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Kazuo Hasegawa

はせがわ かずお

Hasegawa Kazuo

Aliases: 林 長丸 / 林 長二郎 / 中村 一夫 / 嵐 佳寿夫 / 長さん
Pen Names: Hayashi Chomaru（Stage name used in his early kabuki career）, Hayashi Chojiro（Stage name used during his early film career at Shochiku）, Nakamura Kazuo（Early stage name used in Kansai kabuki）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1908-02-27 （Rokujizo, Horinouchi Village, Kii District, Kyoto Prefecture (now Momoyama, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan)）
Died
1984-04-06 （Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo Jikei University Hospital)） age 76
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Fushimi, Kyoto (birthplace) → Minato, Tokyo (later life)

Career

Occupations
actor, kabuki actor, stage director
Active Years
1927-1983
Affiliations
Shochiku, Toho, Shintoho, Shin Enkiza (New Enkiza), Daiei Film, Toho Kabuki
Memberships
Representative of Shin Enkiza, Director of Toho Kabuki, Founding member of the 'Ten Flags' (Juunin no Hata no Kai)
Influenced By
Nakamura Ganjiro (I), Teinosuke Kinugasa, Eiji Tsuburaya
Influenced
Seinen Hayashi, Kikuko Hasegawa, Yoichi Hayashi

Awards

Blue Ribbon Awards (Popular Prize)
1953
Work: Gate of Hell (Jigokumon)
Category: 大衆賞
Organization: Association of Film Journalists (Blue Ribbon Awards)
Result: 受賞
Kikuchi Kan Prize
1957
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Medal with Purple Ribbon
1965
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class
1978
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Award
1980
Category: 演劇大賞
Organization: Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Matsuo Performing Arts Award
1981
Category: 特別大賞
Organization: Matsuo Performing Arts Award Committee
Result: 受賞
People's Honour Award
1984
Organization: Cabinet Office of Japan
Result: 追贈（没後）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Yukinojo Henge (Transformation of Yukinojo)

1935 period drama film

A landmark period film in which Hasegawa plays three roles drawing on his onnagata background; a story of family and revenge.

revengedisguisefamily

Gate of Hell (Jigokumon)

1953 color historical drama

Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa; a color historical drama about beauty, desire, and tragedy that received international acclaim including at Cannes.

beautydesiretragedy
Adaptations
  • [film] Gate of Hell / 衣笠貞之助 (1953)

Chikamatsu Monogatari

1954 literary drama film

A major work directed by Kenji Mizoguchi based on the world of Chikamatsu Monzaemon; a drama of love and tragedy featuring Hasegawa in a key role.

fatelovesocial constraints

Zeni-gata Heiji detective series

1951 period drama series

A popular Daiei Film series in which Hasegawa starred as the detective Zeni-gata Heiji, enjoying broad popularity.

chivalrymysteryhumanity

Bibliography

  • Chojiro Zōshi (Memoirs of Chojirō) — 1930
  • My Twenty Years — 1948
  • Thirty Years in the Art — 1957
  • Sixty Years on Stage and Screen — 1973
  • Kazuo Hasegawa: Conversations with Actresses — 1979

Adaptations

  • Kaokiri / Kaokiri (2016) — film inspired by Hasegawa's 1937 face-cutting incident
  • Takarazuka Revue 'The Rose of Versailles' (directed by Hasegawa for its premiere)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Graceful, onnagata-influenced movement and refined physicalityAn acting style emphasizing nuanced use of the eyes and facial expression
Recurring Motifs
loyalty and chivalrybeauty and its fragilityhumanity and obligation

Health

  • diabetes
    晩年（1980年代初頭〜1984年）
    Worsening diabetes required hospitalization and affected his late-career activities.
  • intracranial abscess
    1984年（死去の原因）
    Died from an intracranial abscess at Tokyo Jikei University Hospital.
  • Facial laceration (1937 assault)
    1937年以降
    Sustained a deep wound to his left cheek in 1937 but returned to performing using makeup techniques; the scar remained part of his history.

Legacy

Kazuo Hasegawa was a leading period-drama star of prewar and postwar Japan, appearing in over 300 films. His incorporation of kabuki techniques into screen acting, his expressive use of the eyes, and enduring popularity left a major mark on Japanese cinema and theatre; he was posthumously awarded the People's Honour Award.

Archives

  • NHK Archives
  • Japanese Movie Database (JMDb)
  • National Diet Library (related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • The term 'mīhā' is said to have originated referring to fans of Hasegawa, reflecting his popular-culture impact.
  • The 1937 'face-cutting' assault has been used as a motif in later works and films.
  • He directed the premiere of the Takarazuka Revue's 'The Rose of Versailles', attracting wide attention.

Quotes

  • Rather than saying film was enjoyable, I felt that if I failed there would be nowhere to return to—that was how I felt.
    Source: Statement in conversations/interviews (cited in various memoirs and interviews; summary from Wikipedia article)
  • I had always thought I would quit films at fifty-five; I didn't want to appear in films as an old, wrinkled man.
    Source: Quoted in his memoirs/interviews (e.g. 'Sixty Years on Stage and Screen')

Trivia

  • The term 'mīhā' is said to have been coined referring to his fans.
  • In 1937, shortly after moving to Toho, he was attacked and suffered a deep wound to his left cheek (the face-cutting incident).
  • He was posthumously awarded the People's Honour Award, one of the first actors to receive it.
  • He appeared in over 300 films during his career.