Masato Harada
Masato Harada was a Japanese film director, critic and occasional actor; he was best known to foreign audiences as Omura in The Last Samurai and as Mr Mita in Fearless. In both his acting roles, he portrayed the villain who wants Japan to westernize under the Meiji Restoration in the meantime trying to remove the old ways.
Early life
Harada was born in Numazu, Shizuoka and graduated from Higashi High School. In 1972, he went to London to learn English. He then attended Tokyo College of Photography and Pepperdine University, where he spent number of years training as a filmmaker. He married journalist Mizuho Fukuda in 1976.Career
Harada made his directorial debut in 1979. He collaborated and showcased his works in Europe and US and worked as an English to Japanese subtitle translator for number of American films showing in Japan.As an actor, he appeared in Edward Zwick's The Last Samurai in 2003. and Ronny Yu's Fearless in 2006.
Style and influences
In a 2001 interview, Harada stated that Howard Hawks was his mentor.Death
Harada died on December 8, 2025, at the age of 76.Filmography
Director
Farewell, Movie Friend: Indian Summer Uindii Paris/Dakar 1500 The Heartbreak Yakuza Gunhed Tuff 5 Painted Desert Kamikaze Taxi Rowing Through Bounce Ko Gals Spellbound Inugami The Choice of Hercules Bluestockings Densen Uta The Shadow Spirit Climber's High Chronicle of My Mother Return Kakekomi The Emperor in August Sekigahara Killing for the Prosecution Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai Hell Dogs- ''Bad Lands''