--- name: "Kichijirō Ueda" canonical: "https://film.one/person/kichijiro-ueda" fi1m_id: "kichijiro-ueda" imdb_id: "nm0879918" tmdb_id: 7455 wikidata_id: "Q11359731" roles: ["Actor"] born: "30 March 1904" died: "3 November 1972" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 91 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-09-25T07:47:35.728668+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." --- # Kichijirō Ueda ## Identity Kichijirō Ueda - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/kichijiro-ueda - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** kichijiro-ueda - **IMDb ID:** nm0879918 - **TMDB ID:** 7455 - **Wikidata ID:** Q11359731 - **Same entity:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11359731, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0879918/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7455 Actor. Born 30 March 1904 in Kobe, Japan. Died 3 November 1972. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 30 March 1904, Kobe, Japan - **Died:** 3 November 1972 - **Active:** 1950–1957 - **Also known as:** Kichijirou Ueda, Kichijiroh Ueda, 上田 吉二郎, Sadao Ueda, 上田 定雄, 上田吉二郎, Kichijirô Ueda - **Frequently works with:** [Akira Kurosawa](https://film.one/person/akira-kurosawa.md), [Machiko Kyō](https://film.one/person/machiko-kyo.md), [Masayuki Mori](https://film.one/person/masayuki-mori-7452.md), [Shinobu Hashimoto](https://film.one/person/shinobu-hashimoto.md), [Takashi Shimura](https://film.one/person/takashi-shimura.md), [Toshirō Mifune](https://film.one/person/toshiro-mifune.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 91, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m against the critics:** 91 to 86 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 4, Mystery 2, Action 1, Crime 1, Fantasy 1, History 1 - **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $105m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11359731, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0879918/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7455 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*Rashomon*](https://film.one/film/rashomon.md) (92), [*Ugetsu*](https://film.one/film/ugetsu.md) (89), [*Throne of Blood*](https://film.one/film/throne-of-blood.md) (88) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Kichijirō Ueda > Kichijirō Ueda’s husky voice and emphatic gestures give his cynics and bullies an immediate presence. We value his bluntness most in *Rashomon*, while recognising how easily a distinctive supporting actor can become confined to repeating himself. In *Rashomon* (1950), Kichijirō Ueda’s commoner treats self-interest as the sensible explanation for human behaviour. His commentary frames the conflicting testimonies, and his deep, husky delivery makes cynicism sound like ordinary good sense. We were unsettled by that readiness to suspect everyone: Ueda makes the commoner’s distrust uncomfortably easy to share. We recommend him most strongly here, where Akira Kurosawa gives a supporting actor something substantial to do with his bluntness. He moved from theatre into film in the mid-1930s, then worked across studios as a character actor. Cynical pragmatists, bullies and men who defer to the powerful became familiar assignments, in realistic drama as well as theatrical or comic villainy. The emphatic gestures suit the more theatrical parts, though they can make us notice the performer before the person he is playing. We value the way he makes a supporting character’s outlook plain without asking the whole film to stop and examine it. In *Ugetsu* (1953), he plays a shop owner in Kenji Mizoguchi’s patient, sometimes over-solemn drama. We recommend the film for its quiet human detail, though it offers less of Ueda to judge than *Rashomon* does. Kurosawa’s ensembles gave him further small assignments, as a bandit scout in *Seven Samurai* (1954) and Washizu’s workman in *Throne of Blood* (1957). The recurring collaboration matters more than the prominence of those roles: Kurosawa kept finding a use for this forceful presence among other actors. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, television popularity had encouraged a narrower, more exaggerated version of his delivery. That is the caveat with Ueda: a distinctive manner can become a substitute for finding something different in the next character. We would not treat every appearance as a reason to choose a film, however welcome the familiar voice. Start with *Rashomon*, and listen to how reasonable he can make distrust sound. ## Biography Kichijirō Ueda was a Japanese actor. Born in Kobe, he began his career in the theatre in 1918 as a disciple of Sawada Shōjirō in the Shin Kokugeki troupe. He later worked in film and television, appearing in more than 200 productions between 1925 and 1970. Ueda is known for supporting roles in several films directed by Akira Kurosawa, including the Commoner in *Rashomon* (1950), a bandit scout in *Seven Samurai* (1954), Washizu's workman in *Throne of Blood* (1957) and the slave trader in *The Hidden Fortress* (1958). He also appeared in *Ugetsu* (1953), *I Live in Fear* (1955), *The Lower Depths* (1957) and *Three Outlaw Samurai* (1964). *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, fr.wikipedia.org.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Throne of Blood* (1957), Fi1m 88, as Washizu's workman — [page](https://film.one/film/throne-of-blood.md) - *Seven Samurai* (1954), Fi1m 95, as Bandit Scout — [page](https://film.one/film/seven-samurai.md) - *Ugetsu* (1953), Fi1m 89, as Shop Owner — [page](https://film.one/film/ugetsu.md) - *Rashomon* (1950), Fi1m 92, as Commoner — [page](https://film.one/film/rashomon.md) ## Complete filmography (231) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Kigeki Ijiwaru Daishougai* (1971), Actor - *Live and Learn* (1971), Actor - *The Swindlers* (1970), Actor - *Life is a Battle* (1970), Actor - *Fun on the Run* (1970), as Kawakami - *Delinquent Girl Boss: Tokyo Drifters* (1970), Actor - *Hooligans on Buggies* (1970), Actor - *Oh, My Comrade!* (1970), Actor - *The Revelation of a Geisha* (1970), Actor - *Get Your Sky, Young Guy* (1970), Actor - *New Prison Walls of Abashiri: High Stakes at Abashiri* (1970), Actor - *Outstanding High School Girl: Ecstasy of a 16-Year-Old* (1970), Actor - *King of the Night Life* (1970), Actor - *Shameless School* (1970), Actor - *Prison Tales* (1970), Actor - *Our Miyo-chan* (1969), as Kumatora - *Horrors of Malformed Men* (1969), as Doctor - *Wolves of the City, Operation "Rat"* (1969), Actor - *Love and Crime* (1969), as Inaba (segment "Abe Sada jiken") - *Wolf Escort* (1969), Actor - *Bloody Territories* (1969), as Terashima, the loan shark - *Madcap Mixup* (1969), as Kumakichi - *猛烈社員 スリゴマ忍法* (1969), Actor - *The Domain: Flower and Dragon* (1969), Actor - *Inferno of Torture* (1969), Actor - *It's The Drifters! All Star Attack* (1969), Actor - *Women of the Night - Woman of Seniority* (1969), Actor - *Sakura sakazuki: gikyōdai* (1969), Actor - *Bonds of Love* (1969), as Politician - *Orgies of Edo* (1969), Actor - *Konto 55: The Weaknesses of the Century* (1968), as Akaishi Copper - *Even If Life Withers* (1968), Actor - *Dorobō Sodachi Dorobōi* (1968), Actor - *Vampires* (1968), series, as 大西剛三 - *Shogun's Joy of Torture* (1968), Actor - *Hot Springs Geisha* (1968), Actor - *New Year Trip* (1968), Actor - *Bad Reputation: The Notorious Man of Legend* (1967), Actor - *Burning Nature* (1967), Actor - *Comic Storyteller — The Great Burglar* (1967), Actor - *Gamera vs. Gyaos* (1967), as Tatsuemon Kanamura - *Ohana han* (1966), as Tsukahara - *Rise Against the Sword* (1966), as Kaniuemon - *Minamoto no Yoshitsune* (1966), series, as Goto Motokiyo - *Why Are We Young?* (1965), as Yamayoshi, postmaster - *A Lonely Gamble* (1965), as Shinpei Akamatsu - *Adventures of Zatoichi* (1964), as Boss Jinbei - *The Scarlet Camellia* (1964), Actor - *Superexpress* (1964), as Hotel owner - *Red Diamond* (1964), as Chin - *Car Thieves* (1964), Actor - *Tokyo Olympics* (1964), as Genzô Fujisaki - *Hadaka ikkan* (1964), Actor - *Women's Doctor* (1964), Actor - *Muchana Yakko* (1964), Actor - *Three Outlaw Samurai* (1964), as Ishigaki - *Dear Mr. Prime Minister* (1964), Actor - *Fools at Work* (1964), as Antique shop clerk - *Samurai from Nowhere* (1964), Actor - *The Dragon Crest* (1963), Actor - *Walleyed Nippon* (1963), as Corrupt Congressman - *To Your Majesty, The Emperor* (1963), Actor - *A Modern Samurai Village* (1963), as Kuma - *恋と出世に強くなれ！* (1963), as 石黒常務 - *Onsen Geisha* (1963), as Kanamori - *Black Report* (1963), as Gentaro Kakimoto - *The Mysterious Cape* (1963), Actor - *Curry Rice* (1962), Actor - *The Fencing Master* (1962), as Procurer of women - *Lion Festival of Echigo* (1962), Actor - *Betting on the Sword* (1962), Actor - *Mount Hakone* (1962), Actor - *Long Swords of the Loyal Forty-Seven* (1962), Actor - *The Whale God* (1962), Actor - *Black Test Car* (1962), as Matoba Syumatsu - *The Pacific War and Himeyuri Corps* (1962), Actor - *Kono ni uruwashi* (1962), Actor - *Her Hidden Past* (1962), as Aya Sakata - *Teppo Yasu no Shogai* (1962), Actor - *Drunkard's Paradise* (1962), Actor - *Nippon no obaachan* (1962), Actor - *Bad Reputation Returns* (1961), as Genpachi - *Mannen Taro and His Feminine Colleagues* (1961), as Ishibe - *Himalayan Wanderer* (1961), Actor - *A Good Man, A Good Day* (1961), Actor - *A Geisha's Diary* (1961), Actor - *Shin Jinsei Gekijo* (1961), Actor - *The Age of Lawless Moneymaking* (1961), Actor - *Muteppō shain* (1961), Actor - *The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Whirlwind* (1961), Actor - *Hijō no otoko* (1961), Actor - *The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer* (1961), as Sekitan'ya - *Daredevil in the Castle* (1961), as Jinbei the equipment-shop owner - *Devotion to Railway* (1960), as Party leader - *The Dangerous Kiss* (1960), Actor - *The Song Lantern* (1960), Actor - *The Demon of Mount Oe* (1960), Actor - *Shingo's Original Challenge, Part 3* (1960), Actor - *The Chivalrous Youth of Great Edo* (1960), Actor - *The Five Jolly Thieves* (1960), Actor - *The Spear Master* (1959), Actor - *The Bride from Japan* (1959), Actor - *The Three Treasures* (1959), as Kume's yahara - *Someday I'll Know* (1959), Actor - *The Edo Official and Apprentice* (1959), Actor - *The Telephone Rings in the Evening* (1959), Actor - *Samurai Saga* (1959), as (uncredited) - *Fox and Raccoon* (1959), as Shohei Kurotsubo - *A Young Boss Tries Really Hard* (1959), as Dōmoto - *The Acrobats of Death* (1959), Actor - *The Hidden Fortress* (1958), as Slave Trader (uncredited) - *The Snowy Heron* (1958), Actor - *Jirocho's Surprise: Haikagura, Kiso's Fire Festival* (1958), Actor - *Who Is the Informer?* (1958), as Shibata - *The Spell of the Hidden Gold* (1958), as Sagamiya - *Diary of an Elegant Hot Spring* (1958), Actor - *The Judo Champ* (1958), Actor - *The Shogun’s Guard, Shinsengumi* (1958), Actor - *Yaji and Kita on the Road* (1958), as Seichûsai Maruhashi - *Souls in the Moonlight II* (1958), Actor - *Wind, Woman and Road* (1958), Actor - *Tales of Young Genji Kuro 2* (1958), Actor - *Fancy Talker* (1958), Actor - *Faraway Man* (1957), Actor - *On This Earth* (1957), as Tahei Nakamura - *The Lower Depths* (1957), as Shimazo the Police Agent - *Monkey Business* (1957), as Kiemon Ōuchi - *Forgotten Flower Petal: Conclusion* (1957), Actor - *Turtledove* (1957), Actor - *Yagyu Secret Scrolls* (1957), Actor - *The Lonely Swordsman (Part 2)* (1957), Actor - *A Man in the Storm* (1957), Actor - *The Luckiest Dai* (1957), Actor - *Throne of Blood* (1957), as Washizu's workman — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/throne-of-blood.md) - *The Lonely Swordsman (Part 1)* (1956), Actor - *Flowing* (1956), as Kanbutsuya Owner - *Women in Prison* (1956), as Ohno - *The Fighter in the Ring* (1956), Actor - *Rebels on the High Sea* (1956), Actor - *People of Tokyo, Goodbye* (1956), as Gensuke, Chiyo's father (uncredited) - *The Legend of the White Serpent* (1956), Actor - *Gale Winds! Tengu Karama* (1956), Actor - *Fighting Cha Cha Girl* (1956), as Foreman Aramaki - *Beyond The Stars* (1956), as Ōki - *The Maiden Courtesan* (1956), Actor - *Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island* (1956), as Priest Ogon - *I Live in Fear* (1955), as Mr. Kuribayashi father - *Terror Stalks by Night* (1955), Actor - *Marital Relations* (1955), Actor - *The Lone Journey* (1955), Actor - *Muttsuri Umon's Detective Stories: The Demon Mask Mansion* (1955), Actor - *Hatamoto Yakuza* (1955), Actor - *Umon's Detective Story: Hakata Doll Gift* (1955), Actor - *All is Well* (1955), as President Akaza - *Nice Day, Cloudy Day Part II* (1954), Actor - *Teru hi kumoru hi dainihen Part 01* (1954), Actor - *The Surf* (1954), as Terukichi - *Jirocho in Disgrace* (1954), Actor - *関八州勢揃い* (1954), Actor - *Last of the Wild Ones* (1954), Actor - *Seven Samurai* (1954), as Bandit Scout — Fi1m 95, [page](https://film.one/film/seven-samurai.md) - *The Mysterious House* (1954), Actor - *Four Mothers* (1954), Actor - *Omatsuri hanjiro* (1953), Actor - *Outlaw* (1953), Actor - *To the Ends of the Earth* (1953), Actor - *Shunsetsu no mon* (1953), Actor - *Traveling with Breeze* (1953), Actor - *Ugetsu* (1953), as Shop Owner — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/ugetsu.md) - *Kettō gofun mae* (1953), Actor - *Picture Book of Sarutobi Sasuke* (1953), as Miyoshi Masayasu - *Asama no karasu* (1953), Actor - *Haha no hitomi* (1953), Actor - *Machi no kotengu* (1952), Actor - *Zoku bakurō ichidai* (1952), Actor - *Hahakozuru* (1952), as Harry Yamagata - *Sword for Hire* (1952), Actor - *Musume hatsukoi yatton-bushi* (1952), Actor - *Ikinokotta benten-sama* (1952), Actor - *Story of Lightning* (1951), Actor - *Zenigata heiji torimono hikae: Koibumi dōchū* (1951), Actor - *Izayoi kaidō* (1951), Actor - *Haha ningyō* (1951), Actor - *Onna Jirōchō wakuwaku dōchū* (1951), Actor - *Bored Hatamoto: The Demon of Chinatown* (1951), Actor - *Mito Kōmon's Rambling Journey: The Sword of the Soaring Dragon* (1951), Actor - *Pirates* (1951), Actor - *祇園物語　春怨* (1951), Actor - *情艶一代女* (1951), as 鬼酔和尚 - *Beyond Love and Hate* (1951), Actor - *The Scarlet Bat* (1950), Actor - *Rashomon* (1950), as Commoner — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/rashomon.md) - *Tenraku no shishū* (1950), Actor - *I Saw a Phantom Fish* (1950), Actor - *Scandal* (1950), as Old Man #2 - *I Am Being Targeted* (1950), Actor - *Hebi hime dōchū* (1949), Actor - *Onna goroshi abura jigoku* (1949), Actor - *The Invisible Man Appears* (1949), as Otoji Sugimoto - *Monsters Catcher Oedo Seven Changes* (1949), Actor - *Arashi no naka no shimai* (1949), Actor - *Goblin Courier* (1949), Actor - *Ōshima jōwa* (1948), Actor - *That Night's Adventure* (1948), Actor - *Platform at Night* (1948), Actor - *The Orion Constellation* (1948), Actor - *Yoimatsuri happyaku yachō* (1947), Actor - *Duel at Moonrise* (1947), Actor - *The Sea Wolf* (1947), Actor - *Love Shamisen* (1946), Actor - *The Okagura Brothers* (1946), Actor - *The Tiger of Malaya* (1943), Actor - *All-out Attack on Singapore* (1943), as Private First Class Yoshioka - *Date Masamune the One-Eyed Dragon* (1942), Actor - *Yamasandō* (1942), Actor - *Niji no michi* (1942), Actor - *The March of the Restoration* (1942), Actor - *Miyamoto musashi Ichijōji kettō* (1942), Actor - *Last Days of Edo* (1941), as Yasunosuke Masumi - *Festival Across the Sea* (1941), Actor - *Maboroshijō kaiketsu-hen kizoji no gaika* (1940), Actor - *Maboroshijō dainiwa shi no senpū* (1940), Actor - *Maboroshijō daiichiwa Hida no uzushio* (1940), Actor - *Phantom Castle* (1940), Actor - *Miyamoto Musashi - Dai-ichi-bu: Kusawake no hitobito - Dai-ni-bu: Eitatsu no mon* (1940), Actor - *Oda Nobunaga* (1940), as Shibata Katsuie - *Nangoku taiheiki* (1937), as Shimazu Narioki - *Kuriyama Daizen* (1936), Actor - *Great Bodhisattva Pass 2* (1936), Actor - *Zoku hebi hime dōchū*, Actor - *Kunisada Chūji*, Actor ## Gallery - ![Kichijirō Ueda](https://film.one/media/person/106693/gallery-7229b2544271.jpg) Kichijirō Ueda — 映画世界社 (Eiga Sekai Publications, Inc.), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Kichijiro_Ueda_1954_Scan10009_160913.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Press photo of (from left) Minoru Chiaki, Kichijiro Ueda, and Takashi Shimura for the 1950 film Rashomon](https://film.one/media/person/106693/gallery-0bf3ebfbde00.jpg) Press photo of (from left) Minoru Chiaki, Kichijiro Ueda, and Takashi Shimura for the 1950 film Rashomon — Daiei Studios, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Rashomon_%281950%29_Press_Photo_of_Minoru_Chiaki%2C_Kichijiro_Ueda%2C_and_Takashi_Shimura.jpg/1280px-Rashomon_%281950%29_Press_Photo_of_Minoru_Chiaki%2C_Kichijiro_Ueda%2C_and_Takashi_Shimura.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Kichijirō Ueda](https://film.one/media/person/106693/gallery-8e08ebc24522.jpg) Kichijirō Ueda — Image via TMDB --- © 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/kichijiro-ueda