Raizô Ichikawa

Ichikawa Raizō VIII (八代目 市川 雷蔵, Hachidaime Ichikawa Raizō, August 29, 1931 – July 17, 1969) was a Japanese film and kabuki actor. His birth name was Akio Kamezaki (亀崎 章雄, Kamezaki Akio), and his name was legally changed several times, first to Yoshio Takeuchi (武内 嘉男, Takeuchi Yoshio), and later to Yoshiya Ōta (太田 吉哉, Ōta Yoshiya), separate from his performing name. Six months after his birth in Kyoto he became the adopted son of Ichikawa Kudanji III (三代目 市川 九團次, Sandaime Ichikawa Kudanji). He made his kabuki acting debut at the age of 15 under the name Ichikawa Enzō (市川延蔵, Ichikawa Enzō). In 1951 he was adopted by Ichikawa Jūkai III (三代目 市川 壽海, Sandaime Ichikawa Jūkai) and was renamed as Ichikawa Raizō VIII. In 1954 he began a career as a film actor. He received breakout acclaim for his performance in Enjō and received several awards for the performance including the Blue Ribbon Award and the Kinema Junpo Award, both for the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. Among his fans he was referred to lovingly as "Rai-sama." In June 1968 he was diagnosed with and underwent surgery for rectal cancer, but it metastasized to his liver and he died the following year. Ichikawa Raizō appeared mostly in period dramas (jidaigeki). He is best known for the Sleepy Eyes of Death (Nemuri Kyoshirō) series, Ninja (Shinobi no Mono) series and Nakano Spy School (Rikugun Nakano Gakkō) series (based on the Nakano School). Raizō worked many times with director Kenji Misumi. Their collaborations include The Sword (Ken) (from a book by Yukio Mishima) and Destiny's Son, originally released as 斬る (Kiru). The actor's other notable works include An Actor's Revenge (Yukinojo henge). He was so admired for his gracefulness that in his lifetime he was called "the genius who thinks with his body."