Born on March 12, 1905, in Ikuno, Japan, Takashi Shimura was one of Japan’s greatest actors of the 20th century, and a descendent of the samurai warrior class. Following University training, Shimura founded a theatre company, Shichigatsu-za, and in 1930, he joined a professional company, Kindai-za. Four years later he signed with the Kinema Shinko film studio and found a niche playing various samurai roles before signing a long-term contract with Toho Studios in 1943. For the next four decades, he appeared in an average of six Toho films a year, and by the time of his death, had starred in over 200 feature films.
Second only to Toshiro Mifune, the versatile Takashi Shimura was the actor most closely associated with Akira KUROSAWA in the public mind, appearing in numerous lead roles including Kambei, the lead samurai of Seven Samurai, the woodcutter in Rashomon, the sick bureaucrat Watanabe in Ikiru, the detective in Stray Dog, and the doctor of Drunken Angel. Also, Shimura appeared… read more
Born on March 12, 1905, in Ikuno, Japan, Takashi Shimura was one of Japan’s greatest actors of the 20th century, and a descendent of the samurai warrior class. Following University training, Shimura founded a theatre company, Shichigatsu-za, and in 1930, he joined a professional company, Kindai-za. Four years later he signed with the Kinema Shinko film studio and found a niche playing various samurai roles before signing a long-term contract with Toho Studios in 1943. For the next four decades, he appeared in an average of six Toho films a year, and by the time of his death, had starred in over 200 feature films.
Second only to Toshiro Mifune, the versatile Takashi Shimura was the actor most closely associated with Akira KUROSAWA in the public mind, appearing in numerous lead roles including Kambei, the lead samurai of Seven Samurai, the woodcutter in Rashomon, the sick bureaucrat Watanabe in Ikiru, the detective in Stray Dog, and the doctor of Drunken Angel. Also, Shimura appeared in Kurosawa’s debut film, Sanshiro Sugata (1943) as well as many others, including Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Red Beard, High and Low, The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood, The Idiot, and The Quiet Duel. In fact, he appeared in 19 Kurosawa films, more than Mifune or any other regular Kurosawa actor. Outside of his work with Kurosawa, Shimura may be best known for his roles in Japanese monster movies, including the scientist Kyohei YAMANE in the first two Godzilla films. Shimura died from emphysema at the age of 76, on February 11, 1982. —AnimEigo
