Haruo Tanaka ( March 25 , 1912 – February 21, 1992 ) was a Japanese film actor noted for his supporting roles in a career that spanned seven decades. After the war, he appeared in films for Toho and Shintoho , but gradually he began to demonstrate his unique personality and became active as a character actor, appearing in works by many of the great directors who have shaped the history of Japanese cinema, including Akira Kurosawa , Yasujiro Ozu , Kenji Mizoguchi , and Shiro Toyoda. He died of lung cancer on February 21 , 1992 , at the age of 79.