EijirÅ TÅ no (æ ±é‡Žè‹±æ²»éƒŽ, TÅ no EijirÅ , 17 September 1907 â€" 8
September 1994) was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more
than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films
and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his
roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as Seven Samurai (1954) and
Yojimbo (1961), and films by YasujirÅ Ozu, such as Tokyo Story (1953)
and An Autumn Afternoon (1962). He also appeared in Kill! by Kihachi
Okamoto and Tora! Tora! Tora!, a depiction of the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor. His final film was Juzo Itami's A-ge-man (Tales of a
Golden Geisha) in 1990. TÅ no also starred as the title character in
the long-running television jidaigeki series Mito KÅ mon from 1969 to
1983. In the early years of his career he acted under the name of
Katsuji Honjo (本庄克二).EijirŠTŠno was born on 17 September
1907 in Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, the son of a sake
brewer. He attended Tomioka Middle School. After enrolling as a
student in the Commerce Department of Meiji University he joined the
left-wing Society for the Study of Social Science (社会ç§'å¦ç
"究会 : Shakai-kagaku kenkyukai ). This was politically dangerous,
as the Peace Preservation Law of 1925 made members of any association
whose object was the alteration of the kokutai (National Polity), or
of the system of private property, liable to imprisonment for up to
ten years. In 1931 he became a student on the proletarian drama course
run by the Tsukiji Little Theatre (ç¯‰åœ°å° åŠ‡å ´: Tsukiji shogekijo
). He made his stage debut in the Tokyo Left-wing Theatre
(æ ±äº¬å·¦ç¿¼åŠ‡å ´: Tokyo sayoku gekijo ) production of The Mount
Osore Tunnel (æ 山トンムル: Osoreyama tonneru)by JÅ«rÅ Miyoshi.
Having completed the proletarian drama course, he joined the New
Tsukiji Theatre Group and took the stage name Katsuji HonjÅ
(本庄克二).Through the 1930s, TŠno appeared in almost all of the
New Tsukiji Theatre Group's productions, receiving favourable reviews.
In particular, his performances as HeizŠin Earth (土: Tsuchi),
YugorŠin The Composition-writing Classroom （綴方教室:
Tsuzurikata kyŠshitsu） and the Gravedigger in Hamlet established
his reputation as an actor. He also came to play an important part in
the management of the troupe. In 1936, he made his film debut in Older
Brother, Younger Sister （兄㠄も㠆㠨: Ani imŠto）. In 1938 he
appeared in Teinosuke Kinugasa's Kuroda seichÅ« roku （é»'ç"°èª å¿
録）and subsequently had roles in pictures for the ShŠchiku,
Nikkatsu and TÅ hÅ studios. Up to this point, he was credited under
his stage name, 'Katsuji HonjÅ '.In August 1940 the New Tsukiji
Theatre Group was forcibly disbanded and TÅ no and others were
arrested for infringement of the Peace Preservation Law. TÅ no was
released without charge some nine months later and returned to acting,
but was subject to an order by the Home Ministry ï¼ˆå†…å‹™çœ ï¼‰that
he should appear only under his real name. From this time on, he was
credited as 'TÅ no EijirÅ '. In 1943 he appeared in Keisuke
Kinoshita's debut film Port of Flowers （花å'²ã 港: Hana saku
minato）. In 1944 TŠno, EitarŠOzawa, Koreya Senda, Sugisaku
Aoyama, Chieko Higashiyama and others formed the Actors' Theatre
（俳優座）. During the last year of the Pacific War, he toured
Japan under the auspices of the Japan Peripatetic Drama League
（日本移動æ¼"劇連盟）, an officially-sponsored body whose
remit was to raise morale, and therefore productivity, by bringing
drama to factories, mines, farming communities and fishing villages.
September 1994) was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more
than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films
and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his
roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as Seven Samurai (1954) and
Yojimbo (1961), and films by YasujirÅ Ozu, such as Tokyo Story (1953)
and An Autumn Afternoon (1962). He also appeared in Kill! by Kihachi
Okamoto and Tora! Tora! Tora!, a depiction of the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor. His final film was Juzo Itami's A-ge-man (Tales of a
Golden Geisha) in 1990. TÅ no also starred as the title character in
the long-running television jidaigeki series Mito KÅ mon from 1969 to
1983. In the early years of his career he acted under the name of
Katsuji Honjo (本庄克二).EijirŠTŠno was born on 17 September
1907 in Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, the son of a sake
brewer. He attended Tomioka Middle School. After enrolling as a
student in the Commerce Department of Meiji University he joined the
left-wing Society for the Study of Social Science (社会ç§'å¦ç
"究会 : Shakai-kagaku kenkyukai ). This was politically dangerous,
as the Peace Preservation Law of 1925 made members of any association
whose object was the alteration of the kokutai (National Polity), or
of the system of private property, liable to imprisonment for up to
ten years. In 1931 he became a student on the proletarian drama course
run by the Tsukiji Little Theatre (ç¯‰åœ°å° åŠ‡å ´: Tsukiji shogekijo
). He made his stage debut in the Tokyo Left-wing Theatre
(æ ±äº¬å·¦ç¿¼åŠ‡å ´: Tokyo sayoku gekijo ) production of The Mount
Osore Tunnel (æ 山トンムル: Osoreyama tonneru)by JÅ«rÅ Miyoshi.
Having completed the proletarian drama course, he joined the New
Tsukiji Theatre Group and took the stage name Katsuji HonjÅ
(本庄克二).Through the 1930s, TŠno appeared in almost all of the
New Tsukiji Theatre Group's productions, receiving favourable reviews.
In particular, his performances as HeizŠin Earth (土: Tsuchi),
YugorŠin The Composition-writing Classroom （綴方教室:
Tsuzurikata kyŠshitsu） and the Gravedigger in Hamlet established
his reputation as an actor. He also came to play an important part in
the management of the troupe. In 1936, he made his film debut in Older
Brother, Younger Sister （兄㠄も㠆㠨: Ani imŠto）. In 1938 he
appeared in Teinosuke Kinugasa's Kuroda seichÅ« roku （é»'ç"°èª å¿
録）and subsequently had roles in pictures for the ShŠchiku,
Nikkatsu and TÅ hÅ studios. Up to this point, he was credited under
his stage name, 'Katsuji HonjÅ '.In August 1940 the New Tsukiji
Theatre Group was forcibly disbanded and TÅ no and others were
arrested for infringement of the Peace Preservation Law. TÅ no was
released without charge some nine months later and returned to acting,
but was subject to an order by the Home Ministry ï¼ˆå†…å‹™çœ ï¼‰that
he should appear only under his real name. From this time on, he was
credited as 'TÅ no EijirÅ '. In 1943 he appeared in Keisuke
Kinoshita's debut film Port of Flowers （花å'²ã 港: Hana saku
minato）. In 1944 TŠno, EitarŠOzawa, Koreya Senda, Sugisaku
Aoyama, Chieko Higashiyama and others formed the Actors' Theatre
（俳優座）. During the last year of the Pacific War, he toured
Japan under the auspices of the Japan Peripatetic Drama League
（日本移動æ¼"劇連盟）, an officially-sponsored body whose
remit was to raise morale, and therefore productivity, by bringing
drama to factories, mines, farming communities and fishing villages.
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