Toshiro Mifune
The legendary Japanese actor who defined the samurai on screen.
Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer who appeared in over 150 films and television shows during his career.[1] He is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time, noted for his commanding screen presence and hypermasculine characters.[2] On 24 December 1997, Toshiro Mifune passed away at age 77 due to organ failure.[3][4]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 1 April 1920
- Birthplace
- Qingdao, Shandong, China
- Died
- 24 December 1997
- Place of death
- Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
- Resting place
- Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
- Occupation
- Actor
- film producer
- film director
- Years active
- 1947–1995
- Partner
- Mika Kitagawa
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He spent the first 19 years of his life in China and was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army Aviation division during World War II.[5] Mifune joined the Toho film company in 1946 and debuted the following year in the film Snow Trail.[6] He first encountered director Akira Kurosawa during a massive talent search at Toho Studios.[7] Kurosawa was impressed by Mifune's audition, describing him as "a young man reeling around the room in a violent frenzy".[7]
Mifune is best known for his 16 collaborations with Kurosawa, including Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Yojimbo.[8] Toshiro Mifune, the first child of Tokuzo and Sen Mifune, came into the world on 1 April 1920 in Seitō, a location in Japanese-occupied Shandong.[9] Mifune Productions was founded by Mifune in 1962, and it found commercial success with large-budget movies like The Sands of Kurobe and Samurai Banners.[10][6] Multiple organ failure caused Mifune's death on 24 December 1997 in Mitaka, Tokyo.[4]
What the cited sources add
The Morelia Film Festival account states that Mifune's debut on the big screen was Snow Trail in 1947, at age 27.[11] The UPI Archives report notes that in 1974, while still legally married, Mifune took Mika Kitagawa to a state dinner hosted by Emperor Hirohito.[12] The "Learning by Drinking" article describes Mifune as a terrible drunk who would not stop until a whisky bottle was empty.[6] That article also recounts that Mifune once fired shots at a friend's house after becoming enraged at a party.[6]
The same source states that Mifune received an official commendation for rescuing inhabitants during a flood using his motorboat.[6]
References
- "Toshiro Mifune Kept it Classy with Casual Style", August 2023. facts only, no text reused. cortis.com
- Wikipedia, "Toshiro Mifune" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Toshiro Mifune: The Honorary Samurai – Black Belt Magazine", Black Belt; Travis, "Empire's 50 Greatest Actors Of All Time List, Revealed", Empire, 20 December 2022; "Toshiro Mifune Kept it Classy with Casual Style", August 2023 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Toshiro Mifune" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hall of Fame" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Toshiro Mifune" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lyman, "Toshiro Mifune, Actor, Dies at 77; The Primal Hero of Samurai Films", The New York Times, 25 December 1997, p. B6 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Toshiro Mifune" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sharp, "Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema", Scarecrow Press, 2011, p. 162–65 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Learning by Drinking: Mifune Toshiro", 8 January 2024. facts only, no text reused. kumomi.org
- Wikipedia, "Toshiro Mifune" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tatara, "Rashomon", Turner Classic Movies; Galbraith IV, "The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune", Faber and Faber, 2001, p. 69–70 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Toshiro Mifune" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Learning by Drinking: Mifune Toshiro", 8 January 2024; "Toshiro Mifune, the Japanese Actor who Conquered Mexico | Morelia Film Festival", 19 July 2023 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Toshiro Mifune" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Matsuda, "Samurai : hyōden Mifune Toshirō", 文藝春秋, 2014, p. 16; Kobayashi, "Mifune Toshirō no eigashi = Toshiro Mifune, 1920-1997", アルファベータブックス, 2019, p. 24–25; Matsuda, "Samurai : hyōden Mifune Toshirō", 文藝春秋, 2014, p. 16; "95 years ago today: Actor Toshiro Mifune born", Akira Kurosawa info; "Toshiro Mifune presented in Arts section", News finder; Wise, "International Stars at War", p. 132 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Toshiro Mifune" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Learning by Drinking: Mifune Toshiro", 8 January 2024 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Toshiro Mifune, the Japanese Actor who Conquered Mexico | Morelia Film Festival", 19 July 2023. facts only, no text reused. moreliafilmfest.com
- "In 1974, while still legally married, Mifune enraged conservative purists by taking Mika Kitagawa, who later became his second wife, to a state dinner", UPI Archives. facts only, no text reused. upi.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Toshiro Mifune (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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