Toshiyuki Nishida’s Farewell Party Reminds Us of His “Glare” and “Tearful Drinking” He Revealed at a Bar as a Young Man in the Theater

Cowboy hat and guitar playing in a corner of a bar

On February 18, a farewell party was held at Zojoji Temple in Shiba Koen, Minato Ward, Tokyo, for Toshiyuki Nishida, an actor who died of ischemic heart disease at the age of 76 last October. Nishida, who was well known for his many movies and TV dramas.

From Hama-chan in the “Tsuribaka nisshi” series, who was loved for his humor and pathos, to Director Hiruma in “Doctor X” (TV Asahi), who was pushed around by Michiko Daimon, played by Ryoko Yonekura, and also to Director Hiruma in “Kitano” (TV series), who played Kitano with his unique line delivery. He also played the role of a gang leader in Takeshi Kitano’s “Outrage Beyond,” a role that became famous for its overly realistic dialogue.

Nishida’s origins as an actor seem to date back to his days as a member of the Seinenza theater troupe, where he appeared in numerous plays, including “Sharaku Kou” (1971).

In the early 1970s, I happened to run into Mr. Nishida at a bar in Shinjuku’s Golden Gai. He was wearing a cowboy hat, picked up a guitar that was propped up in a corner of the bar, and began to play and sing, which was quite conspicuous. 20-something Mr. Nishida had a shy smile on his face, but his actor’s spirit seemed to be glowing.

At the time, he was mainly covering the movie world as a reporter in charge of movies in the cultural section of a sports newspaper, but he was not familiar with the theater world and had not yet made much of a name for himself in the entertainment industry, so the store’s master told him,

A promising actor in the Seinenza.”

I first learned of Mr. Nishida when the master of the restaurant told me that he was a “promising actor of Seinenza. Nishida entered the Seinenza Acting Training School in 1968, became a member of the Seinenza in 1970, and made his stage debut in July of the same year in the play “Jochi” (Affection). In October of the same year, he attracted attention when he played the leading role of Sharaku in “Sharaku-ko” by Shizukazu Yashiro, and his stage performances included “Meiji no Hearse” (1973), “Sanbun Opera” (1973), and the play “I am Luvi” (1975), which won the Art Festival Excellence Award.

Sharaku-ko” was performed again at Kinokuniya Hall in 1977 and won the 12th Kinokuniya Theatre Award.’ He left the company in 2003, but there is no doubt that the acting skills he developed on stage were the starting point for Nishida’s later career as an actor who could play a wide range of roles.

He then appeared in TV dramas such as “Three Men, Three Women, and a Son-in-Law” (1976, TBS), “Saiyuki” (1978, NTV), and “Ikenaka Genta 80 Kilometers” (1980, NTV). The theme song for “Part II” of the same drama was “If I Could Play the Piano. Then, in NHK’s historical drama “Onna Taikoki” (1981), in which he played the role of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the theatrical youth quickly became a major and popular actor.

I once interviewed him at Toei’s Oizumi Studios when he played Kosuke Kindaichi in Toei’s “The Devil Comes and Blows the Whistle” (1979). At the time, he had a soft smile and the aura of a popular actor, unlike the atmosphere when I met him at the bar. When I asked him about his rise up the ladder to star in just a few years, he said

Nothing has changed,” he said.

He said he was concentrating on the role of the moment.

Acting is a very happy business.

Another film that seems to have been Nishida’s starting point was “Tora-san. About this series, Nishida said, “Tora-san is great,

Tora-san is great. Japanese people have to be like that. That movie is something that could not be made in America, no matter how similar America and Japan are. Tora-san is the hometown of Japanese people.

He expressed his passion for the nationally popular series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi and directed by Yoji Yamada. This “love for Tora-san” led to the nationally popular “Tsuribaka nisshi” with its exquisite duo of “Su-san” (played by Taro Mikuni) and “Hama-chan” (played by Nishida).

The series began in 1988 and became Shochiku’s new signature series, replacing the “Tora-san” series after Kiyoshi Atsumi passed away in 1996. 22 films were produced until “Tsuribaka nisshi 20: Final,” released in December 2009, and it became Nishida’s signature work. Nishida, who is popular for his unique acting and distinctive characters, had this to say about drinking at the time: “Why did I go to a yakitori restaurant in Shinjuku?

He said, “For some reason, I drink whiskey at a yakitori restaurant in Shinjuku. When I’m in a good mood, I open a bottle. When I’m in a good mood, I open a bottle, and I’ve finally earned the status of a man.

When he starts drinking, he laughs a lot, but when he gets drunk, he turns into a crier.

I think being an actor is a very happy business,” he says. I wonder how it is that I can’t help but cry when I drink.

Laughter and melancholy mingled in the glass, and I thought I saw the world of Mr. Nishida, who skillfully played with humor and pathos. ……