Toshirō Mifune (1920–97) was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa in films such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo. He is also popular for portraying Musashi Miyamoto in Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samurai Trilogy. Continue reading »
Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi, Beat Kitano, Takashi Kitano), born 1947, is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim in Japan and abroad for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. Since April 2005 he has been a professor at the Graduate School of Visual Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. In Japan Kitano is known primarily as a TV host and comedian. Continue reading »