BIO

Yoshio Tsuchiya | 土屋嘉男 was born in Koushuu, Yamanashi, Japan, in 1927.   His father was a literature professor at the prestigious Waseda University.   Tsuchiya trained to be a doctor before deciding instead to enroll in acting school.

The director Akira Kurosawa, who had come to the acting school to hold auditions for his next film, bumped into Tsuchiya in the men’s room and later cast him in his film debut, Seven Samurai (1954).   Kurosawa became an important mentor to the young actor and even invited him to board at his home during the shooting of Seven Samurai.   Tsuchiya appeared in every subsequent Kurosawa film through 1965.

Tsuchiya completed more than 80 motion pictures during his career, many of them in the science fiction genre.   He was personally interested in UFOs and has published several books on the subject.

He died of lung cancer in 2017, at the age of 89.

NOTED FILMS