Tetsuya Watari

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Wikipedia

Tetsuya Watari
渡 哲也
Watari in 1965
Born
Michihiko Watase (渡瀬 道彦)[1]

(1941-12-28)December 28, 1941[1]
Awaji, Hyōgo, Japan[1]
DiedAugust 10, 2020(2020-08-10) (aged 78)[2][3]
Tokyo, Japan[2]
OccupationActor
Years active1964–2020
RelativesTsunehiko Watase (brother)

Tetsuya Watari (渡 哲也, Watari Tetsuya) born Michihiko Watase (渡瀬 道彦, Watase Michihiko) (December 28, 1941 – August 10, 2020)[2][3] was a Japanese film, stage, and television actor.

Life

He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. Watari belonged to the karate club at university.[4] He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's Abare Kishidō, and received one of the Elan d'or Awards.[5][1] At Nikkatsu, Watari starred in such films as Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter and Toshio Masuda's Outlaw series.[5]

Watari was mentored at Nikkatsu by Yujiro Ishihara. When Nikkatsu shifted to focusing on Roman Porno films in the early seventies, Watari was one of many actors who left the studio.[6]

Watari was due to play the main role in Kinji Fukasaku’s film Battles Without Honor and Humanity, but because of illness he was not able to appear.[7][8] In 1974, he was forced to step down from the lead role of Katsu Kaishū in the Taiga drama Katsu Kaishū on NHK, again because of illness, after appearing in only nine episodes.[9] In 1976, Watari won best actor of Blue Ribbon Award for his role in Kinji Fukasaku`s film Yakuza Graveyard.[5]

In Japan, Watari is probably still best known for his role as Keisuke Daiomon in the detective series "Seibu Keisatsu" on TV Asahi. He also appeared in the popular detective drama "Taiyō ni Hoero!" as a replacement for Yujiro Ishihara in 1986.[10]

Watari became the president of Ishihara Promotion [ja] after Yujiro's death in 1987[11] but in 2011 he resigned due to his declining health.[5]

On June 10, 2015 he was hospitalised after suffering a heart attack and underwent surgery. Seven days later it was announced that he was in rehabilitation and would be discharged from hospital in about a month.

He had a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who was also an actor.[12] As a singer, Watari is known for his hit song "Kuchinashi no Hana" [13] and he appeared in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1974 and 1993.

He died of pneumonia on August 10, 2020, at the age of 78.[14]

Selected filmography

Films

YearTitleRoleOther notesRef.
1965Abare Kishidō (あばれ騎士道)TetsuyaLead role
Nakaseruze
1966Tokyo DrifterTetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" HondoLead role[15]
Tokyo Drifter 2: The Sea is Bright Red as the Color of LoveTetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" HondoLead role
The Hearth of HiroshimaLead role
1967Kurenai no NagareboshiLead role
1968Outlaw: Gangster VIPGorō FujikawaLead role[16]
Moeru TairikuKeiichi IsomuraLead role
Higashi ShinakaiNaoyuki
1969The Wild SeaYōji KitamiLead role
Daikanbu NagurikomiTetsuLead role
Savage Wolf PackAsai TetsuyaLead role
1970Shinjuku outlaw: Step On the GasYuji Nishigami (Shinigami)Lead role
Fuji sanchō
1971Kantō ExileLead role
1973Gokiburi KeijiDetective NarugamiLead role
Za GokiburiDetective NarugamiLead role
Ningen KakumeiKumichō Shimatani
1975Graveyard of HonorRikio IshikawaLead role
1976Yakuza GraveyardDetective KuroiwaLead role
1986Tokei – Adieu l'hiverSpecial appearance
1993Kinchan no Cinema Jack "Minato"
1996Waga Kokoro no Ginga Tetsudō Miyazawa Kenji MonogatariSeijirō
1997YūkaiInspector TsunamiLead role
1998Diary of Early Winter ShowerLead role
2000Nagasaki Burabura bushiGakusha (Koga, Jûjirô)Lead role
2001BrotherJinseikai Kumichō
2002Shura no MureOld Hiroyuki Inahara[17]
2004Lady JokerSeizo MonoiLead role[18]
2005YamatoVice-Admiral Seiichi Itō[19]

Television

YearTitleRoleOther notesRef.
1971DaichūshinguraHoribe Yasubei
1974Katsu KaishūKatsu KaishūLead role, Taiga drama[20]
1976–1979Daitokai SeriesRaisuke KuroiwaLead role
1978HaguregumoKumoLead role
1979–1984Seibu KeisatsuKeisuke DaimonLead role
1986Taiyō ni Hoero!Hyōgo Tachibana
1996HideyoshiOda NobunagaTaiga drama[21]
1998Shinsengumi KeppūrokuIsami KondōLead role
2004Seibu Keisatsu SpecialKeisuke Daimon
2005YoshitsuneTaira no KiyomoriTaiga drama[22]
2009–2011Clouds Over the HillTōgō Heihachirō[23]
2013No Dropping Out: Back to School at 35Yukinobu Asada[24]

Video games

YearTitleRoleOther notesRef.
2005Ryū ga GotokuShintaro Kazama
2006Ryū ga Gotoku 2Shintaro Kazama
2009Ryū ga Gotoku 3Jōji KazamaKnown as "Joji Fuma" in Western PS3 release
2015Ryū ga Gotoku 0: Chikai no BashoShintaro Kazama
2016Ryū ga Gotoku: KiwamiShintaro Kazama
2017Ryū ga Gotoku: Kiwami 2Shintaro Kazama

Honours

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Tetsuya Watari official profile" (in Japanese). Ishihara Promotion. Archived from the original on December 28, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "俳優 渡哲也さんが死去 78歳 肺炎のため". NHKニュース (in Japanese). 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  3. 1 2 "俳優の渡哲也さんが死去 肺炎、78歳、家族葬…故人の遺志によりお別れ会なし". デイリースポーツ (in Japanese). 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  4. ↑ "【評伝】みんな憧れた「団長」大門刑事、昭和の美学貫いた人生". Sanspo. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Tetsuya Watari biography". Kinema Junpo. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  6. ↑ Mes, Tom, Graveyard of Honor DVD booklet, 2004, Home Vision Entertainment. Retrieved 2014-08-29
  7. ↑ 杉作J太郎、植地毅「日下部五朗インタビュー　インタビュアー・高平哲郎」『仁義なき戦い 浪漫アルバム』徳間書店、1998 p.128-134 ISBN 978-4198608460
  8. ↑ 渡哲也インタビュー 高平哲郎」『渡哲也 さすらいの詩』芳賀書店〈シネアルバム(67)〉、1978 P.153-168 ISBN 4-8261-0067-1
  9. ↑ "74年勝海舟は渡哲也から松方弘樹／大河ドラマ代役". Nikkan sports. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  10. ↑ "太陽にほえろ! 1986" (in Japanese). Amazon. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Ishihara Promotion company profile" (in Japanese). Ishihara Promotion. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Office Kitano: Brother". Office Kitano. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  13. ↑ "【1974年２月】くちなしの花／渡哲也 本人不在も大ヒット 紅白に出場したワケ" (in Japanese). スポニチ. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  14. ↑ "渡哲也さん、10日に肺炎で死去していた". SANSPO.COM（サンスポ） (in Japanese). 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  15. ↑ "東京流れ者". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  16. ↑ "無頼より 大幹部". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  17. ↑ 修羅の群れ〈2001年〉 (in Japanese). PIA Corporation. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  18. ↑ "レディ・ジョーカー". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  19. ↑ "男たちの大和 YAMATO". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  20. ↑ "勝海舟". Haiyaku Jiten (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  21. ↑ "秀吉". Haiyaku Jiten (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  22. ↑ "義経". Haiyaku Jiten (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  23. ↑ "坂の上の雲". Haiyaku Jiten (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  24. ↑ "35歳の高校生の出演者・キャスト一覧". The Television (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2026.