Masato Harada
Native name原田 眞人
Birth dateJuly 3, 1949
Birth placeNumazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Death dateDecember 8, 2025 (aged 76)
Death placeTokyo, Japan
OccupationFilm director · screenwriter · film editor · critic · actor
Years active1979–2025
SpouseMizuho Fukuda (m. 1976)
Masato Harada
Kanji原田 眞人
Hiraganaはらだ まさと
Katakanaハラダ マサト
RomajiHarada Masato

Masato Harada (原田 眞人, Harada Masato, July 3, 1949 – December 8, 2025) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, critic and occasional actor. He was nominated five times for the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Director, among other accolades.

Early life and education

Harada was born in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture and graduated from Higashi High School. In 1972, he went to London to learn English. He then attended Tokyo Visual Arts College and Pepperdine University.[1]

During the latter part of the decade, he lived in Los Angeles, where he was a US correspondent for Kinema Junpo and Takarajima magazines, writing criticism and news about the American film industry.[2] He cited American filmmakers Howard Hawks,[3] Sam Peckinpah,[4] and Don Siegel as influences, and befriended Hawks after meeting him at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.[1]

Career

Harada made his directorial debut in 1979, with Farewell, Movie Friend: Indian Summer. For several years, he worked as an English-to-Japanese subtitle and dubbing translator, including for two Star Wars films (The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), Good Morning, Vietnam, Full Metal Jacket, and the DVD release of A Clockwork Orange.[3]

He collaborated and showcased his works in Europe and US. His theatrical film credits included Gunhed (1989), Kamikaze Taxi (1995), Bounce Ko Gals (1997), Densen Uta (2007), Climber's High (2008), Chronicle of My Mother (2011), The Emperor in August (2015), and Sekigahara (2017). Among other accolades, he was nominated for the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Director five times. His 2001 film Inugami was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.

He was best known to foreign audiences for his acting roles as Omura in Edward Zwick's The Last Samurai and as Mita in Ronny Yu's Fearless. In both roles, he portrayed the villain who wants Japan to westernize under the Meiji Restoration in the meantime trying to remove the old ways.[5]

Harada also taught international relations at Nihon University.

Personal life

He married journalist Mizuho Fukuda in 1976.[6] They had a son, actor Eugene Harada.[1]

Death

Harada died in a Tokyo hospital on December 8, 2025, at the age of 76.[7]

Filmography

Director

Actor

References

  1. ^ 『ガンヘッド コンプリーション』ホビージャパン〈ホビージャパンMOOK1372〉、2024年3月29日（原著2013年）。ISBN 978-4-7986-3483-8。
  2. ^ 村上幸将. "映画監督の原田眞人さん死去 石原裕次郎賞3度、「日本のいちばん長い日」で天皇真正面から描く - おくやみ : 日刊スポーツ" (in Japanese). nikkansports.com. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
  3. ^ Gatto, Robin (August 15, 2001). "Midnight Eye interview: Masato Harada". Midnight Eye
  4. ^ "生涯監督作は14本…トラブルメーカー、サム・ペキンパーを映画監督の原田眞人が振り返る｜シネマトゥデイ" (in Japanese). シネマトゥデイ. 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
  5. ^ Schager, Nick (December 4, 2003). "The Last Samurai - Film Review". Slant Magazine
  6. ^ "MASATO HARADA". San Sebastian Festival. 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  7. ^ "映画監督の原田眞人さん死去 76歳 社会派の作品多く手がける". NHK One. 13 December 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  8. ^ "岡田准一がヤクザ組織に潜入、原田眞人の監督作「ヘルドッグス」来秋公開". Natalie. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  9. ^ "BAD LANDS バッド・ランズ". eiga.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.