Hiroki Matsukata
| Hiroki Matsukata | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kōju Meguro July 23, 1942 Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1960–present |
Kōju Meguro (目黒 浩樹 Meguro Kōju?, born July 23, 1942), better known by his stage name Hiroki Matsukata (松方 弘樹 Matsukata Hiroki?), is a Japanese actor. He is the son of jidaigeki actor Jūshirō Konoe and actress Yaeko Mizukawa and has a younger brother Yūki Meguro who is also an actor. With ex-wife actress Akiko Nishina he has two children; son Masaki Nishina and daughter Hitomi Nishina are both in the entertainment industry.
Career
As a young man, he aspired to be a singer, but turned to acting, making his debut while still in high school. His first film was 1960's Jyunanasai no Gyakushu: Boryoku o Buttsubuse for Tōei, where his father worked. He specialized in romantic leads in jidaigeki and yakuza films. But he soon switched to modern yakuza for films such as Bakuto (1964) and Showa Zankyoden (1965), and starred in Kinji Fukasaku's Blackmail Is My Life (1968).[1]
In 1969 he switched to Daiei as a replacement for Ichikawa Raizo VIII, starring in many films. On returning to Tōei he would appear in many more films by Fukasaku in the following decade, including three installments in the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series, Cops vs. Thugs (1975), Hokuriku Proxy War (1977), The Doberman Cop (1977), Shogun's Samurai (1978) and The Fall of Ako Castle (1978). Starring opposite Bunta Sugawara in the first four and opposite Sonny Chiba in the last four.
He starred in both the original 1984 Shura no Mure and the 2002 remake. In addition, he has appeared in numerous V-Cinema titles, including what was advertised as Toei's "last yakuza movie", The Man Who Shot the Don (1994). In the 1990s he was a regular on Takeshi Kitano's Genki Ga Deru TV comedy show.[1]
His television credits include Ōedo Sōsamō (1979 to 1984), the title role in Meibugyō Tōyama no Kin-san (1988–1998), the lead character Yaguchi Mansaku in Hadaka no Deka, and one of the central characters in Hotel. He played Ōishi Kuranosuke in the 1994 TBS Daichūshingura. Matsukata also appeared as a guest voice actor in the NHK anime series Agasa Kuristii no Mei Tantei Powaro to Maapuru ("Agatha Christie's Famous Detectives Poirot and Marple").
Selected filmography
- Jyunanasai no Gyakushu: Boryoku o Buttsubuse (1960)
- Akō Rōshi (1961) - Oishi
- The Magic Serpent (1966) - Ikazuchi-Maru
- Blackmail Is My Life (1968) - Shun
- Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973) - Tetsuya Sakai
- Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics (1974) - Shoichi Fujita
- Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode (1974) - Terukichi Ichioka
- New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1974)
- Cops vs. Thugs (1975) - Kenji Hirotani
- Hokuriku Proxy War (1977)
- The Doberman Cop (1977) - Kaiji Hidemori
- Shogun's Samurai (1978) - Tokugawa Iemitsu
- The Fall of Ako Castle (1978) - Denhachiro Tamon
- Theater of Life (1983)
- The Man Who Shot the Don (1994) - Horai
- Thirteen Assassins (2010) - Kuranaga Saheita
- Gal Basara: Sengoku Jidai wa Kengai Desu (2011) - Oda Nobunaga
Television
- Meibugyō Tōyama no Kin-san (1988–98) - Kin-san
- Tenchijin (2009) - Tokugawa Ieyasu
Video games
- Matsukata Hiroki no Super Trawling (Himself) (Super Famicom) (1995)
- Matsukata Hiroki no World Fishing (Himself) (PlayStation, Sega Saturn) (1996)
- Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! (謎の僧 Mysterious Monk) (PlayStation 3) (2008)
