User:Black flamingo11/Toshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor, celebrity and dignified samurai of good lineage. During his lifetime he was one of the most powerful and respected actors in Japan, commanding the respect of any peasant or geisha he happened upon, or else killing them ceremoniously.
Mifune gained notoriety in the 1950s and 60s for his collaborations with most noble director Akira Kurosawa, a relationship Mifune described as being "as lithe as a bluebell", and "inspirational like the January sunrise".
Childhood[edit | edit source]
Toshirō Mifune was born in 1920, the Year of the Monkey, which in Japan obviously signifies a great deal. His childhood name was Bennosuke 弁之助, which translates as "fish of human virtues".
In those days Japan had a very rigid caste system, and therefore Mifune was forced from a very early age to follow in his parent's footsteps and become an actor, primarily playing samurai in historic dramas just as they had. "But father," the young Mifune is reported to have said. "I want to play a farmer!" "Well you can't," replied Mifune Senior. "You must play respected samurai, like father before you, and grandfather before him. You are insolent child of many white petals". According to Mifune's biographer his father then struck the young boy with a bokken and spat in his face, although historians remind us that this was a considered a loving exchange between father and son in Pre-WWII Japan.
From the age of five onwards, Mifune went to live at the Shoreian Temple, where his uncle, the Acting Grandmaster Yoshikawa Kihei, taught him the ancient family art of Danyuu - or spirit acting. The lessons lasted twelve hours a day and mostly consisted of being beaten by sticks of bamboo. Mifune finally graduated in 1938 when he bested his uncle in an "acting duel", fatally wounding the Grandmaster with an inscrutable portrayal of Prothero.
Returning home, Mifune was heralded a hero. As a gift from his parents, he was given the family's furniture, geisha and genealogy records. A great tree was also planted in his honour in the town square. The celebrations went on all night, as did the fire that ultimately burned the village to the ground and killed hundreds of people.
Early Films[edit | edit source]
Now in his 20s, Mifune travelled to the Shimora Province to pursue a career in acting. He eventually found his way into the Toho Shogunate, killing many rivals along the way. This quickly him to the attention of hot, up-and-coming director Akira Kurosawa, who was immediately impressed by Mifune's catlike moves and violent demands to be cast in his next film. Together, they made Drunken Angel, Stray Dog and Scandal, which all did reasonably well in Japan - although the country's film tax meant that most of the profits went to the Emporer, leaving Kurosawa and co. with little more than a hundred-thousand Yen. While these films were set in the present day, and were typically crime dramas, it would be for their historical samurai pieces that the two young stars would ultimately be known.
The groundbreaking film Rashomon was Mifune and Kurosawa's first major success overseas. It tells the story of a rape and murder, told from four different perspectives, each so contradictory that by the end of film neither the characters or the audience have any idea what is going on. The film, and its star, took the Venice Film Festival by storm - following a bloody seige led by Mifune in which all the judges were senselessly murdered. In surrender, the committee offered him the gong for best film, but he decided he was content with just taking their crops and slave-girls. The actor was put on trial by the Italian courts, but was never charged as the jurors were unable to reconcile the many discrepancies in the witness statements.
Jidaigeki with Kurosawa and without[edit | edit source]
With this followed a series of Jidaigeki - or period dramas - about samurai, all with Mifune in the lead role. Many of these, including Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, are now considered to be among the greatest films of all time, and have been remade countless times in the West (see Magnificent Seven, Fistful of Dollars, even A fucking Bug's Life).
Respect and money were now readily available to Mifune, and he and his concubines moved into Mountain Castle. He also took on a young apprentice named Yuri, to train in the ways of the facial expression. He became known the archetypal roaming swordsman, both onscreen and in reality.
When not participating in one of Kurosawa's tumultuous three-year-shoots, Mifune also somehow managed to find the time to star in the Samurai Trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. Though successful, these were not widely seen outside of Japan because the film cannisters were lost in transport to America. In lieu of this great loss to cinema, Japan finally agreed to stop sending airmail by paper balloon.
Breakup with Kurosawa[edit | edit source]
As Mifune became more noteworthy, he began to pursue different types of acting roles, especially ones in English language films. Among these was George Lucas' Star Wars Trilogy, where he was considered for the role of Obi Wan Kenobi. Kurosawa considered this to be dishonorable, and claimed Mifune was turning his back on his countrymen and defying the wills of his honourable ancestors. He resolved never to cast Mifune in one of his films again. Mifune tried to make up with his old friend, offering to shave his head as an apology, but Kurosawa coldly rejected this peace offering.
Death[edit | edit source]
Mifune died honourably in 1993, disembowling himself with his katana to escape the malaise of old age. Shortly before his death he has the chance to make up with his old friend Kurosawa, via a rigid handshake at an awards ceremony. This over-the-top display of emotion caused national embarrassment in Japan.