The good, the bad and the samurai
If you ask anyone, what their favourite and memorable
Japanese samurai films are, they will nearly always star
Toshiro Mifune – Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro
and all the others. Whilst these are Akira Kurosawa
masterpieces, Mifune always took the starring roles.
Whether he’s the lone, scruffy ronin serving justice for
the underdog, taking the high ground as someone akin
to Robin Hood or simply the loyal retainer looking after
his master or mistress, Mifune stands out for many as
the archetypal samurai, the doer of good; the server
of justice; the killer of foes. His fame was, and still is,
worldwide. The guttural tones, his swagger and posture
marked his arrival on screen, giving him the presence of
a master of his art.
Cutting Edge wanted to find out more about Mifune, so we
started doing a bit of research.
H
e was born on 1st April 1920,
in Tsingtao, China (now
Qingdao, Shandong, China),
to Japanese parents and grew up in
Dalian. He did not set foot in Japan
until he was 21. A tall man for his
era, standing at 5’9” (1.75m), with
an appearance of being much taller.
His father was an importer and a
commercial photographer, and young
Toshiro worked in his father’s studio
for a time after graduating from Dalian
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Middle School. He was automatically
drafted into the Japanese army when
he turned 20, and enlisted in the
Air Force where he was attached to
the Aerial Photography Unit for the
duration of the World War II.
It was his goal to become a camera
man after serving during the war, but
after winning a talent contest for Toho,
his planned career took a diversion to
being in front of the camera instead
of behind it.