Why such a shock? Perhaps because the blemish had been covered with makeup throughout the series. Well, that is not entirely true. In a number of scenes, when the directors almost casually allowed Tamura Masakazu's right side to take up the whole screen, the spot was in fact faintly visible. However, my brain refused to acknowledge it. After all, Tamura Masakazu is renowned for his beauty in Japanese audience throughout his long career from the 1960s to the early 2000s. In the dozens of TV series and movies he starred, there was never a hint of this spot on his face. He might have had it bleached at some point, or it went away on its own. And yet, here it is on his nearly-perfect face, captured on film, in open air.
Below is a shot in the Nemuri Kyoshiro series with period costume and full makeup.
This is not the only example. Facial scars on an actor, particular a leading man or woman, has been a source of some fascination to me. For example, Sammo Hung and Sofia Helin (The Bridge) both have scars around their mouths.
There is something moving about such display of one's flaws, especially in contrast to the otherwise beautiful (or at least adorable, in Sammo's case) context. The emotional impact of such a face, at least on me, can be far stronger than perfection.
Nemuri Kyoshiro is the defining role for Tamura Masakazu. The strange mix of both aloofness and vulnerability more or less remained in many of his later roles. Even some of the more comic roles could not be entirely free of this slightly intimidating distance. That blemish overturned something fundamental, oh I don't know, maybe in my mind.
