Death of Toshirō Mifune

Toshirō Mifune died on 24 December 1997 in Mitaka, aged 77. A Japanese actor, Mifune was born in China to Japanese parents and returned to Japan, where he was cast in Akira Kurosawa's Drunken Angel in 1948. Over the next seventeen years he starred in many of Kurosawa's greatest films, including Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo and Red Beard. His forceful, physical performances, especially as swordsmen, made him the best-known Japanese actor abroad, and he won the best actor prize at the Venice Film Festival twice. He also appeared in Hollywood productions such as Grand Prix and Midway and in the television series Shogun. He formed his own production company in the 1960s.

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