of kabuki, which is so dominated by lineage and ceremony, without ever receiving a large role,” and Katsu, whose father had been involved in the backstage world of kabuki, shared “the same complex, this large problem to be solved,” and that they were both equipped with “a similar factor which served as a sort of energy source” for them. Acting Style and Ability Raizō was known for constantly offering all manner of suggestions during the pre-production process, and thus acquired the nickname “Goterai,” seemingly a pun on goteru, a Japanese word meaning “to fuss about, to harp on.” However, once he was satisfied in his understanding, he never complained or grumbled, and once filming began he would stop making these sorts of suggestions altogether. On the other hand, Katsu would go through the entire pre-production phase without saying a word, but start making suggestions and impromptu changes as soon as filming began which was a frequent source of trouble for the staff of his films. According to Akira Inoue, Raizō was quite capable of working together with the methodologies of various directors when acting. For example, even within the same Nemuri Kyōjiro series, the films made under different directors are said to have a different flavor to them. On the other hand he said when speaking of Katsu, “When it comes to Zatoichi, it’s Katchan’s Zatoichi, in all of them.” Akinari Suzuki has made similar statements regarding the two actors. Tomomi Muramatsu, said that Katsu was the kind of actor where “no matter what he does, it always ends up in the vein of Shintarō Katsu,” but that Raizō, even though he was established as a mainstream Japanese film star in the ranks of Kazuo Hasegawa and Chiezō Kataoka, would always be very flexible and receptive to direction, which was highly unusual for the stars of that era. Tokuzō Tanaka, who directed films with both actors, compared their fighting scenes speaking largely favorably of Raizō, “his lower body always feels somewhat undetermined, but despite that his movement is quite real enough;” but he had to declare Katsu the superior of the two, saying “Katchan is just unbelievably agile.” Personality According to Kazuo Ikehiro, even when working with someone he didn’t like, Katsu could “usually manage to get along,” but “when [Raizō] disliked someone, he disliked them completely” to the point where there had been cases when he had said “I