Keiji Sada(佐田 啓二,Sada Keiji, December 9, 1926 – August 17, 1964) is the stage name for a Japanese cinema actor active from the late-1940s to the early 1960s. His real name was Kanichi Nakai. He won the award for best actor at the 7th Blue Ribbon Awards for Anata Kaimasu and Taifū Sōdōki. He was the father of the actor Kiichi Nakai and actress Kie Nakai.
Sada was born in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, to a merchant class family. After graduating from the 2nd Kyoto Municipal Commercial School, he entered the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University in Tokyo. While a student, he roomed at a boarding house owned by the actor Shuji Sano, and on graduation was offered a position at Shochiku Studios in Kanagawa. He also was given his stage name by Shugi Sada.
In his debut appearance in 1947, Phoenix, directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, Sada was paired with Kinuyo Tanaka in a love scene. As Tanaka was already a big-name movie star, this was an immediate boost for Sada’s career. Later that year, he was selected for the lead role in Kane no Naru Oka (鐘の鳴る丘), a movie adaptation of a popular NHKradio drama.
Sada’s career took off in the 1950s, and he starred in an average of eight to ten movies per year. In 1956, he was awarded the Mainichi Film Award and Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor in Anata Kaimasu, a movie about a professional baseball scout, directed by Masaki Kobayashi.
Sada was killed in an automobile accident in Nirasaki, Yamanashi on August 17, 1964, while returning from his summer cottage in the Tateshina Mountains of Nagano Prefecture. His memorial services were held in Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo with thousands of fans attending; however, his grave is at the temple of Engaku-ji in Kamakura.
Filmography
Actor
1964
Monro no youna onna
1964
Sweet Sweat as
Tatsuoka
1964
Brand of Evil as
Shigeharu Takazawa
1964
Assassination
1964
Zoku Haikei Tenno Heika Sama as
Ryosuke
1963
The Night We Danced as
Tadao Tsumura
1963
Kekkonshiki Kekkonshiki as
Jirô Okuyama
1963
Seishun hôkago (TV Movie) as
Ichirô Hasegawa
1963
Kaze no shisen as
Shunsuke Kuze
1963
Mushukunin-betsuchô as
Yajuro
1963
Sing, Young People! as
Singer at the ceremony
1962
An Autumn Afternoon as
Koichi Hirayama
1962
Zoku aizen katsura
1962
Kaasan nagaiki shitene
1962
Futari de aruita iku haru aki as
Yoshio Nonaka, Torae's husband
1962
Aizen Katsura
1962
A Roaring Trade
1961
Kyôgeshô
1961
Uzu
1961
Tsuma ari ko ari tomo arite as
Yonesaku Nihei
1961
Immortal Love as
Takashi
1961
Kumo ga chigireru toki
1961
Onnamai as
Shôzô Nishikawa
1961
Ryôjû as
Kadota
1960
The Last Trump Card
1960
Late Autumn as
Shotaru Goto
1960
Chi wa kawaiteru as
Takashi Kiguchi
1960
Onna no saka
1960
Irohanihoheto
1960
The Hot Corner Murder as
Masashi Takayama
1959
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity as
Kageyama Shôi
1959
High Teen as
Shin'ichi Terasaki
1959
Good Morning as
Heiichirô Fukui
1959
Farewell to Spring as
Eitarô Makita
1959
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love as
Kageyama
1959
People Waiting for Spring
1958
Me no kabe
1958
Equinox Flower as
Masahiko Taniguchi
1958
The Country Boss
1958
Daily Betrayal
1958
Hobo Village
1958
Kuroi kafun as
Takashi Kiso
1957
Danger Stalks Near as
Kaneshige Satô, Yuriko's husband
1957
Shukin ryoko
1957
Times of Joy and Sorrow as
Shiro Arisawa, Kiyoko's husband
1957
Tadaima zero hiki as
Yoshizawa, Diet member
1957
Xiang Gang Dong Jing mi yue lu xing
1957
When It Rains, It Pours as
Kazuo
1957
Righteousness
1957
Hakuji no hito
1956
Taifû sôdôki
1956
I Will Buy You as
Daisuke Kishimoto
1956
Joyû tanjô (Short)
1956
Namida
1956
Sutajio chôtokkyû (Short)
1956
Ore wa shinanai
1956
Hareta hi ni
1956
Hanayome boshû-chû
1956
Seishun no oto
1956
Onna no ashi ato
1956
Fountainhead
1956
Kimi no uta goe (Short)
1956
Shiroi hashi
1956
Kakubô sambagarasu as
Cameo (uncredited)
1955
Taiyô wa hibi aratanari
1955
Okatte no hanayome
1955
The Tattered Wings as
Shunsuke, Fuyuko's brother-in-law
1955
Hanayome wa doko ni iru
1955
Tôkyô-Honkon mitsugetsu ryokô
1955
Beautiful Days as
Nakao
1955
Bomeiki as
Akimasa
1955
Zoku otoko daigaku: Shinkon kyôshitsu
1955
Anata to tomo ni
1954
Kunshô
1954
Somewhere Under the Broad Sky as
Ryoichi Morita
1954
Shinjitsu no aijô o motomete: Izuko e
1954
Shinkon takuan fûfu
1954
Otoko daigaku: Konzen kyôiku no maki
1954
Hi wa shizumazu
1954
What Is Your Name? Part III
1954
The Path of Sincerity
1954
Kazoku kaigi
1953
Yassamossa
1953
Ojosan shacho as
Goro Akiyama
1953
What Is Your Name? Part II
1953
What Is Your Name?
1953
Journey
1953
A Japanese Tragedy as
Tatsuya, Street Musician
1953
Sono imôto
1953
Ochiba nikki
1953
Hibari no utau tamatebako (Short)
1953
Josei no koe
1953
Haru no koteki
1952
Waga haha ni tsumi ariya
1952
Waka okusama ichiban shôbu
1952
Uzushio
1952
Haha wa sakebi naku
1952
Botchan jûyaku
1952
Hibari's Circus: The Sad Little Dove
1952
Hana yakana yakei
1952
Haha no negai
1952
Izu no enkashi (Short)
1952
Adventure in Tokyo as
Haruzo Yukawa
1952
Kono haru hatsukoi ari
1951
Inochi uruwashi as
Shuji Imura
1951
Umi no hanabi as
Tamihiko Kujirai
1951
Yume ôki koro as
Shûji Takaishi
1951
Tenshi mo yume o miru
1951
Akogare no home run-ô (Short)
1951
Jiyû gakkô
1951
Carmen Comes Home as
Mr. Ogawa
1951
Home Sweet Home as
Saburo Uchiyama, Tomoko's boyfriend
1951
Aijô no senpû
1951
Oboro kago as
Shinnosuke Koyanagi
1950
Kuroi hana
1950
Nanatsu no hôseki
1950
Niizuma no sei ten
1950
Ren'ai kyôshitsu
1950
Dangerous Age
1950
Haha no shirabe
1949
Kane no naru oka - Dai sanhen: Kuro no maki
1949
Waltz at Noon as
Hidetaka
1949
The Ghost of Yotsuya: Part II as
Kohei Kobotake
1949
The Ghost of Yotsuya: Part I as
Kohei Kobotoke
1949
The Lipstick Still Has Not Been Removed
1949
Ojôsan kanpai as
Gorô
1949
Kimi matedomo
1949
Kane no naru oka - Dai nihen: Shukichi no maki
1948
Kane no naru oka - Dai ippen: Ryûta no maki as
Shûhei Kagami
1948
Hi no bara
1948
The Portrait as
Nakajima
1947
Akai kuchibiru imada kiezu
1947
Phoenix as
Shinichi Yasaka
Producer
1962
The Left Handed Sniper: Tokyo Bay (planner)
Soundtrack
1963
Sing, Young People! ("Yorokobi mo kanashimi mo ikutoshitsuki (aka: The joy and sadness of life)")
1955
Beautiful Days (performer: "Auld Lang Syne"(Scotland traditional))
Archive Footage
2023
Compression (TV Series documentary)
- Compression Le Goût du Saké de Yasujiro Ozu (2023)
