Toshirō Mifune
Acting • Born 1920-04-01 – Died 1997-12-24
Biography
Toshirō Mifune (April 1, 1920 - December 24, 1997) was a Japanese actor who is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Japanese cinema. He was born in Qingdao, China, but was raised in Japan. Mifune's career spanned over 50 years, during which he collaborated extensively with renowned director Akira Kurosawa, creating some of the most iconic films in Japanese cinema. Mifune gained international recognition for his performances in Kurosawa's films, particularly in samurai films. He portrayed strong, dynamic, and often rebellious characters, bringing a raw intensity to his roles. Some of his notable collaborations with Kurosawa include "Rashomon" (1950), "Seven Samurai" (1954), "Yojimbo" (1961), and "The Hidden Fortress" (1958), which inspired George Lucas's "Star Wars." Apart from his work with Kurosawa, Mifune appeared in numerous other films, showcasing his versatility as an actor. He played roles in various genres, including dramas, comedies, and war films. Some of his other notable films include "The Throne of Blood" (1957), "High and Low" (1963), and "Red Beard" (1965). Mifune's charismatic presence, powerful performances, and ability to convey complex emotions made him an iconic figure in Japanese cinema. He received international recognition and awards for his contributions to the film industry, including several honors at the Venice Film Festival and a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Filmography
176 credits
The Hidden Fortress
Movie • 1958
General Rokurota Makabe
Rashomon
Movie • 1950
Tajômaru
Throne of Blood
Movie • 1957
Taketoki Washizu
Red Beard
Movie • 1965
Dr. Kyojio Niide ("Red Beard")
Grand Prix
Movie • 1966
Izō Yamura
Incident at Blood Pass
Movie • 1970
Yojimbo
Stray Dog
Movie • 1949
Det. Murakami
1941
Movie • 1979
Cmdr. Akiro Mitamura
I Live in Fear
Movie • 1955
Kiichi Nakajima
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
Movie • 1954
Musashi Miyamoto a.k.a. Takezo
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple
Movie • 1955
Musashi Miyamoto a.k.a. Takezo
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
Movie • 1956
Musashi Miyamoto a.k.a. Takezo
Midway
Movie • 1976
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Sanjuro
Movie • 1962
Sanjûrô Tsubaki / The ronin
The Bad Sleep Well
Movie • 1960
Kôichi Nishi
Red Sun
Movie • 1971
Kuroda Jubei
The Idiot
Movie • 1951
Denkichi Akama
Hell in the Pacific
Movie • 1968
Captain Tsuruhiko Kuroda
Yojimbo
Movie • 1961
Sanjuro Kuwabatake / The Samurai
The Lower Depths
Movie • 1957
Sutekichi the Thief
Drunken Angel
Movie • 1948
Matsunaga
Scandal
Movie • 1950
Ichirô Aoye
Samurai Rebellion
Movie • 1967
Isaburo Sasahara
Death of a Tea Master
Movie • 1989
Rikyu Sen-no
High and Low
Movie • 1963
Kingo Gondo
Winter Kills
Movie • 1979
Keith
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo
Movie • 1970
Yojimbo/Sasa
The Rickshaw Man
Movie • 1958
Matsugorō Tomishima
The Life of Oharu
Movie • 1952
Katsunosuke
The Quiet Duel
Movie • 1949
Dr. Kyoji Fujisaki
Chûshingura
Movie • 1962
Genba Tawaraboshi
Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor
Movie • 1969
Isami Kondo
Japan's Longest Day
Movie • 1967
War Minister General Korechika Anami
The Challenge
Movie • 1982
Toru Yoshida
Shadow of the Wolf
Movie • 1992
Kroomak
Samurai Pirate
Movie • 1963
Sukezaemon Naya, aka 'Luzon' [Sinbad, in US version]
Samurai Banners
Movie • 1969
Kansuke Yamamoto
Home-Brewed Tatsu
Movie • 1962
Tatsu
The Sword of Doom
Movie • 1966
Toranosuke Shimada
The Fall of Ako Castle
Movie • 1978
Tsuchiya Michinao
Attack Squadron
Movie • 1963
Lt. Colonel Senda
Princess from the Moon
Movie • 1987
Taketori-no-Miyatsuko
Adventure in Kigan Castle
Movie • 1966
Osami
Samurai Assassin
Movie • 1965
Tsuruchiyo Niiro
Yaji and Kita on the Road
Movie • 1958
Toshinoshin Taya
Vendetta of a Samurai
Movie • 1952
Mataemon Araki
cf Girl
Movie • 1989
Shūichirō Hase
Red Lion
Movie • 1969
Gonzo
Desperado Outpost
Movie • 1959
Battalion Commander
Paper Tiger
Movie • 1975
Ambassador Kagoyama
Battle of the Japan Sea
Movie • 1969
Admiral Heihachiro Togo
Snow Trail
Movie • 1947
Eijima
Yagyu Secret Scrolls
Movie • 1957
Tasaburō Kasumi
The Important Man
Movie • 1961
Ánimas Trujano
The Bushido Blade
Movie • 1981
Shogun's Commander
Inchon
Movie • 1981
Saito-San
Yagyu Secret Scrolls: Ninjitsu - Part II
Movie • 1958
Tasaburo
Fort Graveyard
Movie • 1965
Sergeant Kosugi
The Sands of Kurobe
Movie • 1968
Kitagawa
The Last Gunfight
Movie • 1960
Detective Saburo Fujioka
Samurai Saga
Movie • 1959
Heihachiro Komaki
Whirlwind
Movie • 1964
Lord Akashi
Lowly Ronin
Movie • 1981
Sanjuro Hinoki
Lowly Ronin 2: The Spray of Blood
Movie • 1982
Sanjuro Hinoki
The Three Treasures
Movie • 1959
Prince Yamato Takeru
Wedding Ring
Movie • 1950
Takeshi Ema
Daredevil in the Castle
Movie • 1961
Mohei
All About Marriage
Movie • 1958
Acting teacher
Love and Faith
Movie • 1978
Taiko Hideyoshi
The Ambitious
Movie • 1970
Shojiro Goto
Grand Prix: Challenge of the Champions
Movie • 1966
Self
Rebels on the High Sea
Movie • 1956
Matsuo Tokuzō
The Mad Atlantic
Movie • 1966
Heihachirô Murakami
A Man in the Storm
Movie • 1957
Saburō Watari
Settlement of Love
Movie • 1956
Shuntarō Ōhira
A Dangerous Hero
Movie • 1957
Kawada
The Masterless 47
Movie • 1960
Kazuo Momoi
All is Well
Movie • 1955
Daikichi Risshun
All is Well 2
Movie • 1955
Daikichi Risshun
Three Gentlemen Return from Hong Kong
Movie • 1962
Zhang Zhizhang
Proof of the Man
Movie • 1977
Yohei Kori
Holiday in Tokyo
Movie • 1958
Tenkai's nephew Jirō
Journey of Honor
Movie • 1991
Ieyasu Tokugawa
Shogun's Samurai
Movie • 1978
Yoshinao Tokugawa
Escape from Prison
Movie • 1950
Shinkichi
Safari 5000
Movie • 1969
Yūichirō Takase
Sasaki Kojiro
Movie • 1951
Miyamoto Musashi
Secret of the Forbidden Valley
Movie • 1983
Admiral Yamamoto
Movie • 1968
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
A Wife's Heart
Movie • 1956
Kenkichi
Rise Against the Sword
Movie • 1966
Abare Gōemon
The Retired Samurai
Movie • 1987
Hikozaemon Ōkubo
Deep River
Movie • 1995
Tsukada
Picture Bride
Movie • 1995
The Benshi
The Demon Comes in Spring
Movie • 1989
Kukkune no jî
Port Arthur
Movie • 1980
Emperor Meiji
Shag
Movie • 1978
Captain Takeo Murata
The Storm of the Pacific
Movie • 1960
Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi
The Day the Sun Rose
Movie • 1968
Kumaza
Lowly Ronin 4: Living Hell
Movie • 1983
Sanjuro Hinoki
The Eagle of the Pacific
Movie • 1953
1st Lieutenant Tomonaga
Battle Anthem
Movie • 1983
Admiral Heihachiro Togo
The Big Boss
Movie • 1959
Kashimura
No More God, No More Love
Movie • 1985
Kōzō Kanzaki
The Ballad of the Sea of Genkai
Movie • 1986
Kyūbei Matsufuji
The Militarists
Movie • 1970
Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto
Conduct Report on Professor Ishinaka
Movie • 1950
Teisaku Nagasawa
The Gambling Samurai
Movie • 1960
Kunisada Chuji
Domineering
Movie • 1982
Masao Tadokoro
Saga of the Vagabonds
Movie • 1959
Rokuro Kai
Mifune: The Last Samurai
Movie • 2016
Self - Actor / Various Roles (archive footage)
Tora-san Goes North
Movie • 1987
Junkichi Ueno
The Women of Osaka Castle
Movie • 1983
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Okita Soji: Swordsman of Fire
Movie • 1984
Shūsai Kondō
The Life of a Horse Trader
Movie • 1951
Yonetaro Katayama
Lowly Ronin 5: The Teenage Orphan Girl
Movie • 1983
Sûrônin Rakuyôjûrô
The Shatterer
Movie • 1987
Murai
Beyond Love and Hate
Movie • 1951
Gorō Sakata
Foghorn
Movie • 1952
Chiyokichi
The Last Embrace
Movie • 1953
Shinkichi / Hayakawa
No Time for Tears
Movie • 1955
Mitsuo Yano
The Underworld
Movie • 1956
Chief Inspector Kumada
Man Against Man
Movie • 1960
Kaji
The Retreat from Kiska
Movie • 1965
Omura
Sword for Hire
Movie • 1952
Sasa Hayatenosuke
Theater Of Life
Movie • 1983
Hyōtarō Aonari
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'The Hidden Fortress'
Movie • 2002
Self
The Youth and His Amulet
Movie • 1961
Fudo-Myo (Immovable Bright King)
The Miracle of Joe, the Petrel
Movie • 1984
Fisherman
Lord Mito
Movie • 1978
Sakuzaemon Okumura
Japanese Godfather: Conclusion
Movie • 1978
Kosuke Oishi
Tokyo Sweetheart
Movie • 1952
Kurokawa
Legacy of the 500,000
Movie • 1963
Takeichi Matsuo
The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi
Movie • 1979
Kindaichi of 11th Generation in "The Woman in the Eye"
Onmitsu Doshin: The Edo Secret Police
Movie • 1979
Sadanobu Matsudaira
The Lowly Ronin 3: Duel at Dawn
Movie • 1982
Lowly Ronin 6: Betrayal at Yatate Pass
Movie • 1983
Sûrônin Hinoki Sajûrô
Strawberry Road
Movie • 1991
Taoka
Down Town
Movie • 1957
Yoshio Tsuruishi
The Masterless 47 – Part II
Movie • 1961
The Man Who Came to Port
Movie • 1952
Gorō Niinuma
Good Luck to These Two
Movie • 1957
Toshio Maruyama
Japanese Godfather: Ambition
Movie • 1977
Kosuke Oishi
Seven Samurai
Movie • 1954
Kikuchiyo
Scoundrel
Movie • 1956
Kanji
Theater of Life
Movie • 1958
Swift Current
Movie • 1952
Shunsuke Kosugi
My Wonderful Yellow Car
Movie • 1953
Matsumura
Sunflower Girl
Movie • 1953
Ippei Hitachi
Heaven and Earth: Dawn Episode
Movie • 1990
Nagao Tamekage
A Man Among Men
Movie • 1955
"Buick" Maki
Sanshiro Sugata
Movie • 1965
Shogoro Yano
These Foolish Times
Movie • 1947
Genzaburo Onō, Gang Boss
The Walking Major
Movie • 1970
Kinugasa Tadao
Ten Duels of Young Shingo: Chapter 1
Movie • 1981
Tamon Umei
Ten Duels of Young Shingo: Chapter 2
Movie • 1982
Tamon Umei
Meeting of the Ghost of Apres-Guerre
Movie • 1951
Kenji Kawakami
Pirates
Movie • 1951
Tora
Jakoman and Tetsu
Movie • 1949
Tetsu
Who Knows a Woman's Heart
Movie • 1951
Mizuno
The Surf
Movie • 1954
Skipper of the Utashima-maru
The Black Fury
Movie • 1954
Eiichi Tsuda
Rainy Night Duel
Movie • 1956
Masahiko Koseki
Elegy
Movie • 1951
Prosecutor Daisuke Toki
Kin no tamago: Golden Girl
Movie • 1952
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
Movie • 2012
(archive footage)
Sekigahara
TV • 1981
Sakon Shima
Shōgun
TV • 1980
Lord Yoshi Toranaga
Tuesday Suspense Theater
TV • 1981
V.I.P. Schaukel
TV • 1971
Self
The 47 Ronins of Ako
TV • 1979
Tachibana Sakon
Falcons of Edo
TV • 1978
Kanbei Uchiyama
Epic Chushingura
TV • 1971
Oishi Kuranosuke
Ronin of the Wastelands
TV • 1972
Kujuro Toge
Ronin in a Lawless Town
TV • 1976
Mr. Danna
Burning Mountain River
TV • 1984
Otsuichi Amo