Yasuaki Kurata (born March 20, 1946), a.k.a David Kurata, is a Japanese actor specializing in action movies. An accomplished martial artist, he has dan ranks in karate (5th degree), judo (3rd degree), and aikido (2nd degree). He is perhaps best known for his extended battle against Jet Li in Fist of Legend and for his villainous role in So Close. He is fluent in Cantonese.
Kurata's home town is Sakura-mura, Niihari District, Ibaraki (now part of Tsukuba). Having studied performing arts at Nihon University and Toei Theater School, he began to work as an actor in the late 1960s. In 1971, Kurata made his Hong Kong debut in the Shaw Brothers Studio kung-fu movie Angry Guest . Since then he has appeared in numerous other films and TV series within the genre. In addition to his work as an actor, Kurata runs the stunt agency Kurata Promotion (established 1976 under the name Kurata Action Club), teaches at a private college (the University of Creation, Art, Music & Social Work), is chief advisor to the All Japan Nunchaku League, and in 2004 published a book, Hong Kong Action Star Kōyūroku.
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Known For
Fist of Legend
(1994)
Fuimo Funakoshi
Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars
(1985)
Parachute Assassin
Shinjuku Incident
(2009)
Taro Watagawa
God of War
(2017)
Kumasawa
So Close
(2002)
Master
Police Story
(1985)
Passerby
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
(1985)
Takei (segment "Kyoko's House")
Blood: The Last Vampire
(2009)
Kato Takatora
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
(2010)
Chikaraishis Vater
Golden Job
(2018)
Morimoto
The Return of Sister Street Fighter
(1975)
Go Kurosaki
The Last Tycoon
(2012)
Manhunt
(2017)
Hideo Sakaguchi
Eastern Condors
(1987)
Vietnamese Captain
The Millionaires' Express
(1986)
Japanese Ninja
Aces Go Places II
(1983)
Bull
Full Filmography
Acting
The Angry Guest
(1972)
Katsu
Tiger
(1972)
Tze Chiang
Four Riders
(1972)
Lei Tai
Kung Fu: The Invisible Fist
(1972)
The Prodigal Boxer: The Kick of Death
(1972)
Iron Hand Tan
The King of Boxers
(1972)
Tu Pien
Knight Errant
(1973)
Tetsuro
Fist of Unicorn
(1973)
Sun
A Girl Called Tigress
(1973)
Chiau Kung
The Black Panther
(1973)
Chang Hui-Feng
The Unsubdued Furies
(1973)
Kung Fu Inferno
(1973)
Chiang Hung
Rage of Wind
(1973)
Seven to One
(1973)
Win Them All
(1973)
Iron Fingers
Gold Snatchers
(1973)
Ferocious to Ferocious
(1973)
Yamada
A Gathering of Heroes
(1973)
Kung Fu Powerhouse
(1973)
Tiger
Call Me Dragon
(1974)
Panther / Leopard Head
Little Godfather from Hong Kong
(1974)
Sakada (Chong)
Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by a Thread
(1974)
Shunsuke Tsubaki
Fatal Strike
(1974)
The Fists of Vengeance
(1974)
Kiro-san
The Executioner
(1974)
Karate teacher
Fists for Revenge
(1975)
The Golden Triangle
(1975)
The Return of Sister Street Fighter
(1975)
Go Kurosaki
Fighting Dragon
(1975)
Lung Yen Fei (Dragon)
Dragon Princess
(1976)
Masahiko Okizaki
Which Is Stronger, Karate or the Tiger?
(1976)
Ryuzaki Tetsuji
Young Hero of Shaolin
(1976)
Secret of the Shaolin Poles
(1977)
Tiger Lei (as Shoji Kurada)
V.I.P.
(1977)
Heroes of the East
(1978)
Takeno
Edge of Fury
(1978)
Mr King
The Magnificent 3
(1980)
Japanese tourist
Ninja In The Deadly Trap
(1981)
Shi Ping-Wei, the Ninja Leader
Why Not?
(1981)
Hanjiro
Shaolin Fighters vs. Ninja
(1981)
Lonely Winner
The Legend of the Owl
(1981)
Seed of Evil
(1981)
Legend of a Fighter
(1982)
Teacher Kong Ho San
Impossible Woman
(1982)
Aces Go Places II
(1983)
Bull
Deadly Life of a Ninja
(1983)
Iga Ninja Leader
Crisis
(1983)
Chairman Sun Shao Hung
Kanei Command Performance
(1983)
Ninja Thunderbolt
(1984)
To Catch a Thief
(1984)
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
(1985)
Takei (segment "Kyoko's House")
Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars
(1985)
Parachute Assassin
Police Story
(1985)
Passerby
A Book of Heroes
(1986)
Yamashita sensei
The Millionaires' Express
(1986)
Japanese Ninja
The Seventh Curse
(1986)
Captain Ho
Eastern Condors
(1987)
Vietnamese Captain
Seven Days War
(1988)
Sakai
Carry on Hotel
(1988)
Tomohara
Bloodfight
(1989)
Masahiko Kai
Above the War
(1989)
Cook
Zodiac Killers
(1991)
Ishikawa (cameo)
The Devil's Messenger DEATH MESSENGER
(1991)
Violent Island: Dirty Money Hijack
(1992)
Quiet Don 3
(1992)
Quiet Don 4
(1992)
Quiet Don 5
(1993)
Quiet Don 6
(1993)
Fist of Legend
(1994)
Fuimo Funakoshi
The Fighting King
(1994)
Quiet Don 7
(1995)
Quiet Don 8
(1996)
Quiet Don 9
(1996)
Quiet Don 10
(1996)
Conman in Tokyo
(2000)
Tetsuo
Ginza Midnight Story - Utopia
(2000)
Ginza Midnight Story - Utopia 2
(2000)
Quiet Don 11
(2000)
Dark War
(2001)
Chang
Samouraïs
(2002)
Fujiwara Morio
So Close
(2002)
Master
Anna in Kungfu-land
(2003)
Sword Shek
Dragon Get Angry
(2005)
Yellow Dragon
(2005)
Gouzaburo "Go" Azuma
GoGo Sentai Boukenger The Movie: The Greatest Precious
(2006)
Kouichi Akashi
Legend of Seven Monks
(2006)
Blood: The Last Vampire
(2009)
Kato Takatora
Shinjuku Incident
(2009)
Taro Watagawa
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
(2010)
Chikaraishis Vater
Sword of Blood
(2011)
Genjiro Mishima
The Last Tycoon
(2012)
The Wrath of Vajra
(2013)
Amano Kawao
KIRI – Profession: Assassin
(2015)
Saburi
The Brink
(2017)
Chen Ding-Kui
God of War
(2017)
Kumasawa
The Empty Hands
(2017)
Akira Hirakawa
Manhunt
(2017)
Hideo Sakaguchi
The One
(2017)
新右卫门大师
Iceman: The Time Traveler
(2018)
Bei Tiao
Golden Job
(2018)
Morimoto
Fat Buddies
(2018)
Black Fox: Age of the Ninja
(2019)
Hyoe Isurugi
Enter the Clones of Bruce
(2023)
Self
Writing
Production