Joji Oka
Also Known As: Katsuzō Nakamizo, 岡 譲司, Susumu Minobe, 中溝 勝三, 美濃部 進, 岡 譲二, Кацудзо Накамидзо, Дзёдзи Ока, Сусуму Минобэ, Jôji Oka
Biography: Joji Oka, born in Tokyo, Japan, on May 25, 1902, was a renowned Japanese actor celebrated for his versatile roles in the film industry. His given name was Katsuzo Nakamizo, and he also used alternate names, including Susumu Minobe. Oka embarked on his cinematic journey in the late 1920s, making his debut with the film "Ryuko no Maki Tora no Maki" in 1928. He rose to prominence as a leading actor in movies like "Akai Hi Aoi Hi" (Red Lights, Blue Lights) in 1929. His influence extended across silent and sound films, where he showcased his remarkable voice and talent. In the early 1930s, Oka encountered personal and professional challenges, including a romantic involvement with actress Ran Koizumi and a subsequent disappearance incident. Later, he joined Toho Studios, further solidifying his position as a leading actor. Notable works, such as "Shiroi Kinjo" (White Robes) in 1936, featured his exceptional talents. During World War II, Oka served in the Imperial Japanese Army while simultaneously pursuing his acting career. Following the war, he resumed his involvement in filmmaking and garnered recognition for his roles in movies like "Kanchi eizu Seiretsu" (The Ambitious Gang) in 1954. Oka's career spanned from the late 1920s to the late 1960s, showcasing his versatility and skill in various genres, encompassing modern drama, period pieces, and action films. He passed away on December 17, 1970, at the age of 68, leaving behind a legacy of memorable performances within the realm of Japanese cinema.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Tokyo, Japan
Birthday: May 23, 1902
Deathday: December 17, 1970
Adult: No
Gender: Male
Popularity:
Known For:
Shin Yotsuya Ghost Story
Overview:
Genres: Drama Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1932-07-29
Popularity:
Turbid Youth
Overview: Shigeki Kachi, Tosuke Satomura, and Nanako, who belong to the theater company Vuanbert around Dosa, withdrew at the indignation of the chairman Hayashi and seeked their own careers in the film industry.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1954-09-21
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Prince of Space
Overview: Attracted by the report of the development of a new type of rocket fuel, the vicious dictator of Krangkor, the dark planet, descends on Earth to steal the formula from its creator, the benevolent Dr. Makin.
Genres: Action Science Fiction Adventure Family
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1965-03-06
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Glorious Standard Bearer
Overview: Hashizo Okawa in the form of a courageous firefighter who confronts unscrupulous traders who make a profit even at the cost of human lives. A fireman exposes the corrupt activities of merchants.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-12-28
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Sasaki Kojiro
Overview: Ronin Sasaki Kojiro pursues his ultimate goal of becoming a master swordsman. Along the way he encounters another great swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi.
Genres: History Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-10-22
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The 26 Martyrs of Japan
Overview: Jesuit priests in Japan during the 17th century are persecuted by the shogunate to for trying to spread Christianity.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1931-10-01
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Chûshingura - Zempen: Akahokyô no maki
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1932-12-01
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No Blood Relation
Overview: An actress returns to Tokyo after a successful stint in Hollywood to reclaim—with the help of her gangster brother—the daughter she abandoned years before.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1932-12-16
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The Crown of Life
Overview: Two brothers run a factory canning crabs. The elder brother Kotaro is righteous and insists on honesty. The younger brother is fixated on money. They are polar opposites. When a boat sails out looking for crab and does not return one day the brothers begin to argue over how to run their facility. They had just received a large order from a foreign country and had obtained a loan from a lender that needed to be repaid.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1936-06-04
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Seven Seas: Virginity Chapter
Overview: The film is a lengthy work interweaving characters from different backgrounds and social strata in a narrative centered around the experiences of its heroine, Yumie Sone. Over two hours long, Seven Seas was released theatrically in two parts, with the first part entitled "Virginity Chapter" coming out in December 1931, while the second part, "Chastity Chapter," followed in March 1932. Near the beginning of the narrative, at a garden party given by the wealthy Yagibashi family in Tokyo, Yumie meets Takehiko, the Yagibashis' playboy son and the brother of Yumie's fiancé, Yuzuru. Yumie, a young middle-class woman, lives with her ailing father, a retired ministry official, an older sister, and a younger sister still a child (played by a very young Hideko Takamine). Takehiko, who has just returned from a trip to Europe, is attracted to Yumie and contrives to have her stay overnight at his family's mansion where he takes advantage of her.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1931-12-23
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Seven Seas: Chastity Chapter
Overview: Part two of Shimizu's major silent Seven Seas, a family drama of the intertwining fates of the rich, decadent Yagibashis and the far less prosperous Sone family.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1932-02-11
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Secret Love
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1966-12-03
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Until the Day We Meet Again
Overview: A young man falls in love with a prostitute and is disowned by his family. He is then drafted, and heads off to war. Script exists - considered to be a lost film.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1932-11-24
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Kaiketsu kuro zukin
Overview: First film of the The Black Hooded Man series.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1953-11-29
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ふり袖小天狗
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1955-11-22
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Dragnet Girl
Overview: A gangster tries to find redemption with the inadvertent help of an innocent shop girl and his jealous girlfriend will do anything to keep him.
Genres: Romance Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1933-04-27
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Planet Prince
Overview: A mysterious hero must intervene when a nefarious presence from outer space arrives to steal a powerful new rocket fuel.
Genres: Science Fiction Action Adventure Family
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-05-19
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Planet Prince - The Terrifying Spaceship
Overview: Sequel to 1959's Planet Prince
Genres: Science Fiction Action Adventure Family
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-05-25
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Sôbô
Overview: Directed by Mikio Naruse. It is presumed to be lost.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-12-07
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Moonlight Mask: The Last Death of the Devil
Overview: The sixth and last Moonlight Mask film in the original series produced by Toei in the 1950s.
Genres: Adventure Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-08-04
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Moonlight Mask: The Challenging Ghost
Overview: Fifth Moonlight Mask theatrical film.
Genres: Action Adventure
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-07-28
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The Spider-Man
Overview: Adaptation of Edogawa Ranpo's novel.
Genres: Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1958-06-29
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The Vassal's Neck
Overview: Japanese film.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1955-07-26
Popularity:
The Pacific War and the International Military Tribunal
Overview: In 1941, overpopulated Japan faces an economic boycott and its armed forces push further to the south. And despite negotiations between Japan and the U. S. A. war is declared with the attack on Pearl Harbour. Victories follow for Japan on land and sea and her forces push forward to the borders of India. But gradually the tide turns in favour of the Allies and after the atom bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is compelled to accept the Potsdam Declaration and by the order of the Emperor agrees to unconditional surrender. Under the supervision of the occupation forces the International Military Tribunal opens in Tokyo to try the Japanese war leaders. Established in the cause of justice, and to prevent future aggressive wars the trials drag on for two and a half years. And on December 23, 1948, General Tojo and six other war leaders mount the thirteen steps to the gallows at Tokyo's Sugamo prison.
Genres: War
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-01-03
Popularity:
Enoken the Hero
Overview: Set in the Sengoku period, Tokugawa vassal Yakurota (Kenichi Enomoto) helps the older sister and twin sister of the Matsudaira family who are in love with his best friend Iori while also resolving the conflict between the Tokugawa and Oda Nobunaga.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1950-10-15
Popularity:
The Genealogy of Women
Overview: A melodrama by noted auteur and father of director Yoshitaro Nomura, Hotei Nomura. This is apparently the first adaptation of Izumi Kyoka's The Romance of Yushima.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1934-02-22
Popularity:
旗本退屈男 八百八丁罷り通る
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1953-01-22
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Swordsman of the Two Sword Style
Overview: The story of Japan’s greatest warrior, Miyamoto Musashi, after his historic duel with Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryu Island.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-03-01
Popularity:
Falcon Magistrate
Overview: Toyama Kinshiro, a commissioner from northern Edo, goes undercover to unravel the mystery behind a series of murders. Kinshiro, played by Kataoka Chiezo, is most famous for the cherry blossom tattoos on his shoulder which he reveals at the moment of judgement.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-11-17
Popularity:
Tales of Young Genji Kuro 2
Overview: Thanks to a secret message hidden on the two sacred swords Kaen and Suien, the samurai Genji Kurô (Nakamura Kinnosuke) found the hidden treasure of Lord Yoshitsune. When he gives a piece of the treasure to a couple of poor but honest people so they can pay their debts, it attracts the unwanted attention of several dishonest people, such as pirates, greedy merchants and rebels. While the government is fighting a battle for power against rebels and royalists, all want the treasure by any means possible.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1958-03-11
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Mother Peacock
Overview: Japanese drama film.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-12-05
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Wings of Victory
Overview:
Genres: War Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1942-10-14
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The Mansion of Intrigue
Overview: A swordsman must foil a minister's sinister plan to assassinate the shogun.
Genres: Action Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-12-28
Popularity:
Sasaki Kojiro, Part 2
Overview: The conclusion of the story of famed swordsman, Sasaki Kojiro. After surviving a series of daring adventures, Kojiro seems to have finally discovered the ultimate happiness in life when he is reunited with Tone, the love of his life. However, his days of happiness are overshadowed by an upcoming duel with his fateful enemy Miyamoto Musashi.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-11-05
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音楽大進軍
Overview: A 1943 film.
Genres: Drama Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1943-03-18
Popularity:
Appeal on the Cross
Overview: Kusuo Abe stars in this kaidan.
Genres: Horror Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-06-27
Popularity:
First Steps Ashore
Overview: Early Japanese sound film, a remake of Josef von Sternberg’s DOCKS OF NEW YORK set in Yokohama.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1932-04-14
Popularity:
The Morning Sun Shines
Overview: The Morning Sun Shines is a fiction-documentary film by Kenji Mizoguchi and Seiichi Ina. The film is a combination of a drama about a reporter, and documentary footage about newspaper production. Only 25 minutes of footage has survived.
Genres: Drama Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1929-04-12
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Ghost Man
Overview: A ghost man with his face hidden entirely by bandages is killing beautiful nude models. Detective Kindaichi investigates.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1954-10-13
Popularity:
Lady Chatterley of Japan
Overview:
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1953-04-05
Popularity:
Hyōchū no Bijo
Overview: Based on the novel The Vampire (Kyūketsuki) by Edogawa Ranpo.
Genres: Crime Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1950-03-12
Popularity:
Great Bodhisattva Pass 2
Overview: The sequel to the 1935 film Great Bodhisattva Pass
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1936-04-14
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Great Bodhisattva Pass
Overview: 1930s Japanese film.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1935-11-15
Popularity:
Claws of Iron
Overview: During the war a man is bitten by a creature which looks like a cross between a bear and an ape in the jungle. Later he starts to transform to a monster like creature who kills with his claw like fingers.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1951-02-24
Popularity:
The Loyal 47 Ronin
Overview: This 1932 adaptation is the earliest sound version of the ever-popular and much-filmed Chushingura story of the loyal 47 retainers who avenged their feudal lord after he was obliged to commit hara-kiri due to the machinations of a villainous courtier. As the first sound version of the classic narrative, the film was something of an event, and employed a stellar cast, who give a roster of memorable performances. Director Teinosuke Kinugasa was primarily a specialist in jidai-geki (period films), such as the internationally celebrated Gate of Hell (Jigokumon, 1953), and although he is now most famous as the maker of the avant-garde silent films A Page of Madness (Kurutta ichipeji, 1926) and Crossroads (Jujiro, 1928), Chushingura is in fact more typical of his output than those experimental works. The film ranked third in that year’s Kinema Junpo critics’ poll, and Joseph Anderson and Donald Richie noted that 'not only the sound but the quick cutting was admired by many critics.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1932-03-01
Popularity:
As Long as I Live
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1946-08-01
Popularity:
Hanjiro of Kusama: Bird of Passage
Overview: A kindhearted wandering gambler named Hajiro gets involved in a crisis of a village as he passes through and decides to lend a sword in hopes to rescue them.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1960-05-29
Popularity:
Case of a Young Lord 3
Overview: Okawa Hashizo as 'Young Lord', the unlikely sleuth sets out to untangle the riddle of what went on at the Inner Palace, where a young woman who had served the Shogun came home in fear for her life. Will the Young Lord uncover the truth of what went on at the Palace, and does it relate to a series of murders that have been occurring just before the festival?
Genres: Action Drama Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-06-21
Popularity:
Lion Crest
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1958-12-02
Popularity:
Lion Crest Part 2
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1958-12-15
Popularity:
Lord of Red Banner
Overview: A young lord lives against the will of his father Lord Tokugawa.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1960-02-14
Popularity:
Mother's Melody
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1937-03-03
Popularity:
Dedication of the Great Buddha
Overview: Dedication of the Great Buddha is a 1952 Japanese film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1952-03-20
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The Young Lord
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1955-04-19
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Musashibo Benkei
Overview: A 1942 Jidaigeki by the veteran jidaigeki filmmaker Kunio Watanabe about the legendary warrior Musashibo Benkei with Hideko Takamine portraying Minamoto no Yoshitsune (who is, of course, a man). The film climaxes in the famous encounter/fight btw Benkei and Yoshitsune at the Gojo Bridge.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1942-01-07
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Ayausgî G-Man - ânkoku gai no yagû
Overview:
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1960-03-01
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A Devil of a Gentleman
Overview:
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1963-04-06
Popularity: