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IMDbPro

Takashi Shimura(1905-1982)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Takashi Shimura in Ikiru (1952)
Home Video Trailer from Toho Film Company
Play trailer2:31
Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
9 Videos
99+ Photos
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 bureaucrat in Kurosawa's Ikiru (1952). He continued to act steadily, in good films and bad, almost until his death, culminating with Kurosawa's Kagemusha (1980). He is often described as filling the spot for Kurosawa that Ward Bond filled for John Ford--an ever-present and reliable character player who consistently supplied a solidity and strength to whatever film he appeared in. Shimura was definitely a finer actor than Bond, of the most versatile "chameleons" in the world cinema, a great artist with enormous range in sublime interpretations, from Ikiru (1952)'s diffident clerk to the leader of the Seven Samurai in Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954). He died in 1982, a reluctant icon of Japanese cinema.
BornMarch 12, 1905
DiedFebruary 11, 1982(76)
BornMarch 12, 1905
DiedFebruary 11, 1982(76)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
    • 2 wins & 2 nominations total

Photos136

Kensaku Hara and Takashi Shimura in Osaka Elegy (1936)
Toshirô Mifune, Kamatari Fujiwara, Takeshi Katô, and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Toshirô Mifune, Takeshi Katô, and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Toshirô Mifune, Takeshi Katô, and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Tatsuya Mihashi, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Natsuko Kahara and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Masayuki Mori and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Masayuki Mori, Kô Nishimura, and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Masayuki Mori, Kô Nishimura, and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Masayuki Mori, Kô Nishimura, and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Someshô Matsumoto, Masayuki Mori, Kyû Sazanka, and Takashi Shimura in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Toshiko Higuchi, Takashi Shimura, and Kin Sugai in The Bad Sleep Well (1960)

Known for

Seven Samurai (1954)
Seven Samurai
8.6
  • Kambei Shimada
  • 1954
Ikiru (1952)
Ikiru
8.3
  • Kanji Watanabe
  • 1952
Rashomon (1950)
Rashomon
8.2
  • Woodcutter
  • 1950
Stray Dog (1949)
Stray Dog
7.8
  • Chief Detective Sato
  • 1949

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Nihon Philharmonic Orchestra: Honoo no dai gogakusho (1981)
    Nihon Philharmonic Orchestra: Honoo no dai gogakusho
    • 1981
  • Kagemusha (1980)
    Kagemusha
    • Gyobu Taguchi
    • 1980
  • A un
    • Hatsutaro Mizuta
    • TV Series
    • 1980
  • Tempyo no iraka (1980)
    Tempyo no iraka
    • 1980
  • Dôran (1980)
    Dôran
    • Kosuke Miyagi
    • 1980
  • Talk of the Town Tora-san (1978)
    Talk of the Town Tora-san
    • Hiroshi's Father
    • 1978
  • Love and Faith (1978)
    Love and Faith
    • Sen Rikyu
    • 1978
  • Godzilla (1977)
    Godzilla
    • Dr. Yamane
    • 1977
  • Sarutobi Sasuke
    • Hakuunsai Tozawa
    • 1976
  • Zoku ningen kakumei (1976)
    Zoku ningen kakumei
    • 1976
  • Hissatsu shiokiya kagyô
    • Bugyô Torii
    • TV Series
    • 1975
  • Shin'ichi Chiba in Bullet Train (1975)
    Bullet Train
    • JNR President
    • 1975
  • Hadashi no seishun
    • 1975
  • Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974)
    Prophecies of Nostradamus
    • Pediatrician
    • 1974
  • Karajishi keisatsu (1974)
    Karajishi keisatsu
    • 1974

Videos9

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Trailer 0:51
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Trailer 2:09
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Trailer 0:51
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Trailer 3:59
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Trailer 3:29
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Re-release Trailer
Trailer 1:49
Re-release Trailer
Godzilla: The Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
Trailer 1:38
Godzilla: The Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
Godzilla: Deluxe Collectors Edition
Trailer 1:01
Godzilla: Deluxe Collectors Edition
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Trailer 2:31
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Personal details

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  • Alternative name
    • T. Shimura
  • Height
    • 5′ 7¾″ (1.72 m)
  • Born
    • March 12, 1905
    • Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan
  • Died
    • February 11, 1982
    • Tokyo, Japan(emphysema)
  • Spouse
    • Masako? - February 11, 1982 (his death)

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Although he was not Akira Kurosawa's best-known actor (Toshirô Mifune had this honor), Shimura appeared in more Kurosawa films than Mifune, totaling 19. However (especially in later years), many of his characters had smaller, supporting roles.
  • Quotes
    [when working with Akira Kurosawa] I realize myself best. And yet he never dictates. Rather, he allows you to do your best, and for him you do it.
  • Trademarks
      Wise and gregarious characters.

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