**Kei Satō (1928-2010)** was a Japanese actor, recognized for his iconic face and remarkable versatility, especially in intense, ambiguous, or openly threatening roles.

His film career is inextricably linked to director Nagisa Ōshima, who directed him in seminal films such as *Kôshikei (Death by Hanging)* (1968) and *Ai no Korīda (In the Realm of the Senses)* (1976), where Satō often played provocative and psychologically complex characters.

He also shone under the direction of Kaneto Shindō, appearing in horror classics such as *Onibaba* (1964) and *Kuroneko* (1968). His distinctive style, characterized by a penetrating gaze and magnetic stage presence, made him one of the most recognizable and disturbing faces of post-war Japanese cinema.