Akiji Kobayashi

Born: 1930-09-06

Akiji Kobayashi (小林昭二, Kobayashi Akiji, September 6, 1930 – August 27, 1996), sometimes credited as Shōji Kobayashi, was a Japanese actor. He attended Nihon University College of Art, but withdrew before completing his degree and joined the Haiyuza Theatre Company in 1949. He made his film debut with Satsujin Yogisha in 1952. He is best known in the West for portraying the role of Captain Toshio Muramatsu in the 1966-1967 television series, Ultraman. From 1983-84, he appeared in the popular television detective series Seibu Keisatsu. His other notable television role was Tōbei Tachibana ("Oya-san") in several series of the Kamen Rider franchise. He was one of Kon Ichikawa's favorite actors, appearing in 12 Ichikawa films. His final film appearance was Yatsuhaka-mura as Head of a Factory directed by Kon Ichikawa in 1996. He was the official dubbing artist of John Wayne and Richard Crenna. Kobayashi died of lung cancer in Yokohama on August 27, 1996, ten days before his 66th birthday.


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Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx

as Ozunu Kurokuwa
Released: 1972-04-22

In the second film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja...

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Harakiri

as uncredited
Released: 1962-09-15

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi....

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Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

as Yuzo Tsuchiashi
Released: 1991-12-14

The Futurians, time-travelers from the 23rd century, arrive in Japan to warn them of the...

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Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

as Senior sergeant
Released: 1996-07-12

A strange meteor lands in Japan and unleashes hundreds of insect-like "Legion" creatures bent on...

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The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity

as Nonaka Shôi
Released: 1959-11-20

Kaji is sent to the Japanese army labeled Red and is mistreated by the vets. Along his...

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Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril

as Narrator
Released: 1972-12-30

In the fourth film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed...

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Kwaidan

as (segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Released: 1965-01-06

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four...

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Black Rain

as Katayama
Released: 1989-05-13

Shigematsu Shizuma, who lives with his family in a village near Fukuyama, was in Hiroshima with...

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Kamen Rider SD: Strange?! Kumo Otoko

as Toubei Tachibana (voice)
Released: 1993-01-24

"Kamen Rider SD: Strange!? Kumo Otoko" is an animated OVA based on the gag manga Kamen Rider SD:...

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Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance

as Narrator
Released: 1972-01-15

In this first film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, adapted from the manga by Kazuo Koike, we...

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Shogun Assassin

as Lord Kurogawa
Released: 1980-11-11

A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed...

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Suspicion

as Chief of Police, Ishihara
Released: 1982-09-11

A car going at 25 mph plunges into the sea at Shinko Harbour, Toyama prefecture. Inside is the...

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Godzilla vs. Mothra

as Yuzo Tsuchiashi
Released: 1992-12-12

Mothra's dark counterpart, Battra, emerges to eliminate humanity on behalf of the Earth. Two...

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Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice

as uncredited
Released: 1972-12-30

Fearless Edo-period police inspector Hanzo Itami, nicknamed The Razor, has developed his own...

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The Makioka Sisters

as Seitaro Jinba
Released: 1983-05-21

This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto...

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Kamen Rider V3 vs. Destron Mutants

as Tobei Tachibana
Released: 1973-07-18

A physicist named Tetsuo Okita discovers a new mineral called "Satanium," which is more powerful...

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Island of Hell

as Takezo
Released: 1977-08-27

A scruffy detective investigates the murders of three sisters on a small Japanese island in 1946.

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Youth of the Beast

as Tatsuo Nomoto
Released: 1963-04-21

When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo's underworld explodes with...

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Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature

as Capt. Toshio Muramatsu
Released: 1967-07-22

The film consists of re-edited material from the original television series Ultraman. Episodes...

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Queen Bee

as Detective Kogure
Released: 1978-02-11

To solve the mystery of a murder of an old governess which takes place at a wealthy Daidoji...

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Getting Any?

as Chief of World Defence Force
Released: 1995-02-11

While pursuing his dream of having car sex, a goofy middle-aged man makes all the wrong moves...

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Kamen Rider V3: The Movie

as Tōbei Tachibana
Released: 1973-03-16

During a battle against Destron's forces, Shiro Kazami helps a priest who has been attacked by...

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47 Ronin

as uncredited
Released: 1994-10-22

Kon Ichikawa's retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is...

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Like the Clouds, Like the Wind

as Konton
Released: 1990-03-21

Ginga is a simple—yet energetic—country girl, living with her father far from the capital city...

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The Inugami Family

as Kokichi Inugami
Released: 1976-10-16

When a tycoon passes away, he unexpectedly leaves the family fortune to outsider Tamayo on the...

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This Transient Life

as uncredited
Released: 1970-08-08

Near a remote Buddhist monastery, a young man falls in love with his sister and gets her...

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All Together! Seven Kamen Riders!!

as Tōbei Tachibana
Released: 1976-01-03

The special opens with Tachibana Tōbei taking some children to a Kamen Rider roadshow. Just as...

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Go Go Kamen Rider

as Tobei Tachibana
Released: 1971-07-18

The Shocker Organization sends two of its Inhumanoids to destroy an atomic plant, but their plan...

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Pleasures of the Flesh

as Mari's pimp
Released: 1965-08-29

A corrupt businessman blackmails the lovelorn reprobate Atsushi into watching over his suitcase...

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Ultraman: Great Monster Decisive Battle

as Toshio Muramatsu
Released: 1979-07-21

A 1979 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Tsuburaya Productions, consisting of re-edited...

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Kamen Rider Amazon: The Movie

as Tōbei Tachibana
Released: 1975-03-21

The Kamen Rider Amazon movie is a theatrical version of episode 16, Garander's Tokyo Sea of...

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Mandala

as uncredited
Released: 1971-09-11

Two university students from Kyoto decide to swap partners and spend the night in an isolated...

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Akio Jissoji's Ultraman

as Captain Toshio Muramatsu
Released: 1979-03-17

Akio Jissoji's Ultraman is a 1979 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Akio Jissoji. It is...

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Ultraman Zearth

as Fisherman
Released: 1996-03-09

Ultraman Zearth hails from The Land of Pikari in Nebula Z95. He has a big red face and dislikes...

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The Men Who Made Ultraman

as uncredited
Released: 1989-03-21

A biographical dramatization about the production of the original Ultraman, the beloved classic...

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Yuki

as Jinjii (voice)
Released: 1981-08-09

Up in Heaven, Yuki’s grandparents decide that, having turned thirteen years old, she must go...

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The Longest Tunnel

as uncredited
Released: 1982-10-16

After a passenger ship sinks in 1954, Go Akutsu devises a life-saving project in the form of a...

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Daigoro vs. Goliath

as Hitoshi Suzuki
Released: 1972-12-17

An inventor and his family try to raise funds to feed a giant monster named Daigoro so that he...

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Utamaro's World

as uncredited
Released: 1977-02-20

Utamaro was an artist who lived in Edo (which was later to become modern-day Tokyo) in the late...

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Hanuman and the Five Kamen Riders

as Tobei Tachibana
Released: 1975-03-15

With an unquenchable thirst for the blood of virgin women, the wicked King Dark enslaves the...

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Prison Break

as uncredited
Released: 1969-08-30

Set up to be the patsy by a rival gang, Furuta Makoto attacks the yakuza boss he thinks is...

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Desperate Pursuit

as Inoue
Released: 1986-05-17

In the desert of Egypt, Kurata, the CEO of the Japanese corporation Tokokaihatsu, is killed by a...

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The Empty Table

as uncredited
Released: 1985-11-01

One year has passed since the Kidojis' eldest son Otohiko was arrested for his part in a...

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Kamen Rider vs. Shocker

as Tobei Tachibana
Released: 1972-03-17

Professor Daidōji has developed a gravity machine called the GX Device. Unfortunately, Shocker...

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Death Shadows

as uncredited
Released: 1986-09-20

Three men sentenced to death are spared and changed into “shadows executioners”, a group of...

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Karate Cop

as Asst Chief Fuji
Released: 1982-04-17

A martial arts master/detective investigates a series of murders and helps a deaf bathhouse...

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The House of Hanging

as Sannosuke
Released: 1979-05-26

This time, Kousuke investigates a murder in a hospital. The murderer leaves misleading evidence...

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Foundry Town

as Hei-san
Released: 1962-04-08

Set in Kawaguchi in the early 60s, this simple story chronicles the lives of foundry families...

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Lullaby to Kill

as Koreya Kusakabe (manager)
Released: 1977-04-02

Kôsuke Kindaichi, a somewhat peculiar private detective, visits a remote town. He meets a police...

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The Pirates of Buban

as uncredited
Released: 1972-01-01

By going to the Philippines, Imamura comes to meet people living in an extreme poverty. He...

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The Black Hood

as uncredited
Released: 1981-12-03

A horse-riding samurai fights villains.

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Run, Melos!

as Dionysus II (voice)
Released: 1992-07-25

The movie tells the story of Melos, a Greek country man that gets arrested and accused of...

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The Tale of Jean Valjean

as Jean Valjean (voice)
Released: 1979-09-15

In 19th century France, an escaped convict seeks redemption while caring for a young woman whose...

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Internal Sleuth

as uncredited
Released: 1973-04-21

When 150 guns are stolen from Iwakuni base and two police officers are shot dead, a detective...

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The Birth of Ultraman

as Toshio Muramatsu
Released: 1966-07-10

In this recorded stage debut of the original Ultraman, self-proclaimed world's number one kaiju...

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The Curse of the Ghost

as Naosuke
Released: 1969-06-28

About 1786 the doings of a demented lord results in many masterless samurai, including Iyemon...

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Kamen Rider vs. Ambassador Hell

as Tōbei Tachibana
Released: 1972-07-16

Takeshi Hongo and FBI agent Kazuya Taki fake their deaths when they are attacked by Shocker...

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Koto: The Ancient City

as uncredited
Released: 1980-12-20

Chieko (Momoe Yamaguchi) has been raised as the only child of parents who run a dry goods store....

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Master Swordsman Hirate Miki - Duel in Tone

as uncredited
Released: 1997-09-17

Zoushu Hirate was the acting master of Chibashusaku Dojo in the Hokushinitto style. His wife was...

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Fight of the Gamblers

as uncredited
Released: 1963-12-25

Ryuji Oshima, a gambler, kills Saiga in self-defense, and considering himself unfit to lead men,...

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Kogarashi Monjirō Returns

as uncredited
Released: 1993-11-20

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Revive! Ultraman

as uncredited
Released: 1996-03-09

The film is composed of stock footage from the original Ultraman television series with...

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Lonely Heart

as uncredited
Released: 1981-10-10

A police procedural surrounding murder at a bookstore and the private lives of the cops trying...

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Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter 5 - The Mystery of the Skull Wife

as uncredited
Released: 1971-08-01

Fifth film of "Mysterious Thirteen Nights" series.

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Noh Mask Murders

as uncredited
Released: 1991-03-15

The patriarch of a bickering family announces his retirement, stirring competition about who...

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Ultra Q The Movie: Legend of the Stars

as Detective
Released: 1990-04-14

A series of serial murders occurred in a historic ruins where a TV crew is shooting a documentary.

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Ten Duels of Young Shingo: Chapter 2

as uncredited
Released: 1982-02-26

Brings Shingo face to face against Yagyu Tajima, the Shogun’s fencing instructor in a match that...

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Immortal Kamen Rider Special

as Tobei Tachibana
Released: 1979-09-08

A TV special, centered on introduction of Skyrider.

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Kamen Rider Stronger: The Movie

as Tôbei Tachibana
Released: 1975-07-26

Waniida from Black Satan attacks a young boy and long-time Kamen Rider ally Tōbei Tachibana, but...

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Return of Ultraman: Terror of the Waterspout Monsters

as Captain Takamura
Released: 1971-12-12

A theatrical release of The Return of Ultraman episodes 13-14. It was released on December 12,...

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Hana no furu gogo

as uncredited
Released: 1989-10-07

A widowed restaurateur is faced with scandal after discovering her late husband had a child out...

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Ultraman: Terror on Route 87

as Toshio Muramatsu
Released: 1989-04-28

Theatrical version of episode 20 of Ultraman (1966 TV series). An enormous bird-monster is...

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Five Riders vs. King Dark

as Tobei Tachibana
Released: 1974-07-25

During a motocross practice, Keisuke Jin is ambushed by two Myth Cyborgs created by a secret...

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ウルトラマン前夜祭 ウルトラマン誕生

as uncredited
Released: 1966-07-10

Video recording of a public event featuring Ultraman, held at the Suginami Public Hall in Tokyo...

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The Kagestar: The Movie

as Inspector Tonda
Released: 1976-07-18

The superhero The Kagestar fights the monsters of the Satan Empire.

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The Woman Who Calls for Corpses

as uncredited
Released: 1973-02-05

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Kamen Rider

as Tobei Tachibana
First aired: 1971-04-03

Takeshi Hongo is a promising young man with a passion for motorcycle racing. However, his dreams...

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Tales of the Bizarre

as uncredited
First aired: 1990-04-19

Inspired by American TV movies like "Hitchcock Theater" and "The Twilight Zone," the show...

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Attack, Jun

as uncredited
First aired: 1979-01-05

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Ultraman

as Captain 'Cap' Toshio Muramatsu
First aired: 1966-07-17

Hayata is a member of the Science Patrol, an organization tasked with investigating bizarre...

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宇宙少年ソラン

as ワイラー
First aired: 1965-05-04

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Professional Killers

as uncredited
First aired: 1972-09-02

A shikakenin was an under-the-cover trade that undertook killing in Edo. Hanemon of Otowa, an...

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Sabu and Ichi's Detective Stories

as uncredited
First aired: 1968-10-03

The series follows the adventures of Sabu, a young Edo bakufu investigator traveling with the...

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The Kagestar

as Inspector Keibu Tonda
First aired: 1976-04-05

While rescuing his wealthy boss's daughter from kidnappers, Sugata Kageoh, struck by an electric...

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Kojika Monogatari

as ペニー
First aired: 1983-11-08

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Ie Naki Ko

as uncredited
First aired: 1994-04-16

"Don't pity me, just give me money." A smart little girl, Suzu, for the sake of her beloved sick...

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