Tokyo: Tatsuya Nakadai Set to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor

In a career that has spanned seven decades, Nakadai has worked with some of Japan's greatest-ever filmmakers and notably made six films with Akira Kurosawa, including 'Seven Samurai,' 'Yojimbo' and 'High and Low.'

Tatsuya Nakadai, one of Japan's greatest actors who worked with several of the country's most notable filmmakers, is set to receive the lifetime achievement award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

An icon of Japanese cinema, Nakadai's seven-decade-long career has seen him star in films that have become part of the cultural fabric in Japan and proved hugely influential internationally.

Nakadai worked with several of Japan's best-ever filmmakers, including Hiroshi Teshigahara (The Face of Another), Mikio Naruse (When a Woman Ascends the Stairs), Kihachi Okamoto (Kill! and The Sword of Doom), Hideo Gosha (Goyokin), Shir? Toyoda (Portrait of Hell) and Kon Ichikawa (Enj? and Odd Obsession).

However, Nakadai is perhaps best known for his collaborations with Akira Kurosawa, the pair having worked together on six films. Kurosawa directed Nakadai in his first film role in 1954's Seven Samurai, and also cast him in Yojimbo, Sanjuro, High and Low, Kagemusha and Ran.

Nakadai also had a fruitful professional relationship with Masaki Kobayashi, which resulted in 11 films, including The Human Condition trilogy. He has also had a distinguished and prolific career in theater and television.

Still active, the 86-year-old Nakadai's latest film The Return will screen at Tokyo and features in the Special Programs section as an Asian premiere. The samurai drama, directed by Shigemichi Sugita and shot in 8K, had its world premiere at MIPCOM earlier this month.

Also being honored at Tokyo is auteur Nobuhiko Obayashi.

The 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival is set to run Oct. 28-Nov. 5 in central Tokyo.