was a Japanese actor. He won two Japanese Academy Awards for best actor, for The Silk Road (1988) and Tsuribaka Nisshi 6 (1993). He also won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for Get Up! and Tsuribaka Nisshi 14 (2003). Outside Japan he was best known for his role as Pigsy (Cho Hakkai) in the TV series Monkey.
Nishida served as president of the Japan Actors Union and vice president of the Japan Academy Film Prize Organization Committee. He received the Order of the Rising Sun in 2018.
Personal life Nishida was born on November 4, 1947, in Kōriyama, Fukushima, to Izumi and Kie Imai. His biological father Izumi worked at the Kōriyama Postal Savings Bureau, and was born to the family of a karō, a top-ranking samurai official. Izumi died when Nishida was young, and Kie raised him while working as a beautician. After Kie remarried, Nishida, five years old at the time, was adopted by Kie's younger sister and her husband, Miyo and Tatsuji Nishida, respectively. His adoptive father's ancestors served Shimazu Nariakira, the daimyo of Satsuma Domain, and defended Satsuma during the Anglo-Satsuma War.
Nishida and his adoptive parents lived at a Shinto shrine's office, and although Tatsuji worked at the Kōriyama City Hall, the family was barely making a living. Tatsuji took him to the movies on the weekends, which inspired Nishida to join the drama club at his elementary school. During middle school, he told his parents that he wanted to become an actor and received strong support from his parents. During high school, he moved to Tokyo to "learn standard Japanese". In 1968, he entered an acting school, and his parents moved to Tokyo to support him.
Nishida was found dead in his home in Setagaya, Tokyo, on October 17, 2024, at the age of 76. He had previously been suffering from a chronic heart condition.
Career In Japan, he was best known for his fishing comedy series, Tsuribaka Nisshi ("The Fishing Maniac's Diary"), which spans 21 episodes. Outside Japan Nishida was best known for his portrayal of Pigsy in the first season of the TV series Monkey, or for his role in the 2008 film The Ramen Girl, as the sensei of American actress Brittany Murphy's character.
Nishida was nominated 10 times for a Japanese Academy Award and won twice, once for best actor in The Silk Road in 1988 as Gakko, and once for best actor in Tsuribaka Nisshi 6 in 1993. He won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor in 2003 for Get Up! and Tsuribaka Nisshi 14.
In 2017, Nishida reprised his role as yakuza underboss Nishino in Takeshi Kitano's Outrage trilogy to positive reviews.
In 2018, Nishida received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, alongside comedian Takeshi Kitano.
Nishida served as president of the Japan Actors Union and vice president of the Japan Academy Film Prize Organization Committee. He was a 'Frontier Ambassador' for his hometown of Kōriyama City.
Filmography
Film Year Title RoleNotesSource1974Okita SōjiNagakura Shinpachi1977Ballad of OrinSuketaro1979Devil's FluteKindaichi Kōsuke1981 Edo PornSashichi1984 Station to Heaven1986 Lost in the WildernessNaomi Uemura Lead role 1988 Dun-HuangZhu WangliLead role1988–2009Tsuribaka Nisshi seriesHama-chan Lead role 1992 Tengoku no TaizaiDreams of RussiaKantsubakiIwago TomitaLead role1993 GakkoMr. KuroiLead role 1996 Gakko IIRyuhei Aoyama Lead role 2002 Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHSShizuo KagayaLead role 2003 Get Up! Lead role 2006 The Uchōten Hotel2007 Sukiyaki Western DjangoHappy Ever After2008 The Ramen GirlAmerican filmFlowers in the ShadowsMosesThe Magic HourKōnosuke Teshio2009 Castle Under Fiery Skies Lead role Asahiyama Zoo Story: Penguins in the SkyKanji Takizawa Lead role 2010 Space Battleship YamatoHikozaemon Tokugawa2011 A Letter to MomoIwaVoice role Once in a Blue MoonSarashina Rokubei2012 ReunionAibaLead roleBeyond OutrageNishino2013 EmperorGeneral KajimaAmerican filmThe Kiyosu ConferenceSarashina Rokubei2015 Maestro!TendōJinuyo Saraba: Kamuroba Mura eNakanussanLove & PeacePaGalaxy Turnpike2016A Living PromiseGentaro Nishimura2017Miracles of the Namiya General StoreYūji NamiyaOutrage CodaNishino2019Ninkyō GakuenYūzō AkimotoLead role2020Voices in the Wind ImadaThe Untold Tale of the Three Kingdoms Munemitsu Soga2021A Morning of FarewellTōru Senkawa2022What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?Prime Minister Kan Nishiōtachime2024Doctor-X: The MovieShigekatsu HirumaPosthumous release
Television Year Title Role Notes Source 1974 Shin Heike Monogatari Hōjō Yoshitoki Taiga drama 1977 Kashin Yamagata Aritomo Taiga drama 1977–1979 Tokusō Saizensen Detective Yōzō Takasugi 1978–1979 Saiyuki Cho Hakkai/Pigsy 1981 Onna Taikō-ki Toyotomi Hideyoshi Taiga drama 1984 Sanga Moyu Tadashi Amō Lead role, Taiga drama 1986 Byakkotai Kayano Gonbei 1988 Takeda Shingen Yamamoto Kansuke Taiga drama 1990 Tobu ga Gotoku Saigō Takamori Lead role, Taiga drama 1995 Hachidai Shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa Yoshimune Lead role, Taiga drama1998Oda Nobunaga: Tenka wo Totta BakaSaitō DōsanSpecial appearance, TV movie 2000 Aoi Tokugawa Hidetada Lead role, Taiga drama 2003 Musashi Yamanouchi Hanbei Taiga drama The Great White Tower Mataichi Zaizen 2005 Tiger and Dragon Hayashiyatei Donbei Hiroshima Showa 20 nen 8 Gatsu Muika elder Toshiaki Yajima TV movie 2006 Kōmyō ga Tsuji Tokugawa Ieyasu Taiga drama 2007 The Family Ichirō Ōkawa 2009–2011 Clouds Over the Hill Takahashi Korekiyo 2010 Wagaya no Rekishi Yame Tokijiro Miniseries Yae's Sakura Saigō Tanomo Taiga drama Detective Lovesick Tsukikage Yōzō 2013–2021 Doctor-X Shigekatsu Hiruma 7 seasons 2014 Nobunaga Concerto Saitō DōsanTokyo ni Olympic o Yonda OtokoMasaji TabataTV movie 2015 Tsuribaka Nisshi Su-san 2016 Montage Shinnosuke Sawada TV movie 2017 Kohaku Katsumi Yoneda Lead role, TV movie 2018 Segodon Narrator / Saigō Kikujirō Taiga drama 2021 Story of My Family!!! Jusaburo Miyama 2022 The 13 Lords of the Shogun Emperor Go-Shirakawa Taiga drama 2023 Fixer Goichi Hongō Special appearance
Variety show Year Title Notes Source2001–2019Knight Scoopas Chairman
Dubbing Robots (Bigweld)
Honours Medal with Purple Ribbon (2008) Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2018)
References
External links
Official website (in Japanese)