Japanese actor Kunie Tanaka, known for his appearances in the 1962 film "Sanjuro" directed by Akira Kurosawa and a long-running TV drama series, died on March 24 at 88, his family said.
Tanaka was a fixture in Japanese households, playing an awkward but loving father in a 20-year-long TV drama "Kita no kuni kara" (From the Northern Country) that started in 1981.
He won a Japan Academy Film Prize in 1994 as best supporting male actor in the film "Gakko" (A Class to Remember).
Tanaka received a medal of honor in 1999 for a distinguished performance in art and an autumn decoration in 2006 for notable contributions to the field of art.
The native of Gifu Prefecture was a junior high teacher before he started his acting career.
