1921 (Taisho 10) On Monday, July 11, actor Yamanouchi Akira was born in Azabu, Tokyo. His father was Ichiro Yamano, born in what is now Tochio City, Niigata Prefecture, and his real name was Koichi Yamauchi. In 1942 (Showa 17), Akira YAMANOUCHI, who was the second son of Koichi, founded the theater company “Young Friends” while he was a student at Waseda University. While still a student, he signed a contract with Shochiku Uzumasa Studios, and the following year he was chosen for the lead role in the movie “Kaigun” (Navy), Masato Tani, which attracted attention. In the same year, he graduated from Waseda in advance as an exception during the war, joined the army, fought on various fronts in Manchuria and China, and demobilized. After the war, he joined Shochiku Kyoto and transferred to Shochiku Ofuna Studios in 1947 (Showa 22). Later, in 1950 (Showa 25), he participated in the establishment of the Mingei Theater Company (People’s Art Theater) together with Jukichi Uno, Osamu Takizawa, and others. He has appeared in many movies and TV dramas and what left a very strong impression on me is the role of Kanji ISHIWARA, a staff officer of the Kwantung Army (Japanese armed forces in Kanto region), in the Nikkatsu film “War and Humans” in 1970. You can see it now on Amazon Prime Video, so please take a look. He died in 1993 at the age of 72, when his last film was “Die in a Hospital” directed by Kenji Kawamura.
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