Today marks the 90th birthday of Toshiro Mifune, almost certainly Japan's most famous actor. He was born on April 1, 1920 in Tsingtao, China (now Qindao, Shandong, China), where his family had emigrated from northern Japan and where his father was a commercial photographer. Mifune himself served in the Aerial Photography unit of the Japanese army, and was repatriated to Japan in 1946.
He was accepted as a "new face" at Toho Productions in 1947. His IMDb entry lists 181 films that he appeared in, though of course he is most well-known for and will always be primarily associated with the numerous films he starred in that were directed by Akira Kurosawa. These ranged from Drunken Angel (1948), Mifune's third film, through Red Beard (1965).
He was accepted as a "new face" at Toho Productions in 1947. His IMDb entry lists 181 films that he appeared in, though of course he is most well-known for and will always be primarily associated with the numerous films he starred in that were directed by Akira Kurosawa. These ranged from Drunken Angel (1948), Mifune's third film, through Red Beard (1965).
Mifune died on December 24, 1997.
Here are images of Mifune in four of Kurosawa's films:
As Matsunaga in Drunken Angel / Yoidore tenshi (1948)
As Detective Murakami in Stray Dog / Nora inu (1949),withTakeshi Shimura, left
As Tajomaru in Rashomon (1950), with Machiko Kyo
As Kikuchiyo in Seven Samurai / Shichinin no Samurai (1954)
