Satō Koichi Talks About His Beginnings and His Drive to Keep Competing With Younger Actors

As the son of Rentarō Mikuni

“They say it surprises people, but there was a time when I had no work. I was around 28. I couldn’t make a living, so I tried to take a part-time job, but the president of my agency stopped me. Instead, he lent me 200,000 yen, which I used to pay rent and living expenses. It was a tough time, but not once did I ever think about quitting acting.”

With strong, unwavering words, actor Koichi Sato (64) revealed his enduring passion. He made his debut at 19 in the NHK drama Zoku-zoku Jiken: Tsuki no Keshiki and now celebrates a 45-year career.

He has appeared in more than 130 films, winning the Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor twice: for Crest of Betrayal (1994) and 64: Part I (2016). Even now, at times he appears in about ten projects a year—his presence only continues to grow.

He is undeniably one of the most prominent actors in Japanese entertainment. The foundation of his long-running career began when he visited film sets as a child with his father, legendary actor Rentarō Mikuni (d. age 90).

“He was hardly ever home, but he often took me to the studios. Rows of sound stages, and so many people working together to create a single film—that sight remains vivid in my memory.

Acting isn’t a traditional performing art that’s passed down between generations. But as someone who chose this path in life, I’m grateful to Mikuni for letting me experience the film world firsthand as a child.”

In the 1960s, when more than 500 Japanese films were produced each year, the energetic atmosphere of film sets deeply moved young Sato. At the same time, he recalls feeling suffocated by the label the son of the free-spirited eccentric actor Rentarō Mikuni.

“All the adults around me knew who my father was, so I was always seen through the lens of being an actor’s kid. When my friends’ parents or neighbors said things like ‘It must be hard for you that your father never comes home,’ I could sense—even as a child—that deep down they were saying, ‘Serves him right.’ So I never said out loud that I wanted to become an actor.”

When Sato was in fifth grade, Mikuni and his mother divorced. Mikuni later recounted on television that he took his son to Jukkoku Pass (Shizuoka) and said:

“This is where we part ways. From today, we are strangers. From now on, live your life on your own.”

Even so, the flame of acting inside young Sato never went out. Around this time, he began going alone to movie theaters.

“When I entered elementary school, I started watching movies on TV. But since there were no videotapes back then, the only way to see classics was at second-run and revival theaters. With my allowance in hand, I’d take the bus to cinemas in Shinjuku or Ikebukuro. At first, I was moved by big Hollywood films like West Side Story and Ben-Hur. But by junior high, I naturally gravitated toward Japanese cinema. Movies shifted from a distant dream to something more real for me.

I watched works by famous directors like Akira Kurosawa and Tomu Uchida. The first time I saw The Strait of Hunger(1965), starring Mikuni, was at the now-closed Marunouchi Toei during a revival screening.”

In his second year of high school, Sato left home and started living alone. After graduating, he entered a vocational school with a film department. While enrolled, he made his debut, and in 1981 appeared in Gate of Youth, winning the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Newcomer.
He quickly rose to prominence and was labeled a “second-generation actor.” His feelings, however, were complicated.

“Of course, I rebelled internally. By entering the same world, the ‘Rentarō Mikuni’s son’ pressure only intensified. I’m sure I benefited from his name at times, but I found it bothersome to be asked about Mikuni everywhere I went. I didn’t say it out loud, but it probably showed in my attitude.”

As a result, the public labeled him arrogant, and rumors spread about a strained relationship with his father. But Sato says their relationship was never bad. In fact, his turning point came in his late twenties, when he saw director Junji Sakamoto’s debut film Dotsuitarunen (1989) with Mikuni.

“Because Mikuni was there, Sakamoto came over to greet him, and we hit it off. That led to my appearance in Tokarev(1994), which Sakamoto wrote and directed.

I played a child-kidnapping murderer. The budget ran out at one point and filming stopped for a year. But that allowed me to delve deeply into the character’s madness.

The film didn’t do well commercially, but it earned the response: ‘Koichi Sato can perform like this too.’ After that, offers began coming in.”

A performance that betrays viewers’ expectations

As Koichi Sato accumulated achievements, people eventually stopped calling him a second-generation actor. Yet he says he always felt the presence of his father, Rentarō Mikuni.
This was true even when he appeared in the 2004 NHK Taiga drama Shinsengumi!.

“When Koki Mitani (64), the scriptwriter, asked me to play Serizawa Kamo, the first image that came to mind was my father’s Serizawa in the 1969 film Shinsengumi, produced by Mifune Productions.

Serizawa is generally seen as a rough, violent man, but my father’s portrayal was of a deeply human, clumsy, emotionally complex figure—and it stayed with me. When I researched him, I learned that Serizawa was actually from a good family, well-educated, and even taught reading and writing to children. But he became tyrannical due to his inferiority complex toward Kondō Isami.

When I explained this to Mitani-san, he said he had also seen my father’s performance. I thought, ‘Ah, that’s why he chose me’ (laughs). I told him I wanted to express that same vulnerability—not just play him as a villain—and he let me do it.”

Although Sato’s screen time as Serizawa was brief, the character left a powerful impression on viewers. Sato laughs, saying, “I get bored easily, so I could never play the same role for a whole year. Dying after three months is just right for me.”

But after this role, his approach to portraying real historical figures changed.

“In the NHK drama Simulation: Japan’s Defeat in the Summer of 1941, which aired this year, I played Hideki Tōjō. I learned that he actually cared deeply about others’ opinions, and I expanded the character from there. Humans are multifaceted and complex. I don’t want to just play them as people imagine them—I want to show new sides, to betray the audience in a good way.”

His latest film, On the Other Side of the Summit, You Are There, opened on October 31.
Based on the true story of mountaineer Junko Tabei (d. age 77), the first woman to summit Everest, Sato plays the devoted husband supporting the heroine, played by Sayuri Yoshinaga.
But filming came with a unique challenge.

“Tabei-san passed away in 2016, but her husband is still alive and visited the film set. That meant we could hear real stories and feelings directly from him—not just rely on documents. But direction sometimes requires exaggeration or intentional alteration for storytelling.
Finding the balance—portraying him truthfully without being too close—was difficult.”

To help build their on-screen bond, Sato suggested that he and Yoshinaga address each other as “Mother” and “Father,” just like in the film.

“Yoshinaga-san was already a huge star when I entered the industry. I never imagined we’d play a married couple. But she never acts superior—she always looks at the role with a humble, level perspective. She kindly accepted my suggestion. Although it looks like I’m the one supporting her, she was actually supporting me. I think we were able to cultivate that husband-and-wife connection.”

The film also depicts the struggles of a son who resents being compared to his famous mother. In the end, the mother and son climb Mt. Fuji together—a key emotional moment.

Going back 29 years, Sato and Mikuni’s father–son dynamic became a topic when they played parent and child in the 1996 Oishinbo drama. But they appeared together only a few times—fueling rumors of discord.

“We kept raising the bar for ourselves—saying, ‘If we work together, it must be with this director, on this kind of film.’ Because of that, we missed our chance. I’m glad we got to do Oishinbo, but I do regret not doing one or two more films with Mikuni while he was healthy.

So now I tell actors in similar situations: ‘If you set the bar too high, you’ll regret it.’ And I also want to act with my own son someday. Whether that becomes nourishment is different for everyone, but since we chose the same path, I think we should see each other’s work.”

Sato exposed his son Kanichiro (29) to film sets from a young age, just as Mikuni did for him.
After debuting following high school, Kanichiro performed notably as Kugyō—the assassin of Minamoto no Sanetomo—in the 2022 NHK Taiga drama The 13 Lords of the Shogun, where Sato also appeared. Like his father once did, Kanichiro is now forging his own path as an actor—unbound by the second-generation label.

Something he began at his wife’s suggestion

Sato will turn 65 this December. In On the Other Side of the Summit, You Are There, he filmed mountain-climbing scenes, and in the 2023 boxing drama Rage in Spring, he played an aging former boxer with nimble footwork. Many may wonder how he maintains his body to play such diverse roles.

“I don’t normally train at a gym. But recently, I worked with Mitsuko Oka, and at 77, her movements were unbelievably graceful, without any waste. She told me she runs 7–8 kilometers a week. It made me realize how important small daily habits are.

For me, golf plays that role. At one point I played nearly 100 rounds a year, and even now I go to the course at least once a week. Of course, I feel my stamina declining compared to before, but I don’t want to lose to the younger guys. I still want to hit 250 yards until I’m 70. It’s the same with acting—I always have the feeling that I won’t be outdone.”

Regarding the younger actors he has worked with, he says, “They’re far more earnest than I was at their age.”

“So many of them have a clear vision for their future—it’s impressive. When I was young, I didn’t have the mental space to think that far ahead. I focused on each project one at a time which sounds good, but really, I was just doing my best to breathe life into whatever was right in front of me. I even thought, ‘As long as the film remains after I’m gone, that’s enough.’

But reality is different. Film deteriorates unless it’s properly preserved. And movies fade away if people don’t watch them. In truth, I rarely meet anyone in their twenties who says, ‘I often watch movies from the 1950s and 60s.’ Even films that shine brightly today will one day burn out like the flame of a candle.

Still, lately I’ve come to think that’s okay. Movies have the power to give courage—or even save a life—at the moment someone watches them.”

He also revealed that he devotes energy to something outside of acting. Since around 2018, he and his wife—whom he married in 1993—have been participating in a foster parent program, caring for infants and children from orphanages and child welfare facilities on weekends and during summer vacations. His wife had already been volunteering at such facilities, and it was at her suggestion that they began. They have since interacted with more than 20 children.

“These children carry many circumstances, yet they still try to move forward positively. Seeing that teaches me a lot. It also reminds me that I, too, am supported by the people around me.

Honestly, I don’t know what would have happened to me without my wife (laughs).
Being grateful to the person beside you every day—that accumulation becomes your way of life.”

Never arrogant, always humble—Koichi Sato is truly a model example of a great actor.

From the November 14-21, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”