
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