FILM DIRECTOR

Masato Harada

1949 - 2025

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Masato Harada (原田 眞人, Harada Masato; July 3, 1949 – December 8, 2025) 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. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 17 different languages on Wikipedia. Masato Harada is the 922nd most popular film director (down from 914th in 2024), the 1,221st most popular biography from Japan (down from 1,157th in 2019) and the 39th most popular Japanese Film Director.

Masato Harada was a acclaimed Japanese film director and critic, best known for socially conscious works like Chronicle of My Mother (2011), which won major awards at the Montreal World Film Festival, and Climber's High (2008). Internationally, he gained recognition for acting as the antagonist Omura in The Last Samurai (2003).

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Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, Masato Harada ranks 922 out of 2,041. Before him are Benjamin Christensen, Cristian Mungiu, Oldřich Lipský, Barry Ackroyd, Hasse Ekman, and Wayne Wang. After him are Sergey Obraztsov, Mimi Leder, Albert Capellani, Masoud Kimiai, Shinya Tsukamoto, and Hideo Nakata.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1949, Masato Harada ranks 397. Before him are Marek Jędraszewski, Rubén Pagnanini, Natalia Kuchinskaya, Keto Losaberidze, Wayne Wang, and Julian Fellowes. After him are Manfred Burgsmüller, Jahn Teigen, Alexander Gradsky, Gates McFadden, Mohammed bin Hammam, and Emanuel Ax. Among people deceased in 2025, Masato Harada ranks 315. Before him are Djamel Menad, Rosa von Praunheim, Christopher Loeak, Raila Odinga, Klaus Doldinger, and Park Sung-soo. After him are Saalumarada Thimmakka, Abu Obaida, Johnny Tillotson, Héctor Alterio, Gailard Sartain, and Lenny Wilkens.

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In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Masato Harada ranks 1,221 out of 6,245. Before him are Mitski (1990), Satoshi Miyauchi (1959), Nozu Michitsura (1840), Hiroshi Abe (1964), Mutsu Munemitsu (1844), and Hashimoto Gahō (1835). After him are Chieko Homma (1964), Masayuki Mori (1911), Satoshi Oishi (1972), Itō Noe (1895), Junko Ishida (1966), and Miyoshi Umeki (1929).

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Among FILM DIRECTORS In Japan

Among film directors born in Japan, Masato Harada ranks 39. Before him are Tomoyuki Tanaka (1910), Rintaro (1941), Mamoru Hosoda (1967), Shinichirō Watanabe (1965), Shinobu Hashimoto (1918), and Yoshishige Yoshida (1933). After him are Shinya Tsukamoto (1960), Hideo Nakata (1961), Juzo Itami (1933), Tadashi Imai (1912), Yasushi Akimoto (1958), and Sion Sono (1961).

Japanese born Film Directors

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