Tono, Eijiro

The early years and the beginning of theatrical activity

Eijiro was born in 1907 in the family of a sake manufacturer from the Nankaiti brewery in the town of Tomioka, Gumma Prefecture, located in the central part of Honshu Island ^{[2] [4]} . After graduating from high school in Tomioka, the young man entered the commercial department of Meiji University ^[2] , where he joined the left student movement and studied social sciences. This was a dangerous step on the part of the young student, since the Peace Conservation Act of 1925 was aimed at persecuting members of any party or group of people whose object was to change the kokutai (national policy) or private property system in Japan. The police, guided by this law, could arrest anyone, and for “seditious” leftist ideas, it was quite possible to get a term of up to ten years in prison. In April 1931, Eijiro became a student of the proletarian drama course at the Tsukiji Maly Theater, founded in 1924 by the Marxist and the renowned reformer of the Japanese theater, Kaoru Osanai . After graduating from proletarian drama, in September of that year, he joined the New Tsukiji Theater Group, where he received the stage name Katsuji Honjo. Throughout the 1930s , Eijiro played in almost all productions of the New Tsukiji Theater Group, receiving positive reviews from theatrical criticism. The actor’s reputation was enhanced by his talented roles: Heizu in the production of Earth, the grave digger in Hamlet , and Yoshigoro in Spelling in the Classroom ( Miekichi Suzuki in ). Eijiro Tono also took an active part in the management of the troupe, acting as its director ^[5] (Japanese) .

Film and Theater Careers

Eijiro made his film debut in 1936, playing a small role in the film "Brother and Sister", directed by Sotoji Kimura at the then progressive PCL studio (the earlier name for the famous film company Toho ). In the initial years of working in front of the camera, the actor performed under his stage name Katsuji Honjo ^[6] . In 1938, the actor was engaged in filming by the famous classic of Japanese cinema Teynosuke Kinugasa for his costume epic “The History of Fidelity in Kuroda” (the role of Ohashi), filmed in the film company “ Shёtiku ”.

On August 19, 1940, Eijiro Tono and some of his theater colleagues were arrested for violating the Peacekeeping Act, and on August 23, the Tsukiji Maly Theater troupe was forcibly disbanded. Eijiro Tono spent 9 months in prison without any charge being brought against him. Released from custody in May 1941 , Eijiro returned to work, but since the theater was disbanded, during this period it was used only on the set. In accordance with the order of the Ministry of the Interior, he was now ordered to sign in credits only with his real name. So he said goodbye to his creative pseudonym Katsuji Honjo ^[5] . In 1943, Eijiro Tono starred in the debut work of the subsequently world-famous director Keisuke Kinoshita " Harbor in bloom ."

In 1944, with the efforts of actors Eitaro Ozawa , Korei Sand , Sugisaku Aoyama, Tieko Higashiyama, and Eijiro Tono, the Haiyuza Actors Theater (俳 優 создан) was created ^[4] . In the last year of the Pacific War, the theater toured Japan under the auspices of the Drama League, an officially sponsored body whose mission was to boost the morale of the nation. After these tours, the actor for some time left the troupe for filming a movie, but at the end of the war, in August 1945, Eijiro Tono returned to the Haiyuza Theater as both an actor and administrator of the troupe. He also acted several times as a stage director ^[5] .

For half a century of work in cinema, actor Eijiro Tono has played in more than 300 films ^[7] , many of which are included in the golden fund of Japanese cinema. Although for the most part the actor specialized in characteristic supporting roles, it is impossible to imagine films of the classics of Japanese filmmaking: Akira Kurosawa (whose actor starred in seven works, including The Seven Samurai and The Bodyguard ) without his works , Yasujiro Odzu (4 films, including an outstanding performance of the role of the drinking companion of the protagonist in the cult film " Tokyo Story "), Kenji Mizoguchi (roles in 2 films), Keisuke Kinoshita (9 joint works), Mikio Naruse (2 film), Tom Uchida (6 films), Daiske Ito (2 films), Hay Nosuke Gosho (6 films), Kozaburo Yoshimura (4 films), Kaneto Shindo (6 films), Hiroshi Inagaki (10 films), Shiro Toyoda (6 films), Minoru Shibuya (5 films), Satsuo Yamamoto (8 films), Tadashi Imai (8 films), Masaki Kobayashi (5 films), Kona Ichikawa (3 films), Masahiro Shinoda (2 films), Kihati Okamoto (4 films), Hideo Gosya (3 films), Yoji Yamada (3 films) and in the paintings other masters of Japanese cinema.

In Japan, the actor achieved the greatest popularity on television, playing in the rating historical series Mito Komon. The role of the main character of Tokugawa Mitsukuni , a real historical person who lived in the XVII century and traveled around the country under the guise of a merchant Mitsuemona, was played by the actor in 381 series over 13 seasons from 1969 to 1983 . The series continues to this day, but after Eijiro Tono the role of the main character is played by the fifth actor.

Since 1990, Eijiro Tono has been the chairman of the Guild of Actors of the new Japan Theater. He was also the author of two books of essays (1977, 1982) and memoirs entitled “My acting studies” (1964).

On September 8, 1994, at 6 a.m., 86-year-old Eijiro Tono died in his home from heart failure ^[8] .

Family

Eijiro Tono married twice. The first of his wives was called Hideno, the second was Reiko (both took her husband's surname). The eldest of his sons, Eisin Tono (1942-2000), followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming an actor, but never enjoyed the success that accompanied his father ^[3] . He died at the age of 58, 6 years after the death of his father, from a brain hemorrhage . Eisin Tono’s son from marriage to actress Mariko Hattori - Katsu Tono (respectively, the grandson of Eijiro Tono) - became a composer who writes music, including for cinema.