Toshirô Mifune

Toshiro Mifune garnered more international acclaim than any other Japanese actor of the twentieth century. He was born to Japanese parents in Tsingtao, China, and grew up in Dalian. He did not visit Japan till he was 21 years old. Toshiro's father was an importer and a commercial photographer, and after graduating from Dalian Middle School, he worked at his father's studio for a period. When he reached 20, he was immediately recruited into the Japanese army and joined in the Air Force, where he was assigned to the Aerial Photography Unit for the rest of World War II.

In 1947, he auditioned for Kajirô Yamamoto, who referred him to director Senkichi Taniguchi, which resulted in Mifune's first film appearance in Shin Baka jidai: kôhen (1947). Mifune then met and connected with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, and the two went on to become the most renowned actor-director combo in Japanese cinema history. Mifune featured in 16 of Kurosawa's films, beginning with Yoidore Tenshi (1948), the majority of which have become world-renowned masterpieces. Mifune would go on to become the most recognized Japanese actor in the world because to his performances in Kurosawa's films, particularly L Sinh Môn (1950). He was a strong and violent actor who excelled in action roles while still having the capacity to dig nuanced and subtle emotional roles.

Detailed information:
Born: April 1, 1920, in Tsingtao, China [now Qingdao, Shandong, China]
Died: December 24, 1997, in Mitaka city, Tokyo, Japan (organ failure)
Birth Name: Sanchuan Minlang
Nicknames: The Wolf, The Shogun