This page uses content from the Takashi Shimura biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

is one of the great Japanese actors of the last century.

Born in Ikuno, Japan, one of his earliest film roles was in Kenji Mizoguchi's Osaka Elegy (1936).

After Toshiro Mifune, Shimura was probably the next most closely associated actor with Akira Kurosawa. Shimura appeared in many of Kurosawa's most important movies - as well as many lesser known ones - in such roles as the lead samurai in Seven Samurai, the woodcutter in Rashomon, the main character in Ikiru, a veteran detective in Stray Dog, and the doctor in Drunken Angel, just to name a few.

The last movie of Kurosawa's in which Shimura appeared was Kagemusha (1980), where Kurosawa specifically wrote a part just for Shimura. However, the scene was cut from the western release, and so many do not know that he was even in the film. The release of the movie by the Criterion Collection rescued the lost footage and has included it within their US release of the film.

Outside of his career working with Kurosawa, Shimura is probably best known for his roles in several Japanese monster movies, including the scientist Kyohei Yamane in the first two Godzilla films.

Shimura died from emphysema at the age of 77.

Selected filmography

Kagemusha (1980)

Love and Faith (1978)

Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973)

Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968)

Red Beard (1965)

Samurai Assassin (1965)

Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

High and Low (1963)

Chushingura: 47 Samurai (1962)

Sanjuro (1962)

Mothra (1961)

Yojimbo (1961)

The Hidden Fortress (1958)

Throne of Blood (1957)

The Mysterians (1957)

Samurai III: Duel on Ganryu Island (1956)

I Live in Fear (1955)

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Godzilla (1954)

Seven Samurai (1954)

Ikiru (1952)

The Idiot (1951)

Elegy (1951)

Rashômon (1950)

Scandal (1950)

Stray Dog (1949)

The Quiet Duel (1949)

Drunken Angel (1948)

No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)

The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail (1945)

The One Most Beautiful (1944)

Sanshiro Sugata (1943)

External links

• Japanese Film - Takashi

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