Taiji Tonoyama (殿山 泰司, Tonoyama Taiji, October 17, 1915 – April 30, 1989) was a Japanese character actor who made many appearances in films and on television from 1939 to 1989.[1] He was a close friend of Kaneto Shindo and one of his regular cast members.[2] He was also an essayist. In 1950 he helped form the film company Kindai Eiga Kyokai with Shindo and Kōzaburō Yoshimura.

Taiji Tonoyama
殿山 泰司
Born(1915-10-17)October 17, 1915
DiedApril 30, 1989(1989-04-30) (aged 73)
OccupationActor

He served in the Japanese military in China in the Second Sino-Japanese War and considered himself to have narrowly escaped from death.[2] He was married but also had a mistress and maintained relationships with both women until the end of his life.[2] He was a keen reader of detective stories and a fan of jazz music.[2] He wrote a series of semi-autobiographical essays under the title Sanmon Yakusha (三文役者), meaning "third rate actor". Kaneto Shindo wrote a biography of Tonoyama called Sanmon yakusha no shi,[n 1] meaning "The death of a third-rate actor", which he also filmed as By Player.[2][3]

Filmography (selected)

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Date Title Role
1947 Record of a Tenement Gentleman
1948 President and female clerk Butler Kurokawa
1951 The Tale of Genji
1952 Dedication of the Great Buddha
1952 Avalanche
1952 Children of Hiroshima
1953 Epitome
1953 Life of a Woman
1953 Jazz musume tanjō
1955 Wolf
1956 Shirogane Shinjū
1956 An Actress
1956 Fearful Attack of the Flying Saucers Dr. Otsuki
1957 Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate
1958 Night Drum
1959 My Second Brother
1959 Good Morning Door-to-door salesman
1959 Lucky Dragon No. 5 Mayor of Yaizu
1960 The Naked Island Husband
1962 Foundry Town
Ningen Kamegoro
1963 Kanto Wanderer
The Insect Woman
1964 Onibaba Ushi
1965 An Innocent Witch Yamasan
Akuto
1965 Kuroneko Farmer
Profound Desires of the Gods[4]
1971 A Soul to Devils
1972 The Rendezvous
1973 The Heart
1974 The Homeless
1976 In the Realm of the Senses Old beggar
1976 Torakku Yarō: Tenka Gomen
1977 The Life of Chikuzan
1977 Ballad of Orin Charcoal Man
1978 Ogin-sama Ankokuji Ekei
1978 Empire of Passion
1979 Vengeance Is Mine Tanejiro Shibata
1979 Tantei Monogatari (episode 6) Boss of Kyoei Shoji
1981 Eijanaika
Edo Porn Woodcarver
Muddy River
1983 The Ballad of Narayama
1985 Seburi monogatari
1986 Tree Without Leaves Sakuzo
Comic Magazine
1987 Zegen
1989 Black Rain

Books

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Date Romanized title Original title Notes ISBN
1969 Nihon onna chizu: shizen wa nikutai ni donna eikyo o ataeru ka 日本女地図: 自然は、肉体にどんな影響を与えるのか A comparison of women's bodies, particularly their vaginas, in different parts of Japan. ISBN 978-4-04-154201-9
1980 Sanmon yakusha anaki den parts one to three 三文役者あなあきい伝PART1~PART3 ISBN 978-4-480-02937-9

Notes

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  1. ^ 三文役者の死

References

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  1. ^ "Tonoyama Taiji". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e Shindo, Kaneto (2008). Ikite iru kagiri Watashi no Rirekisho [While I live: my resume] (in Japanese). Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha. ISBN 978-4-532-16661-8.
  3. ^ Shindo, Kaneto (2000). Sanmon yakusha no shi: Seiden Tonoyama Taiji [The death of a third-rate actor: a true biography of Taiji Tonoyama]. ISBN 978-4-00-602017-0.
  4. ^ "神々の深き欲望". eiga.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
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