Noboru Ando
Encyclopedia
Noboru Ando (1926 - ) is a Japan
ese film actor known for his yakuza
roles.
In fact, Ando was a real-life yakuza gang boss before becoming a movie star in 1965, when he appeared in a film about himself, "Chi to Okite" (Blood and Rules). He later wrote, produced and starred in another series of films about his life and his former gang, the Ando-gumi.
One clear sign of his past occupation is the large knife scar on his left cheek, the result of a brawl with a Korea
n gangster as a young man.
He also appeared in several films by Kinji Fukasaku
.
According to Ando, acting came easily to him as a result of his underworld life: "In Japanese
, the only difference between yakuza and yakusha (actor) is one hiragana
character," he was quoted in the Japan Times as saying. "All yakuza have to be actors to survive."
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese film actor known for his yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
roles.
In fact, Ando was a real-life yakuza gang boss before becoming a movie star in 1965, when he appeared in a film about himself, "Chi to Okite" (Blood and Rules). He later wrote, produced and starred in another series of films about his life and his former gang, the Ando-gumi.
One clear sign of his past occupation is the large knife scar on his left cheek, the result of a brawl with a Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n gangster as a young man.
He also appeared in several films by Kinji Fukasaku
Kinji Fukasaku
was a Japanese film actor, screenwriter, and best known as a celebrated and innovative filmmaker. He was born in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, and died in Tokyo, from prostate cancer...
.
According to Ando, acting came easily to him as a result of his underworld life: "In Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, the only difference between yakuza and yakusha (actor) is one hiragana
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
character," he was quoted in the Japan Times as saying. "All yakuza have to be actors to survive."