Actor Toshiro Mifune, who appeared in 16 Akira Kurosawa films, including "Rashomon" in 1950 and "Seven Samurai" in 1954, died Wednesday night at a hospital in Mitaka, Tokyo. He was 77.
Born in Qingdao, China, in 1920, he spent his teen years there. He debuted in 1947 as Toho Co.'s "new face" in "Ginrei no Hate (At the End of Snow Covered Slopes)." In the following year, he starred in Kurosawa's "Yoidore Tenshi (Drunken Angel)," in which he portrayed a frustrated war veteran, winning high marks from critics.
Although Mifune performed various roles that required stuntlike acts in his younger years, he eventually became one of the few actors who could play the roles of the high-and-mighty with charisma. In one of his last works, "Sen no Rikyu," directed by Keisuke Kumai in 1989, Mifune's performance of a legendary 16th century master of the tea ceremony won praise in international film circles.
Other notable roles included a nihilistic samurai hero in such films as "Yojimbo" in 1961 and "Tsubaki Sanjuro" in 1962. That same year, Mifune established his own company, Mifune Productions, and directed "Gojuman no Isan (The Legacy of the 500,000)."
He also appeared in the 1980 American TV miniseries "Shogun."