Toshiro Mifune

Toshiro Mifune (三船 敏郎 Mifune Toshirō) (April 1, 1920 - December 24, 1997) was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films.

Later life

In a 1984 magazine poll, Mifune was voted the "most Japanese Man among men. The One whose face expressed the Best of Japanese Pride, Power & Virility." In his native land and overseas, he is still often viewed as the epitome of Japanese manhood, and a prototypical oyaji.

Related Topics:
1984 - Oyaji

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Early in the 1980s, Mifune founded an acting school, Mifune Geijutsu Gakuin (三船芸術学院). The school failed after only three years, due to mismanaged finances.

Related Topics:
1980s - Acting

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Mifune received wider audience acclaim in the West than he had ever had before after playing Toranaga in the 1980 miniseries Shogun. However, the series' historical inaccuracy and somewhat simplified view of Japan meant that it was not as well received in his homeland. It deepened the rift with Kurosawa, virtually ensuring that they would not work together again.

Related Topics:
Toranaga - 1980 - Miniseries - Shogun

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Kurosawa seems to have made various uncharitable comments about Mifune, and Mifune about Kurosawa, and on many occasions they openly expressed feelings of resentment toward one another. They finally made something of a reconciliation in 1993 at the funeral of their friend Ishiro Honda. After making tenuous eye contact, they tearfully embraced one another, ending nearly three decades of mutual avoidance. Sadly, they would never collaborate again, nor would they have a chance to truly restore their friendship. Within five years, both men would be dead.

Related Topics:
1993 - Funeral - Ishiro Honda

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In 1992, Mifune began suffering from a serious health problem, the exact nature of which is not fully known. It has been variously suggested that he destroyed his health with overwork, suffered a heart attack, or experienced a stroke. For whatever reason, he abruptly retreated from public life and remained largely confined to his home, cared for by his wife Sachiko. When she succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 1995, Mifune's physical and mental state began to decline rapidly. He died on December 24, 1997, in Mitaka, Japan, of organ failure at the age of 77.

Related Topics:
1992 - Heart attack - Stroke - Pancreatic cancer - 1995 - December 24 - 1997 - Mitaka - Japan

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