Skip to content
Utaemon Ichikawa profile photo

Acting

Utaemon Ichikawa

Born
Feb 11, 1904 · Aged 95
Died
Sep 16, 1999
Place of birth
Marugame, Kagawa, Japan
Gender
Male
Movie credits
126
TV credits
4
Also known as (1)
  • Утаэмон Итикава

Biography

Utaemon Ichikawa was a Japanese film actor famous for starring roles in Jidaigeki from the 1920s to the 1960s. Trained in kabuki from childhood, he made his film debut in 1925 at Makino Film Productions under Shōzō Makino. Quickly gaining popularity, he followed the example of Makino stars such as Tsumasaburō Bandō in starting his own independent production company, Utaemon Ichikawa Productions, in 1927. It was there he first began the "Idle Vassal" (Hatamoto taikutsu otoko) series, which would become his signature role. When his company folded in 1936 as sound film came to the fore, he moved…