Kono Akitake was a Japanese actor, born in Shinko, Annaka, Nagasaki, Japan. He was originally performing under the stage name Yamazaki Shinzo (山崎進蔵). He attended Shimabara Prefectural Middle School and later Tokyo Physics School, though he left in November 1930. In November 1931, Kono joined the Zenshinza Proletarian Theater Institute, where he began his acting career. He was drafted into the military in 1939 but returned to Zenshinza in 1940 after his discharge. He left the group in 1942 to join the Toho Theater Research Society and later became a contract actor for Toho, mainly focusing on film. Due to the Toho labor dispute, Kono left the company and began working as a freelance actor. He appeared in films produced by Shochiku, Daiei, Toei, and Nikkatsu, and also took roles in early television dramas. Later in life, Kono was hospitalized for a stomach ulcer and passed away on March 17, 1978, from a cerebral thrombosis at the age of 66. (Source: MyDramaList) Watch drama online for free.