Tetsuya Watari

Known for ActingBorn 1941-12-28Died 2020-08-10Awaji Island, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan

He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. Watari belonged to the karate club at university. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's Abare Kishidō, and received one of the Elan d'or Awards. At Nikkatsu, Watari appeared in such films as Tokyo Drifter and the Outlaw series. Watari was mentored at Nikkatsu by Yujiro Ishihara. When Nikkatsu shifted to focusing on Roman Porno films in the early seventies, Watari was one of many actors who left the studio. Watari was due to play the main role in Kinji Fukasaku’s film Battles Without Honor and Humanity, but because of illness he was not able to appear. In 1974, he was forced to step down from the lead role of Katsu Kaishū in the Taiga drama Katsu Kaishū on NHK, again because of illness, after appearing in only nine episodes. In 1976, Watari won best actor of Blue Ribbon Award for his role in Kinji Fukasaku`s film Yakuza Graveyard. In Japan, Watari is probably still best known for his role as Keisuke Daiomon in the detective series "Seibu Keisatsu" on TV Asahi. He also appeared in the popular detective drama "Taiyō ni Hoero!" as a replacement for Yujiro Ishihara in 1986. Watari became the president of Ishihara Promotion after Yujiro's death in 1987 but in 2011 he resigned due to his declining health. On June 10, 2015 he was hospitalised after suffering a heart attack and underwent surgery. Seven days later it was announced that he was in rehabilitation and would be discharged from hospital in about a month. He had a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who was also an actor. As a singer, Watari is known for his hit song "Kuchinashi no Hana" and he appeared in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1974 and 1993. He died of pneumonia on August 10, 2020, at the age of 78.Read more

Movies & web series

Clockwork- Goodbye Winter

Flower and Dragon

Theater Of Life

Kanto Kanbu-kai

Profile of a Boss' Son

The Cleanup

The Wild Sea

The Fatal Raid

The Blazing Continent

East China Sea

Monument to the Girl's Corps

陽のあたる坂道

The Hurricane Drummer

Hideyoshi

Flower of Ice

Bloody Journal of the Shinsengumi

Kanto Drifter

Law of the Outlaw

Epic Chushingura

Pay Off Your Debt!

Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood

The Stormy Man

The Heart of Hiroshima

Red Glass

Abduction

SMAP×SMAP

Yoshitsune

Step on the Gas!

三国志

Clouds Over the Hill

Human Revolution II

Ruthless Gambler

Showdown at Nagasaki

The Final Winner?

Diary of Early Winter Shower

Stray Dog

AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo

It Is a Long Walk

The Blossom and the Sword

Lady Joker

Great Conquest: The Romance of Three Kingdoms

Brother

No Dropping Out: Back to School at 35

Seibu Keisatsu

Tokyo Drifter

Conflagration

The Human Revolution

The Code of Man