was a Japanese actor.
Biography
Born in Tokyo, Ishihama made his film debut in 1951, at the age of sixteen, in the drama film Boyhood, whilst still in high school.
He appeared in films directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, Yoshitarō Nomura, and Masaki Kobayashi. He also had an active stage career and played supporting roles in various TV programmes, including NHK's Taiga dramas, jidaigeki (Japanese period dramas), and tokusatsu productions.
Some of his most notable roles include the student Mizuhara who accompanies a troupe of travelling performers on their journey in Yoshitarō Nomura's The Dancing Girl of Izu (1954) and Motome Chijiwa in Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri—a young rōnin fallen on hard times who is forced to follow through on a threat to commit seppuku. The ritual is made particularly excruciating and humiliating as he is forced to use a bamboo wakizashi, having sold his real blades. Ishihama had previously worked with Kobayashi on No Greater Love (1959), the first film in Kobayashi's epic war trilogy The Human Condition, where he plays Chen, a Chinese assistant to the labour camp supervisor, Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai).
Ishihama served as president of the Japan Film Actors Association from 2009 to 2011.
His daughter is the actress Miki Ishihama.
Selected Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotes1951BoyhoodIchirō1951Fireworks over the SeaIppei Nagisa1952NamiJun1954Autumn InterludeHiroshi Sakai1954Somewhere Beneath the Wide SkyNoboru1954Izu no odorikoMizuhara1955The Tattered WingsRyôichi1955Christ in BronzeKichizaburo1957Elegy of the NorthMikio Fusada1959The Human Condition I: No Greater LoveChen1961Immortal LoveYukata1962HarakiriChijiiwa Motome1964DaydreamKurahashi1968The Snow WomanYosaku1992Shin Kamen Rider: PrologueDaimon Kazamatsuri
Television +DateTitleRoleNotes1981Onna TaikōkiAkechi MitsuhideTaiga drama1985–1986Sanada TaiheikiUkita Hideie1986–1987Choushinsei FlashmanDr. Tokimura1989–1990The Mobile Cop JibanSeiichi Yanagida1991–1992Super Rescue SolbrainEizo Kanzaki1997Mōri MotonariFukubara SadatoshiTaiga drama
References
External links
Akira Ishihama at MUBI
Akira Ishihama at TV Drama Database (in Japanese) Akira Ishihama at KINENOTE Akira Ishihama at allcinema