！ 完全版 京都太秦の「職人」たち』河出書房新社 p.240-241 {{ISBN|9784309413495}}</ref> In addition to historical parts, he appeared in fictional series. He portrayed Otowaya Hanemon in the [[Hissatsu series]] ''[[Hissatsu Shikakenin]]'', resprising the character in the film series later.<ref name="kotoba" />
==Selected filmography== ===Films=== {{Div col|colwidth=25em}} * ''Inochi Arukagiri'' (1946) * ''Chikagai nijuyojikan'' (1947) * ''[[The Love of the Actress Sumako]]'' (1947) - Hōgetsu Shimamura * ''Daini no jinsei'' (1948) * ''Taifuken no onna'' (1948) * ''Onna no tatakai'' (1949) * ''Kirare no Senta'' (1949) * ''Ryusei'' (1949) * ''Shojo takara'' (1950) - Yoshitaro Hanawa * ''Yoshitaro Hanawa'' (1950) - Ryosuke Izumi * ''[[The Munekata Sisters]]'' (1950) - Ryosuke Mimura, Setsuko's husband * ''[[Portrait of Madame Yuki]]'' (1950) - Tateoka * ''Kikyō'' (1950) - Ongi * ''Senka o koete'' (1950) * ''Hirate Miki'' (1951) * ''Eriko to tomoni - Dai ichi-bu'' (1951) - Sōtarō * ''Eriko to tomo ni: Dai ni-bu'' (1951) - Sōtarō * ''Jiyū gakkō'' (1951) - Taku Henmi * ''Dare ga watashi o sabaku no ka'' (1951) * ''Sekirei no kyoku'' (1951) * ''[[Dancing Girl (1951 film)|Dancing Girl]]'' (1951) - Motoo Yagi * ''[[The Lady of Musashino]]'' (1951) - Eiji Ono * ''[[Hibari no komoriuta]]'' (1951) * ''[[Repast (film)|Repast]]'' (1951) * ''Seishun kaigi'' (1952) - Haruki Eda * ''Okuni to Gohei'' (1952) - Tomonojo * ''Kin no tamago: Golden girl'' (1952) * ''Kon'na watashi ja nakatta ni'' (1952) - Takeshi Yajima * ''[[Gendai-jin]]'' (1952) * ''Choito neesan omoide yanagi'' (1952) - Koshimura * ''Ashi ni sawatta onna'' (1952) - Yasukichi Sakaza * ''Oka wa hanazakari'' (1952) - Ryōzō Noro * ''[[Ringo-en no shōjo]]'' (1952) * ''My Wonderful Yellow Car'' (1953) - The husband * ''Mura hatibu'' (1953) * ''[[Epitome (film)|Epitome]]'' (1953) - Wakabayashi * ''Kanikōsen'' (1953) – Matsuki (also dir.) * ''[[Tokyo Story]]'' (1953) - Koichi Hirayama * ''[[An Inlet of Muddy Water]]'' (1953) – Asanosuke (episode 3 "Troubled Waters") * ''Nihon yaburezu'' (1954) * ''[[Sound of the Mountain]]'' (1954) - Ogata Shingo * ''[[Dobu (film)|Dobu]]'' (1954) – Businessman * ''Moeru Shanghai'' (1954) - Shōfū Muramatsu * ''Kakute yume ari'' (1954) - Takashi Shōkōchi * ''Karatachi no hana'' (1954) - Chotaro Kitahara * ''Otsukisama ni wa warui kedo'' (1954) - Yā-san * ''Kuroi ushio'' (1954) (also dir.) * ''Aisureba koso'' (1955) - Gorō (segment 3) * ''Ai no onimotsu'' (1955) * ''Yuki no koi'' (1955) * ''Seishun kaidan'' (1955) - Tetsuya, father of Chiharu * ''[[Princess Yang Kwei-Fei]]'' (1955) - An Lushan * ''Till We Meet Again'' (1955) - Daisuke Kaji * ''Sara no hana no toge'' (1955) - Gunnoshin Sakakibara * ''[[Early Spring (1956 film)|Early Spring]]'' (1956) - Yutaka Kawai * ''[[Mahiru no ankoku]]'' (1956) - Yuji * ''[[Tsukigata Hanpeita: Hana no maki; Arashi no maki]]'' (1956) - Kogoro Katsura * ''Yonjū-hassai no teikō'' (1956) - Kotaro Nishimura * ''[[Typhoon Over Nagasaki]]'' (1957) - Hori * ''[[Tokyo Twilight]]'' (1957) - Seki Sekiguchi * ''Jigoku bana'' (1957) - Umasuke * ''Chieko-sho'' (1957) - Kotaro Takamura * ''Yoru no chō'' (1957) - Ichiro Shirosawa * ''Hatsukoi monogatari'' (1957) - Shōhei Ganmaru * ''[[The Hole (1957 film)|The Hole]]'' (1957) - Keikichi Shirasu * ''Bakuon to daichi'' (1957) * ''[[Doshaburi (film)|Doshaburi]]'' (1957) - Okubo, Father of Tanes children * ''Do no hājiki wa jigokū dazē'' (1958) * ''[[Anzukko]]'' (1958) - Heishiro Hirayama - the father * ''Hibari no hanagata tantei kassen'' (1958) * ''[[The Barbarian and the Geisha]]'' (1958) - Governor Tamura * ''Muhō gai no yarō domo'' (1959) * ''Jigokū no sokō made tsuki auzē'' (1959) * ''[[Ningen no jōken]]'' (1959) - Okishima * ''Chūshingura: ōka no maki, kikka no maki'' (1959) * ''Hahakogusa'' (1959) - Mr Fujiki * ''Shingo jūban shōbu: dai-ni-bu'' (1959) * ''Yami o yokogire'' (1959) - Takazawa * ''Tatsumaki bugyō'' (1959) * ''Jan Arima no shūgeki'' (1959) - Saburobei Obata * ''Shōri to haiboku'' (1960) - Kimpei Minegishi * ''Zoku beran me-e geisha'' (1960) * ''Arega minato no hi da'' (1961) * ''Hatamoto kenka taka'' (1961) - Suruganokami Koyama * ''Gonin no totsugeki tai'' (1961) - Gen. Mayor Soje * ''Fundoshi isha'' (1961) - Dr. Meikai Ikeda * ''Waga koi no tabiji'' (1961) * ''The Littlest Warrior'' (1961) - Fujiwara No Morozane (voice) * ''Onna wa nido umareru'' (1961) - Kiyomasa Tsutsui * ''Haitoku no mesu'' (1961) - Naoyuki Nishizawa * ''Netsuai sha'' (1961) - Murai * ''[[The Last War (1961 film)|The Last War]]'' (1961) - Prime Minister * ''Boku wa jigoku no tehinshi da'' (1961) * ''Katei no jijō'' (1962) - Heitaro Misawa * ''The Inheritance'' (1962) - Senzō * ''Musume to watashi'' (1962) - Shiro Iwatani * ''Taiheiyō Sensō to Himeyuri Butai'' (1962) * ''[[Akitsu Springs]]'' (1962) - Mikami * ''Star of Hong Kong'' (1962) - Gentarō Sugimoto * ''Namida o shishi no tategami ni'' (1962) - Kōhei Matsudaira * ''Fūten Rōjin nikki'' (1962) - Tokusuke Rōjin * ''Born in Sin'' (1962) - Shinzō Tagaya * ''Yama no sanka: moyuru wakamono tachi'' (1962) * ''Zoku shinobi no mono'' (1963) * ''Gyangu Chūshingura'' (1963) * ''Kizudarake no sanga'' (1964) - Kappei Arima * ''Ane to imōto'' (1965) - Yoshirō Takaoka * ''Nikutai no gakko'' (1965) - Toshinobu Hira * ''[[With Beauty and Sorrow]]'' (1965) - Toshio Ōki * ''Taiheiyō kiseki no sakusen: Kisuka'' (1965) - Kawashima * ''[[Japan's Longest Day]]'' (1967) - [[Mitsumasa Yonai]] * ''[[The Militarists]]'' (1970) - Mitsumasa Yonai * ''[[Tora! Tora! Tora!]]'' (1970) - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto * ''[[Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril]]'' (1972) - Gōmune Jindaiyu * ''[[Hissatsu Shikakenin]]'' (1973) - Han'emon Otowaya *''[[Hissatsu Shikakenin|Hissatsu Shikakenin Baian Arijigoku]]'' (1973) - Hanemon Otowaya *''[[Hissatsu Shikakenin|Hissatsu Shikakenin Shunsetsu shikakebari]]'' (1974) - Hanemon Otowaya * ''[[Prophecies of Nostradamus]]'' (1974) - Prime Minister Kuroki * ''Dōmyaku rettō'' (1975) - Nagata * ''Shag'' (1978) - Head of Maritime Safety Agency * ''Kage no Gundan: Hattori Hanzo'' (1979) * ''[[Nankyoku Monogatari]]'' (1983) - Iwakiri Sencho * ''Nidaime wa Christian'' (1985) - Nakatsugawa * ''[[Gung Ho (film)|Gung Ho]]'' (1986) - Mr. Sakamoto * ''Yoshiwara enjō'' (1987) - Isaburo Okura * ''Code Name Black Cat o oe'' (1987) - Superintendent Supervisor Amano * ''[[Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah]]'' (1991) - Prime Minister * ''Going West: To the West'' (1997) {{Div col end}}
===Television=== * ''[[Haru no Sakamichi (TV series)|Haru no Sakamichi]]'' (1971) - [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] * ''[[Hissatsu Shikakenin]]'' (1972) - Otowaya Hanemon * ''[[The Water Margin (1973 TV series)|The Water Margin]]'' (1973) - [[Lu Junyi]] * ''[[Tasukenin Hashiru]]'' (1973–1974) - Seibei * ''[[Karei-naru Ichizoku]]'' (1974–75) - Daisuke Manpyo<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.fami-geki.com/detail/index.php?fami_id=01538|title= 華麗なる一族|access-date= August 27, 2021|work= Family Gekijyo}}</ref> * ''[[The Yagyu Conspiracy]]'' (1978) - [[Yagyū Munenori]] * ''[[Akō Rōshi (1979 TV series)|Akō Rōshi]]'' (1979) - Chisaka Hyōbu * ''[[Hattori Hanzō]]:[[Kage no Gundan]]'' (1980) - [[Hoshina Masayuki]] * ''Yagyu Abaretabi'' (1980–81) - [[Yagyū Munenori]] * ''Yagyu Jyubei Abaretabi'' (1982–83) - [[Yagyū Munenori]] * ''[[Ōoku (1983 TV series)|Ōoku]]'' (1983) - [[Arai Hakuseki]] * ''[[Seibu Keisatsu|Seibu Keisatsu partIII Daimon sisu Otokotachiyo Eienni]]'' (1984) (Final episode)- Saeki * ''[[Tsūkai! Kōchiyama Sōshun]]'' (1975–1976) - [[Mizuno Tadakuni]]
==Honours== *[[Medals of Honor (Japan)|Medal with Purple Ribbon]] (1977) *[[Order of the Rising Sun|Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette]] (1983)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0945522|So Yamamura}}
{{Mainichi Film Award for Best Actor}} {{Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor}} {{Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamura, So}} [[Category:1910 births]] [[Category:2000 deaths]] [[Category:Japanese male film actors]] [[Category:People from Tenri, Nara]] [[Category:Japanese film directors]] [[Category:20th-century Japanese male actors]] [[Category:Actors from Nara Prefecture]] [[Category:Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class]] [[Category:University of Tokyo alumni]]