08/03/2025
The man!
Sho Kosugi is a Japanese actor, martial artist, and writer widely recognized for popularizing the concept of the ninja in Western cinema during the 1980s. A former All Japan Karate Champion with extensive training in various martial arts including Shindō jinen-ryū Karate, Kendo, Judo, Iaido, Kobudo, Aikido, and Ninjutsu, Kosugi brought authenticity and impressive fighting skills to his roles.
His career began with minor parts in films like "The Godfather Part II" and "The Bad News Bears Go to Japan." His big break came with "Enter the Ninja" (1981), and he quickly became a leading man in a series of highly successful ninja films for Cannon Films, including "Revenge of the Ninja" (1983) and "Ninja III: The Domination" (1984). These films, along with the primetime television series "The Master" (1984), where he played the antagonist Okasa and also served as fight double, stunt coordinator, and ninja choreographer, cemented his status as a martial arts action star and ignited a "ninja boom" in popular culture.
Beyond his "ninja" roles, Kosugi also took on other martial arts-heavy parts in films like "Pray for Death" (1985), "Rage of Honor" (1987), "Black Eagle" (1988), and "Blind Fury" (1989). He often contributed to the fight choreography in his films.
After a period of reduced acting work in the 1990s, during which he started a taiko group and founded the Sho Kosugi Institute (a martial arts acting school in Japan), he returned to the big screen with a supporting role in "Ninja Assassin" (2009). Sho Kosugi's legacy lies in his significant contribution to establishing the ninja as a prominent figure in American action cinema and his enduring impact on the martial arts film genre. His sons, Kane and Shane Kosugi, have also followed in his footsteps as actors and martial artists.
