BIO

Takashi Shimura | 志村喬 was born Shoji Shimazaki in Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan, in 1905.  His grandfather was a samurai.   His father was a metallurgical engineer.

Shimura began acting at Kansai University in Osaka before having to drop out due to the his father’s retirement.   He maintained ties with his university troupe and was touring professionally by 1930, at the age of 25.

He was jailed for 20 days in 1939 by the Japanese government for his left-wing views and associations.

Shimura made his Japanese film debut in 1934, at the age of 29, for Shinkou Kinema.   Always in demand, he went on to appear in more than 215 feature films through 1980, including his last film, Kagemusha (1980).

He would become internationally recognized through his association with film director Akira Kurosawa’s stock company.   He appeared in 21 of Kurosawa’s films, beginning with Sanshiro Sugata (1943).

Shimura received the Mainichi Concours Award for Actor for his work in Stray Dog (1949) and The Quiet Duel (1949).   He was also twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Foreign Actor for his roles in Ikiru (1952) and Seven Samurai (1954).

He and his wife Masako had no children.

Shimura was diagnosed with emphysema in 1974 and died of lung disease in 1982, at the age of 76.

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS