FrameThrower · Actors · Tatsuya Nakadai
Tatsuya Nakadai
10 films · 626 frames · top-billed in 10 · 1959–1985
Born 13 December 1932 · Meguro, Tokyo, Japan · died 8 November 2025
Tatsuya Nakadai was a Japanese actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Japanese cinema, he collaborated extensively with many of Japan's best-known and acclaimed directors. In his over seven decade career, he appeared in more than 160 films, and received numerous accolades. He was honored with a Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1996 and Japan's Order of Culture in 2015.
Nakadai rose to prominence starring in Masaki Kobayashi's films, with his breakthrough being the protagonist of the epic anti-war trilogy The Human Condition (1959–1961).…
Awards
On FrameThrower we have: 10 films · 626 frames · top-billed in 10 · 1959–1985
- Order of Culture2015
- Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class2003
- Asahi Prize2013
- Person of Cultural Merit2007
- Medal with Purple Ribbon1996
- Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor1981
- Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor1963
- Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year1957
- Mainichi Film Award for Best Actor
- Golden Arrow Award
How their films are shot
Measured across 626 frames from the 10 films we hold. This is the look of the work Tatsuya takes, not a claim about any single frame — we index the cast of a film, never the people in a shot.
Across the 10 films we hold, 64% of their frames are day, 50% natural — the look of the work Tatsuya takes.
Time of day
Lighting
Shot size
Camera angle
Mood
Films in the library
Every poster opens that film — stills, cinematography notes and colour palette.
Ran
1985 · Lord Hidetora Ichimonji
Kagemusha
1980 · Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha
Belladonna of Sadness
1973 · The Devil (voice)
High and Low
1963 · Chief Detective Tokura
Harakiri
1962 · Hanshiro Tsugumo
Sanjuro
1962 · Hanbei Muroto
Yojimbo
1961 · Unosuke, gunfighter
The Human Condition III: A Soldier’s Prayer
1961 · Kaji
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
1959 · Kaji
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
1959 · Kaji
Often with
Shared films in this library, not a full filmography.
A reference database for filmmakers
FrameThrower is a fully machine-searchable film database and visual reference library — all 626 frames from Tatsuya Nakadai's 10 films, and 5,000+ films besides, indexed frame by frame and readable by AI. Search it in plain language, from a reference image, or by colour; call it from an API, an MCP server or an SDK. It's the reference layer for making the next movie.