Seizō Fukumoto

Seizō Fukumoto (福本 清三 , Fukumoto Seizō ) (3 February 1943 – 1 January 2021) was a Japanese actor.

He started acting at age 15 in Kyoto, the capital of Japanese cinema. A specialist in film and television jidaigeki set in the Edo period, he most often played a rōnin, but in his hundreds of appearances he took nearly every role. His forte was kirareyaku, the person who loses the sword fight. His signature death move was the Ebi-zori, translated into 'prawn bend'. It is reported he has been killed over 50,000 times on screen.

In addition, he appeared in modern dramas in roles such as police and yakuza. The American film The Last Samurai brought him before an international audience in the role of the Silent Samurai.

Fukumoto played a lead role for the first time in the film Uzumasa Limelight.

Fukumoto died on 1 January 2021, at his home in Kyoto, due to lung cancer. He was 77 years old.