Shoichi Ozawa

Shōichi Ozawa (小沢 昭一, Ozawa Shōichi, April 6, 1929 – December 10, 2012) was a Japanese actor, radio host, singer, and prominent researcher and expert on Japanese folk art.^[1] He also founded the Shabondama-za theater company.^[1]

Ozawa, who was born in Tokyo, graduated from Waseda University.^[1] He began acting after college, beginning with his debut stage role in 1951.^[1] He also appeared in television and film roles, acting quite frequently in films directed by Shohei Imamura and Yūzō Kawashima. In 1971, Ozawa launched his long running radio show.^[1]

A respected folk art expert, Ozawa also researched traditional Japanese performing arts. He recorded and released "Nihon no Horo Gei" ("Japan's Itinerant Arts") based on his research.^[1]

In 2004, Ozawa became the "mayor" of Meiji Mura, an open-air museum in Aichi Prefecture which showcases Meiji Era architecture.^[1] The Japanese government awarded Ozawa the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2001 and the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1994 for his body of work.^[1]

Shōichi Ozawa died on December 10, 2012, at the age of 83.^[1]

Filmography

• Suzaki Paradise: Akashingō (1956)
• Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate (1957)
• Endless Desire (1958)
• My Second Brother (1959)
• Pigs and Battleships (1961)
• Foundry Town (1962)
• The Insect Woman (1963)
• Bad Girl (1963)
• Kunoichi ninpō (1964)
• Story of a Prostitute (1965)
• Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon (1965)
• The Pornographers (1966)
• A Fool's Love (1967)
• The Human Bullet (1968)
• Summer Soldiers (1972)
• Eijanaika (1981)
• Tora-san's Promise (1981)
• The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
• Gonza the Spearman (1986)
• Black Rain (Japanese film) (1989)
• The Eel (1997)
• Dr. Akagi (1998)

References

External links

• Shoichi Ozawa at IMDb