Why did Toshiro Mifune fall out with Akira Kurosawa?
There are some actors that will forever be associated with a given director. For Robert De Niro, that would unequivocally be Martin Scorsese; for Samuel L. Jackson, undoubtedly Quentin Tarantino; for John Wayne, certainly his namesake John Ford. But in terms of Japanese cinema and its mega-star Toshiro Mifune, he will always be closely linked to the work of Akira Kurosawa.
Mifune starred in many of Kurosawa’s best-loved films, including Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress and Yojimbo. It was in the late 1940s when the two men were introduced, and Kurosawa found the man that would play many of his most-acclaimed lead roles.
The biggest film production studio in Japan, Toho Studios, were hosting a talent search, and Kurosawa was invited. The director didn’t feel like attending the event but was persuaded by the actress Hideko Takamine, who said that there was a young actor there with much promise. The actor was, of course, Mifune.
Kurosawa later remembered “a young man reeling around the room in a violent frenzy. It was as frightening as watching a wounded beast trying to break loose. I was transfixed”. Mifune did not win the talent competition, but he left a deep impression on Kurosawa, who once said: “I am a person rarely impressed by actors. But in the case of Mifune, I was completely overwhelmed.”
Several widely-celebrated collaborations between the two Japanese cinema icons followed, with Mifune making a name for himself by subverting the typically polite and clean samurai. He instead began playing ronin or samurai, who were undoubtedly skilled but rough around the edge in terms of their conduct.
In Kurosawa’s films, Mifune also developed the wandering ronin character archetype, like in Yojimbo, where his character didn’t even have a name. This was adopted by Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood when Eastwood played ‘The Man With No Name’ in Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, showing Mifune’s undoubted effect on global cinema.
After 16 films together, the last being 1965’s Red Beard, the two film legends parted ways. A rift between the two, who had once been in deep admiration of one another, had developed. There are several reasons why Kurosawa and Mifune fell out of favour with one another. One explanation is that Mifune had sought to begin his own production company, but Kurosawa had suggested against it because he privately felt that he would not be able to cast him as easily.
Mifune had also been required to grow a natural beard for Red Beard, which he was to keep for two years of filming, but this meant that he could not play any other roles during this time. This led to Mifune getting into debt, a result that he no doubt blamed on Kurosawa.
The following years saw a drop in interest in Kurosawa’s films, and Mifune continued to enjoy success in a number of samurai films not directed by his former frequent partner. When Mifune enjoyed success in America with the television miniseries Shogun, Kurosawa slandered the programme in public.
Mifune essentially showed Kurosawa up when he always spoke of him with profound respect in press appearances. The rift healed somewhat over the years, but the two never worked together. Kurosawa once said of Mifune, “All the films that I made with Mifune, without him, they would not exist”, while Mifune said in return, “I have never as an actor done anything that I am proud of other than with him.”
