Veteran Japanese actor Nakadai Tatsuya (birth name Nakadai Motohisa) has died, local media including Kyodo News reported.
The late Nakadai, who began his career in the mid-1950s, appeared in director Kurosawa's "Kagemusha" and director Kobayashi Masaki's "The Human Condition," among his signature works.
According to the reports, the deceased recently suffered an injury and was hospitalized for about one to two weeks at a hospital in Tokyo, where pneumonia developed, and died at age 92.
On Jan. 1, he also joined a stage greeting for the documentary film "Sister's Time," for which he served as narrator. At the time, he said, "No one imagined acting until 92. I am slowly thinking about retirement, but I cannot say I am retired yet," expressing his intention to remain active for life.
He entered an actor training institute in 1952 and first set foot in acting by appearing as an extra in the 1954 film "Seven Samurai."
After that, he appeared in many works directed by Kurosawa Akira, regarded as a master of Japanese cinema, and was also called "Kurosawa's persona." His notable works include Kurosawa's "Kagemusha," which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in France, and Kobayashi Masaki's "The Human Condition." In 2015, he received the Order of Culture from the Japanese government.