Beginning his screen career at five with the television drama Ōedo Sōsamō, the actor quickly became one of Japan’s most recognizable child performers of the 1980s, appearing in long-running series such as Otoko wa Tsurai yo, where he played Tora-san’s nephew, and Kita no Kuni kara. Transitioning to adult roles, he featured in Akira Kurosawa’s Rhapsody in August and Madadayo, and earned critical ac…
