Yusaku Matsuda

Yusaku Matsuda
Born	September 21, 1949(1949-09-21) Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan
Died	November 6, 1989(1989-11-06) (aged 40) Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1972–1989
Spouse	Michiko Kumamoto (1975–1981, divorced) Miyuki Kumagai (1983–1989, his death)

Yusaku Matsuda (松田 優作, Matsuda Yūsaku^?, September 21, 1949 – November 6, 1989) was a Japanese actor. Yusaku was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi to a Zainichi Korean mother. His father is not known. His date was wrongly recorded as 1950 on his birth records due to a parental error in filing a report.^{[citation needed]}

Career

He became an actor when he was 23 as a rookie police officer, the "Jeans Detective", for the 1970s Japanese TV detective drama called Taiyō ni hoero! (太陽にほえろ! "Bark at the Sun") in Japan. Apart from this role, his other defining role on television was in Tantei Monogatari (detective story), in which he starred as an incompetent private detective. He featured in many other TV shows and movies. He won the award for best actor at the 8th Hochi Film Award for Detective Story and The Family Game.^[1] He specialized in physical action movies. The 1989 movie Black Rain— directed by Ridley Scott and starring Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia— opened the door for Matsuda as an international actor. However, shortly after he made this movie, he died due to bladder cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 1988.^[2] His legacy was succeeded by his four children (including Ryuhei And Shota, both of whom became actors).

Personal Life

His mother Kaneko Matsuda (nee Kim) was Korean who married a Japanese man, who perished during World War II. After his death, Kaneko became a prostitute to support Yusaku's half brothers and met his father was married man. Matsuda never met his father. ^[3] In 1966, he stayed with his aunt in America for one year.

He married Michiko Kumamoto in 1975 and had one daughter, before they divorced in 1981 after six years of marriage. In 1983, he married Miyuki Kumagai (whom their relationship begun when she was 17) and had three children (two of them would follow his footsteps in acting), before his death in 1989. He would become a grandfather, when his son Ryuhei's daughter was born on July 4, 2009.

Battle with bladder cancer and death

In 1988, Matsuda was diagnosed with bladder cancer, before shooting began for Black Rain. According to his widow, Matsuda refused the doctor's orders of undergoing chemotherapy, as he thought it would affect his ability to act in the film. She also said that during the filming, he would urinate blood. After shooting of the film was finished in March 1989, his cancer had spread to his spine and lungs, making it inoperable. Director Ridley Scott and Matsuda's American co-stars Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, and Kate Capshaw highly praised him for his professionalism and performance, despite the fact that he was suffering.

On October 7, 1989, Matsuda was hospitalized; nearly a month later, on November 6, nearly seven weeks after Black Rain's release in theaters, Yusaku Matsuda passed away at 6:45 PM JST in a hospital in Tokyo; he was 40 years old. His death shocked the Japanese world, as he influenced a generation of fans through his work that is still being felt today.

He was buried in Nishitama cemetery, in Akiruno, Tokyo.^[4]

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role
1973	Ookami no Monsho	Haguro
1974	Tomodachi	Komatsu
	Ryoma Ansatsu	Yuta
	Abayo Dachi Ko
1976	Bouryoku Kyoshitsu
	Hito Goroshi
1977	Ningen no Shomei	Detective Koichiro Munesue
1978	Mottomo Kiken na Yugi	Shouhei Narumi
	Satsujin Yugi
1979	Midare Karakuri
	Oretachi ni Haka wa Nai	Katsuo Shima
	The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf	Tetsuya Asakura
	Shokei Yugi	Shohei Narumi
1980	Rape Hunter Nnerawareta Onna
	Bara no Hyoteki	Hotel guest
	The Beast to Die	Kunihiko Date
1981	Yokohama BJ Blues	BJ
	Kagero-za	Shungo Matsuzaki
1983	The Family Game	Katsu Yoshimoto
	Detective Story	Shuichi Tsujiyama
1985	Sorekara	Daisuke Nagai
1986	A Homansu	Kaze
1988	Wuthering Heights	Onimaru
	A Chaos of Flowers	Takeo Arishima
1989	Black Rain	Sato

Television

• Taiyō ni Hoero!
• Akai Meiro
• Oretachi no Kunsho
• Daitokai (Guest)
• Saraba Ronin (Guest)
• Daitokai Part II
• Daitsuiseki (Guest)
• Ameyukisan
• Tantei Monogatari
• Haru ga Kita
• Shi no Dangai
• Shin-Jiken Dr Stop
• Home Sweet Home (Guest)
• Anchan (Guest)
• Nettai ya
• Dansen
• Shin-Yumechiyo Nikki
• Onna Goroshi Abura no Jigoku
• Ou otoko
• Sakurako wa Warau
• Kareinaru Tsuiseki - with Florence Griffith-Joyner

Characters modeled after him

• "Aokiji", the role of a Marine Admiral in "One Piece" (manga).
• "Yagyu Jubei (柳生十兵衛)", the protagonist in "Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny" (video game).
• "Spike Spiegel", the main character in the series "Cowboy Bebop"
• "Jinpei Matsuda", a detective from the manga and anime "Case Closed"
• "Shohei Narumi", a detective (named after his role as Shohei Narumi) from the video game "Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army" and its sequel.

Honours

The asteroid 79333 Yusaku was named in his honour on 1 June 2007.

References

1. ^ "報知映画賞ヒストリー" (in Japanese). Cinema Hochi. http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/h_award/1983/. Retrieved 2010-01-24. 
2. ^ "Yusaku Matsuda, 39, Japanese Movie Actor". New York Times. 9 November 1989. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/09/obituaries/yusaku-matsuda-39-japanese-movie-actor.html. Retrieved 10 November 2010. 
3. ^ http://aisuru-yusaku.6.ql.bz/eigo2.htm
4. ^ "世界恩人巡礼大写真館" (in Japanese). http://kajipon.sakura.ne.jp/haka/h-haiyuu.htm#yuusaku. Retrieved 10 November 2010. 

External links

• Article about Matsuda's works and legacy
• Official Website of Yusaku Matsuda (in Japanese)
• Yusaku Matsuda at the Internet Movie Database
• Yusaku Matusda's life

Persondata
Name	Matsuda, Yusaku
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1949-09-21
Place of birth	Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan
Date of death	1989-11-06
Place of death