Bunta Sugawara, the “90th anniversary” actor, shows his “opinionated actor” image in “Battles without Honor and Humanity,” NHK’s historical drama “The Great War,” and other dramas.

Since then, I have interviewed Bunta several times on set and at production announcements, and have had the strong impression that he is an actor who “says things,” not only about his acting, but also about his criticisms, arguments, and proposals against Toei and others to which he belonged, sometimes speaking passionately and other times coolly about his own opinions.

In December 1974, after the “Battle without Honor and Humanity” series was completed with the fifth film, “Battle without Honor and Humanity: The Conclusion,” Bunta starred in the first film of the “New Battle without Honor and Humanity” series (five films were produced until 2000), in which he said

In December 1974, Bunta said, “I’m going to tell Toei exactly what I want to say to them.

He said, “I’m going to tell Toei exactly what I want to say,

He said, “If we continue to follow the real-life Battle without Honor and Humanity forever, it will only wear us out. If you want to go beyond ‘Battles Without Honor and Humanity,’ you have to be adventurous.

He made this clear.

In the “Truck Boss” series (1975-79), in which he co-starred with Kinya Aikawa, he showed a new talent, including a comical performance in which he one-sidedly fell in love with a madonna, and the series was a hit, with 10 films produced in all.

He also starred in NHK’s historical drama “The Age of the Lion” (’80) as Hiranuma Pigitsugu, a low-ranking samurai of the Aizu clan who survives the end of the Edo period and the Meiji era, and attracted a lot of attention. When we interviewed Bunta at the time, he said

He criticized NHK for not having a large room for actors and demanded that they think of a solution.

He once criticized NHK for not having a large room for actors and demanded that they consider a countermeasure, causing NHK to panic.

In the case of movies, there are single, double, five, ten, and large rooms in the studios, and even extras get one or two tatami mats to lie down on. Actors work physically. Everyone should be given a place and space to rest.

I have seen senior actors and senior actors sitting in front of a mirror in a waiting room without a room. Even if they get a private room, their asses don’t feel comfortable. But it would be too arrogant to say, “I’ll take your place.

I was impressed by his comment.

NHK’s producer in charge of the drama said, “Basically, it’s the core of the drama.

Basically, we try to provide private rooms to those who will be the core of the drama, but there are definitely not enough of them. The actors and we used to think it was a matter of course, so Bunta’s point was fresh in our minds.

He said.

On the other hand, in the case of TV, there are not only dramas but also variety shows, singing shows, and culture programs, and the number of actors is enormous.

The market is saturated now, so we need to be creative,” he said.

He said, “We are saturated now, and we need to be creative.

In June ’77, when Bunta asked me to come to his home in Tokyo, he claimed that the fence on the boundary line installed by a neighboring kindergarten was encroaching about 20 cm. He said he would file a lawsuit against the kindergarten management, claiming, among other things, that there were problems with the management of the kindergarten.

When he moved into his house five years ago and built a new house in May of the same year, he had discussions with the kindergarten about building a fence on the boundary with his neighbor’s house, but they had hit a snag. This was said to have provoked Bunta, who is a man of principle and duty.

The trial continued with the kindergarten counter-suing for defamation and damages, and eventually the case was settled.

The trial was eventually settled, but Bunta said, “Even though I am an actor, I have to do what I have to do as a citizen.

I don’t care whether it’s black or white (court decision), I will continue to fight the kindergarten issue.

It was just like Bunta, who was known as an “actor who speaks out”, to say, “I don’t care whether it is black and white (the court decision) or not, I will continue to fight the kindergarten issue.

Bunta Sugawara, who captivated audiences with his passionate performances in a wide range of roles in such films as “Battles Without Honor” and “Truck Man,” was an actor who continued to make his presence felt as an “opinionated actor” who caused a stir in various fields with his various arguments.