<figure id="attachment_395549" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 5184px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395549"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3b536806"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/5eb3f76aca1b3d4868f8302eb0f39530.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-395549" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the left: Ken Mitsuishi, Toshiyuki Nishida, Yasunori Danta, and Kosuke Suzuki. They all look genuinely happy (August 14, 2015 issue).</span></figcaption></figure>
<h3><b>In just three years, he became a nationally beloved actor.</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was reported on October 17 that actor Toshiyuki Nishida has passed away. The cause of death is believed to be illness. He was 76 years old.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On October 8, he had just attended a completion press conference for the movie &#8220;Doctor X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon&#8221; (scheduled for release on December 6), where he appeared in good spirits. During the press conference, Nishida.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Michiko Daimon (Ryoko Yonekura, 49) has such incredible surgical skills that I have acted out of jealousy. I hope to continue working together&#8230; or rather, there won&#8217;t be any more.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He playfully revealed that this installment would conclude the series, making the audience laugh, but this turned out to be his final appearance in public. Both entertainment industry insiders and drama fans naturally expected to continue seeing his performances, leading to an outpouring of surprise and sadness.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Nishida made his debut in 1970 with the &#8216;Seinenza Theater Company,&#8217; but he experienced a long period of hardship. However, his acting career took a significant turn in 1978 when he was cast as Zhu Bajie in &#8216;Journey to the West&#8217; (Nippon Television). Zhu Bajie, a pig demon, became a beloved character with his comedic performances, often incorporating ad-libs. In 1980, he starred in &#8216;Ikenaka Genta 80 Kilo&#8217; (Nippon Television), which became a massive hit and was turned into a series. In 1981, he played Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the NHK Taiga drama &#8216;Onna TaikoKi,&#8217; rising to the status of a national actor in just three years.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><b>&#8220;He actively pursued a singing career as well, and the theme song &#8216;Moshimo Piano ga Hiketa nara&#8217; from the second series of &#8216;Ikenaka Genta&#8217; reached a peak of fourth place on the &#8216;Oricon Weekly Singles Ranking.&#8217; It won the Gold Prize at the 23rd Japan Record Awards and marked his first appearance at the 32nd NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen&#8221;</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (TV magazine writer).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Without resting on his laurels as an established actor, he also ventured into variety shows. Starting in 2001, he became the second director of &#8216;Detective! Night Scoop&#8217; (Asahi Broadcasting Television), appearing regularly for nearly 19 years until 2019.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="In July '15, he had a drinking party at a cafe with his actor friends."></div>
<h3><b>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry for staying too long, old man~&#8221;</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nishida was always extremely busy, but an issue of FRIDAY (August 14, 2015) reported a rare moment when he was seen joyfully sharing drinks with fellow actors. In mid-July 2015, in the evening, he spent time with actor friends at an open café in Daikanyama (Shibuya Ward). His companions were Yasunori Danta (67), Ken Mitsuishi (63), and Kosuke Suzuki (49).</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Nishida, Mitsuishi, and Suzuki were co-starring in the April 2015 drama ‘I’m Home’ (TV Asahi). He worked with Danda in the movie ‘Galaxy Street,’ which was released in the fall of the same year. It seemed to be a completely private drinking party with this close-knit group centered around Nishida&#8221;</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (entertainment agency insider).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When he made eye contact with passing pedestrians, he smiled and said, &#8220;Hello~,&#8221; and to a waiter bringing water, he bowed and said,</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Thank you~. I&#8217;m sorry for staying so long in such a stylish place, old man.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The cheerful gathering continued well into the evening, filled with smiles.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;In recent years, Nishida always carried a cane while moving around, and recently, he had become weak enough to use a wheelchair. However, he never reduced the number of his work commitments&#8221; </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">(private broadcasting drama production insider).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His last appearance in a television drama was on September 21 in “The City I Saw at the End” (TV Asahi). In cinema, his final work will be “Doctor X: The Movie FINAL,” which is set to be released on December 6.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It&#8217;s incredibly disappointing to think that we won&#8217;t see his carefree demeanor anymore. I pray for his soul&#8217;s peace.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Images of Toshiyuki Nishida in his younger days"></div>
<figure id="attachment_395550" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1922px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395550"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3e64d1c2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/6fbfb39726c35650bc9c55ae5696c9e3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-395550" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Toshiyuki Nishida, who broke through with &#8216;Journey to the West&#8217; (PHOTO: Kodansha Photo Archive)</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_395551" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2476px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395551"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0b4fd572"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/1949c01634c795d0ca00d3f0ca1101b2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-395551" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nishida around 1980 (PHOTO: Kodansha Archive)</span></figcaption></figure>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Various rare private shots of Mr. Nishida"></div>
<figure id="attachment_395552" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3456px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395552"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="01ae1bc3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/32506a95470051e2f348a34c60f73e4f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-395552" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nishida and Kosuke Suzuki drinking beer at a café in Daikanyama (August 14, 2015 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_395555" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 5184px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395555"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="00cd3a7f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/934c8e1a9304bad0244c6e2d8d24dae2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-395555" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ken Mitsuishi and Yasunori Danta joined Nishida and Suzuki while they were drinking (August 14, 2015 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_395554" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 5184px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395554"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0e7a5b62"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/7aec2cd256e9152236ece3056938695d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-395554" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A lively atmosphere among the four during a fun gathering (August 14, 2015 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_395563" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2028px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395563"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2fd9cf89"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/4aa6d4c84d319958f6a5ad9e0a5387a5.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-395563" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the official X of “Doctor X: The Movie FINAL” (@DoctorX_tvasahi)</span></figcaption></figure>


 Sota Shima (1st, 3rd, and 5th photos)

 On October 17, we learned of the death of actor Toshiyuki Nishida. Mr. Nishida was known for his aloofness, and the way this magazine saw him in 2003, sharing drinks with his actor friends, was also truly aloof and joyful. We would like to look back on it.

Remembering Actor Toshiyuki Nishida and His Warmth at Gatherings

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