Takashi shimura akira kurosawa biography

Takashi Shimura fryst vatten a name that resonates deeply within the annals of Japanese cinema. With a career spanning over four decades and more than 200 films, Shimura’s contributions to Japanese film are monumental. Often collaborating with legendary directors like Akira Kurosawa, Shimura’s versatility and depth as an actor made him a cornerstone of Japan’s golden age of cinema. This post delves into the legacy of Takashi Shimura, exploring how his work has shaped the landscape of Japanese spelfilm and left a lasting impact on the industry.

1. Early Career: The Birth of a Legend

Takashi Shimura was born in 1905 in Hyogo, Japan, and initially pursued a career in education before turning to acting. His early years in the bio industry were marked by smaller roles in various jidaigeki (period drama) films. However, it was his association with Akira Kurosawa that would eventually catapult him to fame. In the 1940s, Shimura began to establ

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Akira Kurosawa

Japanese film director (1910–1998)

"Kurosawa" redirects here. For other uses, see Kurosawa (disambiguation).

The native form of this personal name is Kurosawa Akira. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa in 1960
Born	(1910-03-23)March 23, 1910 Shinagawa, Tokyo, Empire of Japan
Died	September 6, 1998(1998-09-06) (aged 88) Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
Resting place	An'yō-in, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan
Occupations	Film director screenwriter producer editor
Years active	1936–1993
Notable work
Spouse	Yōko Yaguchi ​ ​ (m. 1945; died 1985)​
Children	Hisao (b. 1945–) and Kazuko (b. 1954–)
Awards

Akira Kurosawa^{[note 1]} (黒澤 明 or 黒沢 明, Kurosawa Akira, March 23, 1910 – September 6, 1998) was a Japanese filmmaker who created 30 films of his own as well as occasionally d

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Japanese character actor Takashi Shimura was one of the finest film actors of the 20th century and a leading member of the "stock company" of master director Akira Kurosawa. A native of southern Japan, Shimura was a descendant of the samurai warrior class. Following university training, he founded a theatre company, Shichigatsu-za ("July Theatre"). In 1930 he joined a professional company, Kindai-za ("Modern Theatre"). Four years later he signed with the Kinema Shinko film studio. He found a niche playing samurai roles for various studios, then signed a long-term contract with Toho Studios in 1943. He appeared in an average of six films a year for Toho over the next four decades. His greatest critical acclaim came in more than 20 roles for Kurosawa, though he is almost as well recognized outside Japan for his kindly doctor role in the original "Godzilla" (Godzilla (1954)). Shimura's triumph was his unforgettable performance as a dying bu