--- name: "Eiji Okada" canonical: "https://film.one/person/eiji-okada" fi1m_id: "eiji-okada" imdb_id: "nm0645402" tmdb_id: 25466 wikidata_id: "Q139253" roles: ["Actor"] born: "13 June 1920" died: "14 September 1995" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-25T08:46:08.019086+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Eiji Okada ## Identity Eiji Okada - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/eiji-okada - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** eiji-okada - **IMDb ID:** nm0645402 - **TMDB ID:** 25466 - **Wikidata ID:** Q139253 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiji_Okada, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q139253, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0645402/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/25466 Actor. Born 13 June 1920 in Choshi, Chiba, Japan. Died 14 September 1995. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 13 June 1920, Choshi, Chiba, Japan - **Died:** 14 September 1995 - **Also known as:** Okada Eiji, Эйдзи Окада - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiji_Okada, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q139253, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0645402/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/25466 ## Fi1m on Eiji Okada > Eiji Okada makes the effort of listening worth watching. His work in *Hiroshima Mon Amour* is patient and affecting, keeping the attraction alive without pretending that either person can easily understand the other. In *Hiroshima Mon Amour* (1959), Emmanuelle Riva's Elle keeps trying to speak, and Eiji Okada's Lui gives her words someone to reach. His part depends on sustaining the attraction without suggesting that understanding will follow if they only talk long enough. It is a finely judged performance, generous to Riva and alert to the difficulty between the characters. We were moved by their exchanges because Okada makes her repeated efforts to explain herself feel worth making, even when speech seems to be getting her nowhere. His first film was *Until the Day We Meet Again* (1950), and the ensuing decade included dramas directed by Tadashi Imai. Alain Resnais's *Hiroshima Mon Amour* brought international recognition. Okada learnt its French dialogue phonetically, without speaking the language. That is striking preparation, but the relationship with Riva matters more to us than the difficulty of the task. Some dialogue is overworked; the actors keep its repetitions rooted in the effort to communicate, giving us a reason to stay with the questions about memory. Hiroshi Teshigahara's *Woman in the Dunes* (1964), adapted from Kōbō Abe, gives that introspection a harsher setting. Okada plays Niki Jumpei, an entomologist trapped in circumstances he has to learn to live with. His work in this period also included a Hollywood role opposite Marlon Brando in *The Ugly American* (1963). With Teshigahara and Abe again, he took the supporting role of the Boss in *The Face of Another* (1966). The later career includes character parts in *Lady Snowblood* (1973) and Sidney Pollack's *The Yakuza* (1974). We would not recommend every film on the strength of his presence, or mistake the length of the credits for a measure of the acting. Begin with *Hiroshima Mon Amour*, and give the person listening as much attention as the person speaking. ## Biography Eiji Okada was a Japanese film actor. He was born on 13 June 1920 in Chōshi, Chiba, and died on 14 September 1995 in Japan. Okada served in the Japanese army during the Second World War. Before becoming an actor he worked as a miner and a travelling salesman. His first film role came in 1950. He appeared as Lui in Alain Resnais's *Hiroshima Mon Amour* (1959) and as the entomologist Niki Jumpei in Hiroshi Teshigahara's *Woman in the Dunes* (1964). Other notable credits include *The Face of Another* (1966), *Lady Snowblood* (1973) and *The Yakuza* (1974). Okada was married to Aiko Wasa, with whom he ran a theatre company in Japan. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Hiroshima Mon Amour* (1959), Fi1m 87, as Lui — [page](https://film.one/film/hiroshima-mon-amour.md) ## Complete filmography (149) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Secret Liaisons* (1995), Actor - *The Stairway to the Distant Past* (1995), as White Man - *Traffic Jam* (1991), Actor - *Heat Wave* (1991), as Masakichi Ono - *Summer of the Lion Kings* (1991), Actor - *Onihei Hankachō* (1989), series, Actor - *Green Requiem* (1988), Actor - *Crisis at Edo Castle - Angry Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu* (1987), series, Actor - *Spring Bell* (1985), as Hachiro Ishimoto - *Agi, the Fury of Evil* (1984), as Omi-no-kami - *不倫　この愛が裁けますか* (1984), Actor - *Antarctica* (1983), as Ozawa Taicho - *Praying Mantis* (1983), as Taichi Dôjima - *Lady on 6th Street: Taste of Honey* (1982), as Kozo Hisamatsu - *Cliff of Death* (1982), Actor - *Kamikaze, the Adventurer* (1981), Actor - *Don't Touch the Bride! My Son is a Murderer* (1981), Actor - *Crazed Fruit* (1981), as Tôno, Chika's step father(東野保彦) - *The S.S. Happiness Sets Sail* (1980), Actor - *Magnitude 7.9* (1980), as Professor Watanabe - *A Woman Embraced by a Ghost: Departures from the Dead* (1980), Actor - *Tokyo Earthquake Magnitude 8.1* (1980), Actor - *The Strangling* (1979), as Yoshio Morikawa - *Dog of Fortune* (1979), as Shuhei Agata - *Blood Type: Blue* (1978), as Dr. Hyodo - *The Beauty of the Black Narcissus* (1978), Actor - *August Without Emperor* (1978), as Assistant General Tokunaga - *Take Me Away!* (1978), as Ryunosuke Tamaru - *The Glacier Fox* (1978), as Narrator (voice) - *Love and Faith* (1978), as Ankokuji - *Lost Love* (1978), as Professor Kamiyama - *Utamaro's World* (1977), as Tanuma - *Edogawa Rampo no bijo shirīzu* (1977), series, Actor - *Japanese Humanity and Justice* (1977), Actor - *The Young* (1977), Actor - *Yokomizo Seishi Series* (1977), series, Actor - *The Gate of Youth Part 2* (1977), Actor - *The Alaska Story* (1977), as Amaohka - *Love in the North* (1976), Actor - *Stars and Storms* (1976), Actor - *Permanent Blue* (1976), Actor - *Cobra 2* (1976), as Kudo - *Lullaby of the Earth* (1976), as Evangelist - *Frozen River* (1976), Actor - *Manhunt* (1976), Actor - *Oretachi no Tabi* (1975), series, Actor - *なつかしき海の歌* (1975), series, Actor - *Kyukei no Koya* (1975), Actor - *I Am a Cat* (1975), as Bunmei - *Hadashi no seishun* (1975), Actor - *ESPY* (1974), as Salabad - *The Yakuza* (1974), as Tono - *Scalpel* (1974), as Kokubo - *My Way* (1974), as Lawyer - *Lady Snowblood* (1973), as Gishirō Tsukamoto - *Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons* (1973), as Shogen Wakita - *Zatoichi's Conspiracy* (1973), as Shinbei - *The Killing Game* (1973), Actor - *Red Target* (1972), as Mike Tachibana - *Silence* (1971), as Inoue Chikugonokami - *Evil Spirits in the Darkness* (1971), Actor - *The Earth is Born Again* (1971), as Mitsuo Iwashita - *Dedicated Treasures of Horyuji-Temple* (1971), as (voice) - *This Transient Life* (1970), as Mori - *Records of Bloodshed* (1970), as Seiichiro Machida - *Rebel Against Glory* (1970), Actor - *Vixen* (1969), as Nobuyuki Ishido - *Bullet Wound* (1969), Actor - *夕陽の恋人* (1969), Actor - *Secret Information* (1968), as Toru Kijima - *Devil in My Flesh* (1968), Actor - *Tattooed Temptress* (1968), Actor - *The Sands of Kurobe* (1968), Actor - *Gambler's Farewell* (1968), as Riichirô Maejima - *The Will to Live* (1967), Actor - *Portrait of Chieko* (1967), as Tsubaki - *The Rose Colored Two* (1967), as Director Iwamoto - *The X from Outer Space* (1967), as Dr. Kato - *Rebellion of Japan* (1967), Actor - *The Face of Another* (1966), as The Boss - *A Sky Full of Tears* (1966), as Nagai - *Pretty Devil Yoko* (1966), as Asai - *Japan's Most Chivalrous* (1966), as Shuji Onoda - *Samurai Spy* (1965), as Tatewaki Koriyama - *Sanshiro Sugata* (1965), as Gennosuke / Tesshin - *Haigo no hito* (1965), as Masaaki Izumida - *The Scarlet Camellia* (1964), as Genjirô Maruume - *My Lover* (1964), as Emi Terunobu - *Assassination* (1964), as Lord Matsudaira - *The Scent of Incense* (1964), as Nozawa - *Woman in the Dunes* (1964), as Entomologist Niki Jumpei - *She and He* (1963), as Eiichi Ishikawa - *The Ugly American* (1963), as Deong - *Rififi in Tokyo* (1963), as Danny Riquet - *Restoration Fire* (1961), as Yamanami Keisuke - *Lord Mito: Struggle of Suke and Kaku* (1961), Actor - *20 Duels of Young Shingo, Part 2* (1961), Actor - *A Young Warrior on Mount Fuji* (1961), Actor - *Festival of Swordsmen* (1961), as Kamio Shume - *An Edo Magistrate* (1961), Actor - *Naruto hijō kanketsu-hen* (1961), Actor - *Shinran, Part II* (1960), Actor - *The Pirates* (1960), as Shinzo Murakami - *Shinran* (1960), Actor - *Outlaw Under a Blue Canopy* (1960), Actor - *Shingo's Original Challenge, Part 4* (1960), Actor - *Shingo's Original Challenge, Part 3* (1960), Actor - *Return of the One-Armed Swordsman* (1960), Actor - *Hiroshima Mon Amour* (1959), as Lui — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/hiroshima-mon-amour.md) - *Hawk of the North* (1959), Actor - *Shingo's Original Challenge, Part 1 and 2* (1959), Actor - *Fearless Opposition* (1958), Actor - *The Eleventh Hour* (1957), as Shimano - *The Story of Pure Love* (1957), Actor - *Showdown in Blood* (1957), Actor - *The Boy Detectives Club – The Iron Fiend* (1957), as Kogoro Akechi - *Shonen Tanteidan: Kabu to Mushi no Yoki* (1957), as Kogoro Akechi - *恐怖の空中殺人* (1956), as 里見 - *The Boy Detectives Club – The Devil with Twenty Faces* (1956), as Kogoro Akechi - *The Boy Detectives Club – Doctor Phantom* (1956), as Kogoro Akechi - *The Chop Professor* (1956), Actor - *Avalanche* (1956), Actor - *Five Paths to Revenge* (1956), as Jun Mitani - *Christ in Bronze* (1955), as Hagiwara Yusa - *Hirado Pirates* (1955), Actor - *Here Is a Spring* (1955), Actor - *The Sacrifice of the Human Torpedoes* (1955), as Ensign Asakura - *A Billionaire* (1954), as Monta - *Hana to hatō* (1954), Actor - *The End of a Day* (1954), as Leutnant Guni Hanata - *Hiroshima* (1953), as Kitagawa - *At the End of the Clouds* (1953), Actor - *Tower of Lilies* (1953), as Teacher Tamai - *Vacuum Zone* (1952), as Second Lieutenant Okamoto - *Violence* (1952), Actor - *Mother* (1952), as Shinjiro Hirai - *A Ripple in a Morning* (1952), Actor - *The Yamabiko School* (1952), Actor - *August 15, 1945, New Dawn For Japan* (1952), as Reporter Saeki - *Karate Sanshiro* (1951), Actor - *The Stormy Era of Twenty Years* (1951), Actor - *Waga ichidaka jidai no hanzai* (1951), Actor - *The Love Letter Trial* (1951), Actor - *Weeping Doll* (1951), as Ryuji - *Escape Between Midnight and Dawn* (1950), Actor - *Kenjū no mae ni tatsu haha* (1950), Actor - *White Beast* (1950), Actor - *Till We Meet Again* (1950), as Saburo Tajima - *A Woman's Face* (1949), Actor ## Gallery - ![Eiji Okada. taken in 1954.](https://film.one/media/person/3876471/gallery-695f16a6a961.jpg) Eiji Okada. taken in 1954. — 柳谷次男 (Tsuguo Yanagiya)キネマ旬報社 (Kinema Jumpo Sha Ltd.), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Eiji_Okada_Scan10006-1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![『ここに泉あり』（1955年）。岸惠子、岡田英次。](https://film.one/media/person/3876471/gallery-8732272e052e.jpg) 『ここに泉あり』（1955年）。岸惠子、岡田英次。 — 産業経済新聞社（Sankei Shinbun Co., Ltd.）, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Kishi-Keiko-Okada-Eiji-1.jpg/1280px-Kishi-Keiko-Okada-Eiji-1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Isao Kimura and Eiji Okada in Shinku chitai (1952)](https://film.one/media/person/3876471/gallery-a858e2ef7c63.jpg) Isao Kimura and Eiji Okada in Shinku chitai (1952) — Shinsei Eiga, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Isao_Kimura_and_Eiji_Okada_in_Shinku_chitai_%281952%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Kyōko Kagawa and Eiji Okada in Okaasan (おかあさん) directed by Mikio Naruse, 1952](https://film.one/media/person/3876471/gallery-c02b84768cbd.jpg) Kyōko Kagawa and Eiji Okada in Okaasan (おかあさん) directed by Mikio Naruse, 1952 — Shintōhō, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Ky%C5%8Dko_Kagawa_and_Eiji_Okada_in_Okaasan%2C_1952.jpg/1280px-Ky%C5%8Dko_Kagawa_and_Eiji_Okada_in_Okaasan%2C_1952.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Eiji Okada](https://film.one/media/person/3876471/gallery-8a5deef2cb37.jpg) Eiji Okada — Image via TMDB - ![Eiji Okada](https://film.one/media/person/3876471/gallery-bf923a91aacd.jpg) Eiji Okada — trailer screenshot (Universal Pictures), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Eiji_Okada_in_The_Ugly_American_trailer.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Yoshiko Kuga and Eiji Okada in 1950 Japanese movie Mata au hi made (en:Until We Meet Again (film)).](https://film.one/media/person/3876471/gallery-d538d01067e2.jpg) Yoshiko Kuga and Eiji Okada in 1950 Japanese movie Mata au hi made (en:Until We Meet Again (film)). — Directed by en:Tadashi Imai, distributed by en:Toho, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Mata_au_hi_made_2.jpg/1280px-Mata_au_hi_made_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/eiji-okada