King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Kunie Tanaka

Japanese actor

Born
23 November 1932, Toki
Died
24 March 2021
Citizenship
Japan, Empire of Japan
Occupation
actor
Films here
3

Kunie Tanaka (Japanese: 田中 邦衛, Hepburn: Tanaka Kunie; November 23, 1932 – March 24, 2021) was a Japanese actor. Tanaka first made a name for himself as the lecherous antagonist of the Wakadaishō series (1961–1981) of films. He is also well-known for his roles in Kinji Fukasaku's yakuza films, namely the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series (1973–1974), and for starring in the Kita no Kuni Kara (1981–2002) television series.

Tanaka was nominated for five Japanese Academy Awards, winning Best Supporting Actor for Gakko in 1993. He also won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor for Nogare no Machi and Izakaya Chōji in 1983, and the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for Uhohho Tankentai in 1986. For his contributions to the arts, the Japanese government decorated Tanaka with the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1999 and the Order of the Rising Sun in 2006.

Filmography (martial arts films)

YearFilmCredit
1965Sword of the BeastCast
1969GoyokinCast
2004The Hidden BladeCast

Frequent collaborators

External links

Facts from Wikidata Q326517 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.