Ryo Ikebe (1918 – 2010)
Ryo Ikebe, a popular Japanese actor from forties through seventies, passed away last week. He was 92. Internationally, he is probably best known for the lead character in Ozu’s EARLY SPRING (1956). In Japan, he was considered to be a very versatile actor, from melodrama (AOI SANMYAKU (1949)) to Yakuza movies (SHOWA ZANKYO DEN (1965)). Also, he acted as a conscience in Japanese film actor circles. However, in later years, he gradually shifted his activities from acting to writing. He published dozens of books, mostly essays and his experience during the war. But to me, he is always Gohei in …