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)