# Toshiro Mifune

Toshiro Mifune (三船 敏郎, Mifune Toshirō, 1 April 1920 – 24 December 1997) was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. A leading figure in the Japanese film industry, he often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commanding screen presence.
Although he amassed more than 180 screen credits, Mifune is best known for his 16 collaborations with director Akira Kurosawa. These collaborations included Kurosawa's critically acclaimed jidaigeki films such as Rashomon (1950), for which Mifune won the San Marco Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Seven Samurai (1954), Throne of Blood (1957), The Hidden Fortress (1958), and Yojimbo (1961), for which Mifune won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival and was recognised at the Blue Ribbon Awards as Best Actor. He also portrayed Miyamoto Musashi in Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy (1954–1956), Lord Toranaga in the NBC television miniseries Shōgun, and Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in three different films.
In 1962, he established Mifune Productions, achieving success with large-scale works including The Sands of Kurobe (1968) and Samurai Banners (1969). He starred in his directorial debut film Goju Man-nin no Isan (1963). Following his performance in the 1965 film Red Beard, which won him the Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for a second time, Mifune turned to roles abroad. He starred in films such as Ánimas Trujano (1962), for which he won another Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor, Grand Prix (1966), which was his Hollywood debut, Hell in the Pacific (1968), Red Sun (1971), Paper Tiger (1975), Midway (1976), and Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979).
Mifune died of organ failure on December 24, 1997. In 1999, he was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame. He is the subject of the featured-length documentary, Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015), about his life and his films. In 2016, his name was inscribed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

## Early life

Toshiro Mifune was born on April 1, 1920, in Seitō, Japanese-occupied Shandong (present-day Qingdao, China), the eldest son of Tokuzo and Sen Mifune. His father Tokuzo was a trade merchant and photographer who ran a photography business in Qingdao and Yingkou, and was originally the son of a physician from Kawauchi, Akita Prefecture. His mother Sen was the daughter of a hatamoto, a high-ranking samurai official. Toshiro's parents, who were working as Methodist missionaries, were some of the Japanese citizens encouraged to live in Shandong by the Japanese government during its occupation before the Republic of China took over the city in 1922. Mifune grew up with his parents and two younger siblings in Dalian, Fengtian from the age of 4 to 19.
In his youth, Mifune worked at his father's photo studio. After spending the first 19 years of his life in China, as a Japanese citizen, he was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army Aviation division, where he served in the Aerial Photography unit during World War II.

## Career
### Early work

In 1947, a large number of Toho actors, after a prolonged strike, had left to form their own company, Shin Toho. Toho then organized a "new faces" contest to find new talent.
Nenji Oyama, a friend of Mifune's who worked for the Photography Department of Toho Productions, sent Mifune's resume to the New Faces audition as the Photography Department was full, telling Mifune he could later transfer to the Photography Department if he wished. He was accepted, along with 48 others (out of roughly 4,000 applicants), and allowed to take a screen test for Kajirō Yamamoto. Instructed to mime anger, he drew from his wartime experiences. Yamamoto took a liking to Mifune, recommending him to director Senkichi Taniguchi. This led to Mifune's first feature role, in Shin Baka Jidai.
Mifune first encountered director Akira Kurosawa when Toho Studios, the largest film production company in Japan, was conducting a massive talent search, during which hundreds of aspiring actors auditioned before a team of judges. Kurosawa was originally going to skip the event, but showed up when Hideko Takamine told him of one actor who seemed especially promising. Kurosawa later wrote that he entered the audition to see "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." When Mifune, exhausted, finished his scene, he sat down and gave the judges an ominous stare. He lost the competition but Kurosawa was impressed. "I am a person rarely impressed by actors," he later said. "But in the case of Mifune I was completely overwhelmed." Mifune immersed himself into the six-month training and diligently applied himself to studying acting, although at first he still hoped to be transferred to the camera department.

### 1950s–1990s

His imposing bearing, acting range, facility with foreign languages and lengthy partnership with acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa made him the most famous Japanese actor of his time, and easily the best known to Western audiences. He often portrayed samurai or rōnin who were usually coarse and gruff (Kurosawa once explained that the only weakness he could find with Mifune and his acting ability was his "rough" voice), inverting the popular stereotype of the genteel, clean-cut samurai. In such films as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, he played characters who were often comically lacking in manners, but replete with practical wisdom and experience, understated nobility, and, in the case of Yojimbo, unmatched fighting prowess. Sanjuro in particular contrasts this earthy warrior spirit with the useless, sheltered propriety of the court samurai. Kurosawa valued Mifune highly for his effortless portrayal of unvarnished emotion, once commenting that he could convey in only three feet of film an emotion for which the average Japanese actor would require ten feet. He starred in all three films of Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy (1954–1956), for which the first film in Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto was awarded an Honorary Academy Award. Mifune and Inagaki worked together on twenty films, which outnumbered his collaborations with Kurosawa, with all but two falling into the jidaigeki genre, most notably with Rickshaw Man (1958), which won the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion.
He was also known for the effort he put into his performances. To prepare for Seven Samurai and Rashomon, Mifune reportedly studied footage of lions in the wild. For the Mexican film Ánimas Trujano, he studied tapes of Mexican actors speaking so that he could recite all of his lines in Spanish. Many Mexicans believed that Toshiro Mifune could have passed for a native of Oaxaca due to his critically acclaimed performance. When asked why he chose Mexico to do his next film, Mifune quoted, "Simply because, first of all, Mr. Ismael Rodríguez convinced me; secondly, because I was eager to work in beautiful Mexico, of great tradition; and thirdly, because the story and character of 'Animas Trujano' seemed very human to me". The film was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Oscar. Mifune gave a Japanese pistol as a gift to then-Mexican president Adolfo López Mateos when they met in Oaxaca.
Mifune has been credited as originating the "roving warrior" archetype, which he perfected during his collaboration with Kurosawa. His martial arts instructor was Yoshio Sugino of the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū. Sugino created the fight choreography for films such as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, and Kurosawa instructed his actors to emulate his movements and bearing.
Clint Eastwood was among the first of many actors to adopt this wandering ronin with no name persona for foreign films, which he used to great effect in his Western roles, especially in Spaghetti Westerns directed by Sergio Leone where he played the Man with No Name, a character similar to Mifune's seemingly-nameless rōnin in Yojimbo.
Mifune may also be credited with originating the yakuza archetype, with his performance as a mobster in Kurosawa's Drunken Angel (1948), the first yakuza film. Most of the sixteen Kurosawa–Mifune films are considered cinema classics. These include Drunken Angel, Stray Dog, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, High and Low, Throne of Blood (an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth), Yojimbo, and Sanjuro.
Mifune and Kurosawa finally parted ways after Red Beard. Several factors contributed to the rift that ended this career-spanning collaboration. Mifune had a passion for film in his own right and had long wanted to set up a production company, working towards going freelance. Kurosawa and Taniguchi advised against it out of concern they would not be able to cast Mifune as freely. Most of Mifune's contemporaries acted in several different movies in this period. Since Red Beard required Mifune to grow a natural beard — one he had to keep for the entirety of the film's two years of shooting — he was unable to act in any other films during the production. This put Mifune and his financially strapped production company deeply into debt, creating friction between him and Kurosawa. Although Red Beard played to packed houses in Japan and Europe, which helped Mifune recoup some of his losses, the ensuing years held varying outcomes for both Mifune and Kurosawa. After the film's release, the careers of each man took different arcs: Mifune continued to enjoy success with a range of samurai and war-themed films (Rebellion, Samurai Assassin, The Emperor and a General, among others). In contrast, Kurosawa's output of films dwindled and drew mixed responses. During this time, Kurosawa attempted suicide. In 1980, Mifune experienced popularity with mainstream American audiences through his role as Lord Toranaga in the television miniseries Shogun, which Kurosawa criticised for its historical inaccuracy. Mifune spoke respectfully of Kurosawa and loyally attended the premiere of Kagemusha.
Mifune turned down an opportunity from United Artists to play the Japanese spy chief Tiger Tanaka in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967). According to his daughter, he also turned down an offer from George Lucas to play either Darth Vader or Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars (1977). Mifune was considered for the role of Spock's nemesis in the unproduced Star Trek film Star Trek: Planet of the Titans.
Mifune himself was always professional, memorizing all of his lines and not carrying scripts on set. He was seen as unusually humble for an international star, and was known for treating his co-stars and crew generously, throwing catered parties for them and paying for their families to go to onsen resorts. When American actor Scott Glenn was asked about his experience of filming The Challenge (1982) alongside Mifune, Glenn recalled disappointment that the original script (about "a surrogate father and son finding each other from completely different cultures") lost its "character-driven scenes" and was reduced to "a martial arts movie" but stated, "...I remember Mifune came to me, and he said, "Look, this is what's happening. I'm disappointed, and I know you are, but this is what it is. So you can either have your heart broken every day, or you can use this experience as an opportunity to be spending time in the most interesting time in Japan and let me be your tour guide." So it wound up with me learning an awful lot of stuff from Toshirô."
In 1979, Mifune joined the ensemble cast of the Steven Spielberg war comedy 1941 as the commander of a lost Imperial Japanese Navy submarine searching for Hollywood shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack. Mifune received wide acclaim in the West after playing Toranaga in the 1980 TV miniseries Shogun. However, the series' blunt portrayal of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the greatly abridged version shown in Japan meant that it was not as well received in his homeland.
The relationship between Kurosawa and Mifune remained ambivalent. Kurosawa criticized Mifune's acting in Interview magazine and also said that "All the films that I made with Mifune, without him, they would not exist". He also presented Mifune with the Kawashita award which he himself had won two years prior. They frequently encountered each other professionally and met again in 1993 at the funeral of their friend Ishirō Honda, but never collaborated again.

## Personal life

Among Mifune's fellow performers, one of the 32 women chosen during the new faces contest was Sachiko Yoshimine. Eight years Mifune's junior, she came from a respected Tokyo family. They fell in love and Mifune soon proposed marriage.
Director Senkichi Taniguchi, with the help of Akira Kurosawa, convinced the Yoshimine family to allow the marriage. The wedding took place in February 1950 at the Aoyama Gakuin Methodist Church. Yoshimine was a Buddhist but since Mifune was a Christian, they were married in church as per Christian tradition.
In November of the same year, their first son, Shirō was born. In 1955, they had a second son, Takeshi. Mifune's daughter Mika [ja] was born to his mistress, actress Mika Kitagawa, in 1982.
In 1992, Mifune began suffering from a serious unknown health problem. It has been variously suggested that he destroyed his health with overwork, suffered a heart attack, or experienced a stroke. He retreated from public life and remained largely confined to his home, cared for by his estranged wife Sachiko. When she died from pancreatic cancer in 1995, Mifune's physical and mental state declined rapidly.

### Death

On December 24, 1997, he died in Mitaka, Tokyo, of multiple organ failure at the age of 77.

### Honors

Mifune won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor twice, in 1961 and 1965. He was awarded the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon in 1986 and the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1993. In 1973, he was a member of the jury at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1977, he was a member of the jury at the 10th Moscow International Film Festival.
On November 14, 2016, Mifune received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in the motion picture industry.

## Personal quotations

Of Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune said, "I have never as an actor done anything that I am proud of other than with him".
   Mifune had a kind of talent I had never encountered before in the Japanese film world. It was, above all, the speed with which he expressed himself that was astounding. The ordinary Japanese actor might need ten feet of film to get across an impression; Mifune needed only three. The speed of his movements was such that he said in a single action what took ordinary actors three separate movements to express. He put forth everything directly and boldly, and his sense of timing was the keenest I had ever seen in a Japanese actor. And yet with all his quickness, he also had surprisingly fine sensibilities.
"Since I came into the industry very inexperienced, I don't have any theory of acting. I just had to play my roles my way."
"Generally speaking, most East–West stories have been a series of cliches. I, for one, have no desire to retell Madame Butterfly."
"An actor is not a puppet with strings pulled by the director. He is a human being with seeds of all emotions, desires, and needs within himself. I attempt to find the very center of this humanity and explore and experiment."

## Legacy

Of Toshiro Mifune, in his 1991 book Cult Movie Stars, Danny Peary wrote,
   Vastly talented, charismatic, and imposing (because of his strong voice and physique), the star of most of Akira Kurosawa's classics became the first Japanese actor since Sessue Hayakawa to have international fame. But where Hayakawa became a sex symbol because he was romantic, exotic, and suavely charming (even when playing lecherous villains), Mifune's sex appeal – and appeal to male viewers – was due to his sheer unrefined and uninhibited masculinity. He was attractive even when he was unshaven and unwashed, drunk, wide-eyed, and openly scratching himself all over his sweaty body, as if he were a flea-infested dog. He did indeed have animal magnetism – in fact, he based his wild, growling, scratching, superhyper Samurai recruit in The Seven Samurai on a lion. It shouldn't be forgotten that Mifune was terrific in Kurosawa's contemporary social dramas, as detectives or doctors, wearing suits and ties, but he will always be remembered for his violent and fearless, funny, morally ambivalent samurai heroes for Kurosawa, as well as in Hiroshi Inagaki's classic epic, The Samurai Trilogy.
Peary also wrote,
   Amazingly physical, [Mifune] was a supreme action hero whose bloody, ritualistic, and, ironically, sometimes comical sword-fight sequences in Yojimbo and Sanjuro are classics, as well-choreographed as the greatest movie dances. His nameless sword-for-hire anticipated Clint Eastwood's 'Man With No Name' gunfighter. With his intelligence, eyes seemingly in back of his head, and experience evident in every thrust or slice, he has no trouble – and no pity – dispatching twenty opponents at a time (Bruce Lee must have been watching!). It is a testament to his skills as an actor that watching the incredible swordplay does not thrill us any more than watching his face during the battle or just the way he moves, without a trace of panic, across the screen – for no one walks or races with more authority, arrogance, or grace than Mifune's barefoot warriors. For a 20-year period, there was no greater actor – dynamic or action – than Toshiro Mifune. Just look at his credits.
In an article published in 2020 by The Criterion Collection in commemoration of Mifune's centenary of birth, Moeko Fujii wrote,
   For most of the past century, when people thought of a Japanese man, they saw Toshiro Mifune. A samurai, in the world's eyes, has Mifune's fast wrists, his scruff, his sidelong squint... He may have played warriors, but they weren't typical heroes: they threw tantrums and fits, accidentally slipped off mangy horses, yawned, scratched, chortled, and lazed. But when he extended his right arm, quick and low with a blade, he somehow summoned the tone of epics.
   There's a tendency to make Mifune sound mythical. The leading man of Kurosawa-gumi, the Emperor's coterie, he would cement his superstar status in over 150 films in his lifetime, acting for other famed directors — Hiroshi Inagaki, Kajiro Yamamoto, Kihachi Okamoto — in roles ranging from a caped lover to a Mexican bandit.
   Mifune's life on-screen centers solely around men. Women, when they do appear, feel arbitrary, mythical, temporary: it's clear that no one is really invested in the thrums of heterosexual desire... Toshiro Mifune cemented his reputation as an icon of masculinity right alongside Hollywood narratives of neutered Asian manhood. In 1961, Mifune provoked worldwide longing by swaggering around in Yojimbo, the same year that Mickey Rooney played the bucktoothed Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Looks-wise, he's the opposite of his predecessor, the silent film star Sessue Hayakawa — often christened the "first Hollywood sex symbol" — with his long, slim fingers and Yves Saint Laurent polish. But Mifune represents a development beyond Hayakawa's Japanese-man-on-screen, who, despite his huge white female fanbase, was always limited to roles of the "Oriental" villain, the menace, the impossible romantic lead: in 1957, Joe Franklin would tell Hayakawa in his talk show, "There were two things we were sure of in the silent movie era; the Indians never got the best of it, and Sessue Hayakawa never got the girl."
   Mifune never wants the girl in the first place. So the men around him can't help but watch him a little open-mouthed, as he walks his slice of world, amused by and nonchalant about the stupor he leaves in his wake. "Who is he?," someone asks, and no one ever has a good answer. You can't help but want to walk alongside him, to figure it out.

## Filmography

Mifune appeared in roughly 170 feature films. In 2015, Steven Okazaki released Mifune: The Last Samurai, a documentary chronicling Mifune's life and career. Due to variations in translation from the Japanese and other factors, there are multiple titles to many of Mifune's films (see IMDb link). The titles shown here are the most common ones used in the United States, with the original Japanese title listed below it in parentheses. Mifune's filmography mainly consists of Japanese productions, unless noted otherwise (see Notes column).

### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 1947 | Snow Trail (銀嶺の果て) | Ejima (江島) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1947 | These Foolish Times (新馬鹿時代 前篇) | Genzaburō Ōno (大野源三郎) | Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎) | |
| 1947 | These Foolish Times Part 2 (新馬鹿時代 後篇) | Genzaburō Ōno (大野源三郎) | Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎) | |
| 1948 | Drunken Angel (醉いどれ天使) | Matsunaga (松永) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1949 | The Quiet Duel (静かなる決闘) | Kyōji Fujisaki (藤崎恭二) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1949 | Jakoman and Tetsu (ジャコ萬と鉄) | Tetsu (鐵) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1949 | Stray Dog (野良犬) | Detective Murakami (村上刑事) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1950 | Conduct Report on Professor Ishinaka (石中先生行状記) | Teisaku Nagasawa (長沢貞作) | Mikio Naruse (成瀬 巳喜男) | |
| 1950 | Scandal (醜聞) | Ichirō Aoe (青江一郎) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1950 | Engagement Ring (婚約指環) | Takeshi Ema (江間猛) | Keisuke Kinoshita (木下 惠介) | |
| 1950 | Rashomon (羅生門) | Tajōmaru (多襄丸) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1950 | Escape from Prison (脱獄) | Shinkichi (新吉) | Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎) | |
| 1951 | Beyond Love and Hate (愛と憎しみの彼方へ) | Gorō Sakata (坂田五郎) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1951 | Elegy (悲歌) | Prosecutor Daisuke Toki (土岐大輔検事) | Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎) | |
| 1951 | The Idiot (白痴) | Denkichi Akama (赤間伝吉) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1951 | Pirates (海賊船) | Tora (虎) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1951 | Meeting of the Ghost Après-Guerre (戦後派お化け大会) | Kenji Kawakami (川上謙二) | Kiyoshi Saeki (佐伯清) | Special appearance |
| 1951 | Conclusion of Kojiro Sasaki: Duel at Ganryu Island (完結 佐々木小次郎 巌流島決闘) | Musashi Miyamoto (宮本武蔵) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1951 | The Life of a Horsetrader (馬喰一代) | Yonetarō Katayama (片山米太郎) | Keigo Kimura | |
| 1951 | Who Knows a Woman's Heart (女ごころ誰が知る) | Mizuno (水野) | Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎) | |
| 1952 | Vendetta for a Samurai (荒木又右衛門 決闘鍵屋の辻) | Mataemon Araki (荒木又右衛門) | Kazuo Mori (森 一生) | |
| 1952 | Foghorn (霧笛) | Chiyokichi (千代吉) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1952 | The Life of Oharu (西鶴一代女) | Katsunosuke (勝之介) | Kenji Mizoguchi (溝口 健二) | |
| 1952 | Golden Girl (金の卵) | | Yasuki Chiba (千葉泰樹) | Supporting role |
| 1952 | Sword for Hire (戦国無頼) | Hayatenosuke Sasa (佐々疾風之介) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1952 | Tokyo Sweetheart (東京の恋人) | Kurokawa (黒川) | Yasuki Chiba (千葉泰樹) | |
| 1952 | Swift Current (激流) | Shunsuke Kosugi (小杉俊介) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1952 | The Man Who Came to Port (港へ来た男) | Gorō Niinuma (新沼五郎) | Ishirō Honda (本多 猪四郎) | |
| 1953 | My Wonderful Yellow Car (吹けよ春風) | Matsumura (松村) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1953 | The Last Embrace (抱擁) | Shinkichi/Hayakawa (伸吉 / 早川) | Masahiro Makino (マキノ 雅弘) | |
| 1953 | Sunflower Girl (ひまわり娘) | Ippei Hitachi (日立一平) | Yasuki Chiba (千葉泰樹) | Originally released overseas as Love in a Teacup |
| 1953 | Eagle of the Pacific (太平洋の鷲) | 1st Lieutenant Jōichi Tomonaga (友永丈市大尉) | Ishirō Honda (本多 猪四郎) | |
| 1954 | Seven Samurai (七人の侍) | Kikuchiyo (菊千代) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1954 | The Sound of Waves (潮騒) | Skipper of the Utashima-maru (歌島丸の船長) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1954 | Samurai I : Musashi Miyamoto (宮本武蔵) | Musashi Miyamoto (Takezō Shinmen) (宮本武蔵 (新免武蔵)) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1954 | The Black Fury (密輸船) | Eiichi Tsuda (津田栄一) | Toshio Sugie (杉江敏男) | |
| 1955 | The Merciless Boss: A Man Among Men (顔役無用 男性No．1) | "Buick" Maki (ビュイックの牧) | Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎) | |
| 1955 | All Is Well (天下泰平) | Daikichi Risshun (立春大吉) | Toshio Sugie (杉江敏男) | |
| 1955 | All Is Well Part 2 (続天下泰平) | Daikichi Risshun (立春大吉) | Toshio Sugie (杉江敏男) | |
| 1955 | No Time for Tears (男ありて) | Mitsuo Yano (矢野光男) | Seiji Maruyama (丸山誠治) | |
| 1955 | Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (続宮本武蔵 一乗寺の決斗) | Musashi Miyamoto (宮本武蔵) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1955 | I Live in Fear (生きものの記録) | Kiichi Nakajima (中島喜一) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1956 | Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (宮本武蔵 完結篇 決闘巌流島) | Musashi Miyamoto (宮本武蔵) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1956 | Rainy Night Duel (黒帯三国志) | Masahiko Koseki (小関昌彦) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1956 | The Underworld (暗黒街) | Chief Inspector Kumada (熊田捜査主任) | Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎) | |
| 1956 | Settlement of Love (愛情の決算) | Shuntarō Ōhira (大平俊太郎) | Shin Saburi (佐分利 信) | |
| 1956 | A Wife's Heart (妻の心) | Kenkichi Takemura (竹村健吉) | Mikio Naruse (成瀬 巳喜男) | |
| 1956 | Scoundrel (ならず者) | Kanji (寛次) | Nobuo Aoyagi (青柳信雄) | |
| 1956 | Rebels on the High Seas (囚人船) | Tokuzō Matsuo (松尾徳造) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1957 | Throne of Blood (蜘蛛巣城) | Taketoki Washizu (鷲津武時) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1957 | A Man in the Storm (嵐の中の男) | Saburō Watari (渡三郎) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1957 | Be Happy, These Two Lovers (この二人に幸あれ) | Toshio Maruyama (丸山俊夫) | Ishirō Honda (本多 猪四郎) | |
| 1957 | Yagyu Secret Scrolls Part 1 (柳生武芸帳) | Tasaburō Kasumi (霞の多三郎) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1957 | A Dangerous Hero (危険な英雄) | Athlete Kawada (川田選手) | Hideo Suzuki | |
| 1957 | The Lower Depths (どん底) | Sutekichi (the thief) (捨吉 (泥棒)) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1957 | Downtown (下町) | Yoshio Tsuruishi (鶴石芳雄) | Yasuki Chiba (千葉泰樹) | |
| 1958 | Yagyu Secret Scrolls Part 2 (柳生武芸帳 双龍秘剣) | Tasaburō Ōtsuki (大月多三郎) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1958 | Holiday in Tokyo (東京の休日) | Tenkai's nephew Jirō (天海の甥·二郎) | Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎) | |
| 1958 | Muhomatsu, The Rikshaw Man (無法松の一生) | Matsugorō Tomishima (富島松五郎) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1958 | Yaji and Kita on the Road (弥次喜多道中記) | Toshinoshin Taya (田谷敏之進) | Yasuki Chiba (千葉泰樹) | |
| 1958 | All About Marriage (結婚のすべて) | Acting teacher (演出家) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | Cameo |
| 1958 | Theater of Life (人生劇場 青春篇) | Hishakaku (飛車角) | Toshio Sugie (杉江敏男) | |
| 1958 | The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人) | General Rokurota Makabe (真壁六郎太) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1959 | Boss of the Underworld (暗黒街の顔役) | Daisuke Kashimura (樫村大助) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | |
| 1959 | Samurai Saga (或る剣豪の生涯) | Heihachirō Komaki (駒木兵八郎) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1959 | The Saga of the Vagabonds (戦国群盗伝) | Rokurō Kai (甲斐六郎) | Toshio Sugie (杉江敏男) | |
| 1959 | Desperado Outpost (独立愚連隊) | Battalion Commander Kodama (児玉大尉) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | |
| 1959 | The Three Treasures (日本誕生) | Prince Takeru Yamato/Prince Susano'o (日本武尊/須佐之男命) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1960 | The Last Gunfight (暗黒街の対決) | Detective Saburō Fujioka (藤丘三郎刑事) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | |
| 1960 | The Gambling Samurai (国定忠治) | Chūji Kunisada (国定忠治) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1960 | Storm Over the Pacific (ハワイ·ミッドウェイ大海空戦 太平洋の嵐) | Tamon Yamaguchi (山口多聞) | Shūe Matsubayashi (松林 宗恵) | |
| 1960 | Man Against Man (男対男) | Kaji (梶) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1960 | The Bad Sleep Well (悪い奴ほどよく眠る) | Kōichi Nishi (西幸一) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1960 | Salaryman Chushingura Part 1 (サラリーマン忠臣蔵) | Kazuo Momoi (桃井和雄) | Toshio Sugie (杉江敏男) | |
| 1961 | The Story of Osaka Castle (大坂城物語) | Mohei (茂兵衛) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1961 | Salaryman Chushingura Part 2 (続サラリーマン忠臣蔵) | Kazuo Momoi (桃井和雄) | Toshio Sugie (杉江敏男) | |
| 1961 | Yojimbo (用心棒) | Sanjūrō Kuwabata (桑畑三十郎) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1961 | The Youth and his Amulet (ゲンと不動明王) | Fudō Myō-ō (不動明王) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1961 | Ánimas Trujano | Ánimas Trujano | Ismael Rodríguez | Mexican production |
| 1962 | Sanjuro (椿三十郎) | Sanjūrō Tsubaki (椿三十郎) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1962 | Tatsu (どぶろくの辰) | Tatsu (辰) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1962 | Three Gentlemen Return from Hong Kong (続·社長洋行記) | Cho Chishō (Zhang Zhizhang) (張知章 (カメオ出演)) | Toshio Sugie (杉江敏男) | Cameo |
| 1962 | Chushingura: Story of Flower, Story of Snow (忠臣蔵 花の巻·雪の巻) | Genba Tawaraboshi (俵星玄蕃) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1963 | Attack Squadron! (太平洋の翼) | Lt. Colonel Senda (千田中佐) | Shūe Matsubayashi (松林 宗恵) | |
| 1963 | High and Low (天国と地獄) | Kingo Gondō (権藤金吾) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1963 | Legacy of the 500,000 (五十万人の遺産) | Takeichi Matsuo (松尾武市 兼 製作 兼 監督) | Toshiro Mifune (三船 敏郎) | Also director and producer |
| 1963 | The Lost World of Sinbad (大盗賊) | Sukezaemon Naya (Sukezaemon Luzon) (菜屋助左衛門 (呂宋助左衛門)) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | |
| 1964 | Whirlwind (士魂魔道 大龍巻) | Morishige Akashi (明石守重) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1965 | Samurai Assassin (侍) | Tsuruchiyo Niiro (新納鶴千代) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | |
| 1965 | Red Beard (赤ひげ) | Dr. Kyojō Niide (Red Beard) (新出去定医師 (赤ひげ)) | Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) | |
| 1965 | Sanshiro Sugata (姿三四郎) | Shōgorō Yano (矢野正五郎) | Seiichirô Uchikawa (内川清一郎) | |
| 1965 | The Retreat from Kiska (太平洋奇跡の作戦 キスカ) | Major General Omura (大村少将) | Seiji Maruyama (丸山誠治) | |
| 1965 | Fort Graveyard (血と砂) | Sergeant Kosugi (小杉曹長) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | also producer |
| 1966 | Rise Against the Sword (暴れ豪右衛門) | Shinobu no Gōemon (信夫の豪右衛門) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | |
| 1966 | The Sword of Doom (大菩薩峠) | Toranosuke Shimada (島田虎之助) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | |
| 1966 | The Adventure of Kigan Castle (奇巌城の冒険) | Ōsumi (大角) | Senkichi Taniguchi (谷口 千吉) | also producer |
| 1966 | The Mad Atlantic (怒涛一万浬) | Heihachirō Murakami (村上平八郎) | Jun Fukuda (福田 純) | also executive producer |
| 1966 | Grand Prix | Izō Yamura (矢村以蔵) | John Frankenheimer | U.S. production |
| 1967 | Samurai Rebellion (上意討ち 拝領妻始末) | Isaburō Sasahara (笹原伊三郎) | Masaki Kobayashi (岡本 喜八) | also producer |
| 1967 | Japan's Longest Day (日本のいちばん長い日) | Korechika Anami (阿南惟幾) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | |
| 1968 | The Sands of Kurobe (黒部の太陽) | Satoshi Kitagawa (北川覚) | Kei Kumai (熊井 啓) | |
| 1968 | Admiral Yamamoto (連合艦隊司令長官 山本五十六) | Isoroku Yamamoto (山本五十六) | Seiji Maruyama (丸山誠治) | |
| 1968 | The Day the Sun Rose (祇園祭) | Kumaza (熊左) | Daisuke Itō (伊藤 大輔) and Tetsuya Yamanouchi (山内鉄也) | |
| 1968 | Hell in the Pacific | Captain Tsuruhiko Kuroda (黒田鶴彦大尉) | John Boorman | U.S. production |
| 1969 | Samurai Banners (風林火山) | Kansuke Yamamoto (山本勘助) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | also producer |
| 1969 | Safari 5000 (栄光への5000キロ) | Yūichirō Takase (高瀬雄一郎) | Koreyoshi Kurahara (蔵原惟繕) | |
| 1969 | The Battle of the Japan Sea (日本海大海戦) | Heihachirō Tōgō (東郷平八郎) | Seiji Maruyama (丸山誠治) | |
| 1969 | Red Lion (赤毛) | Akage no Gonzō (赤毛の権三 兼 製作) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | also Producer |
| 1969 | Shinsengumi (新選組) | Isami Kondō (近藤勇 兼 製作) | Tadashi Sawashima (沢島 忠) | also Producer |
| 1970 | Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (座頭市と用心棒) | Daisaku Sasa (佐々大作) | Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) | |
| 1970 | Bakumatsu (幕末) | Shōjirō Gotō (後藤象二郎) | Daisuke Itō (伊藤 大輔) | |
| 1970 | Incident at Blood Pass (待ち伏せ) | Tōzaburō Shinogi (鎬刀三郎 兼 製作) | Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩) | also Producer |
| 1970 | The Walking Major (ある兵士の賭け) | Tadao Kinugasa (衣笠忠夫) | Keith Larsen | |
| 1970 | The Militarists (激動の昭和史 軍閥) | Isoroku Yamamoto (山本五十六) | Hiromichi Horikawa (堀川 弘通) | |
| 1971 | Red Sun | Jūbei Kuroda (黒田重兵衛) | Terence Young | French. Italian, and Spanish co-production |
| 1971 | Morning for Two 二人だけの朝 | none | Takeshi Matsumori | producer only |
| 1975 | Paper Tiger | Ambassador Kagoyama (カゴヤマ大使) | Ken Annakin | U.K. production |
| 1975 | The New Spartans | WW2 vet | Jack Starrett | U.K., West German co-production; Incomplete |
| 1976 | Midway | Isoroku Yamamoto (山本五十六) | Jack Smight | U.S. production |
| 1977 | Proof of the Man (人間の証明) | Yōhei Kōri (郡陽平) | Junya Satō (佐藤 純彌) | Special appearance |
| 1977 | Japanese Godfather: Ambition (日本の首領 野望篇) | Kōsuke Ōishi (大石剛介) | Sadao Nakajima (中島貞夫) | |
| 1978 | Shogun's Samurai (柳生一族の陰謀) | Yoshinao Tokugawa (徳川義直) | Kinji Fukasaku (深作 欣二) | |
| 1978 | Shag (犬笛) | Captain Takeo Murata (村田武雄船長) | Sadao Nakajima (中島貞夫) | also executive producer |
| 1978 | Ogin-sama (お吟さま) | Hideyoshi Toyotomi (豊臣秀吉) | Kei Kumai (熊井 啓) | |
| 1978 | The Fall of Ako Castle (赤穂城断絶) | Chikara Tsuchiya (土屋主税) | Kinji Fukasaku (深作 欣二) | |
| 1978 | Japanese Godfather: Conclusion (日本の首領 完結篇) | Kōsuke Ōishi (大石剛介) | Sadao Nakajima (中島貞夫) | |
| 1978 | Lord Incognito (水戸黄門) | Sakuzaemon Okumura (奥村作左衛門) | Tetsuya Yamanouchi (山内鉄也) | |
| 1979 | Winter Kills | Keith (secretary) (キース (秘書)) | William Richert | U.S. production |
| 1979 | The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi (金田一耕助の冒険) | Kōsuke Kindaichi XI (11代目金田一耕助) | Nobuhiko Obayashi (大林 宣彦) | |
| 1979 | Onmitsu Doshin: The Edo Secret Police (隠密同心·大江戸捜査網) | Sadanobu Matsudaira (松平定信) | Akinori Matsuo (松尾昭典) | also producer |
| 1979 | 1941 | Commander Akiro Mitamura (アキロー·ミタムラ中佐) | Steven Spielberg | U.S. production |
| 1980 | The Battle of Port Arthur (二百三高地) | Emperor Meiji (明治天皇) | Toshio Masuda (舛田 利雄) | |
| 1980 | Shogun (将軍 SHOGUN) | Toranaga Yoshii (吉井虎長) | Jerry London | U.S., Japanese co-production; Film condensation of the miniseries |
| 1981 | Inchon! | Saitō-san (斉藤さん) | Terence Young | U.S. production |
| 1981 | The Bushido Blade | Commander Fukusai Hayashi (江戸幕府の特命全権大使·林復斎) | Tsugunobu Kotani (小谷承靖) | U.S., U.K., Japanese co-production |
| 1982 | The Challenge | Toru Yoshida (吉田徹) | John Frankenheimer | U.S. production |
| 1982 | Conquest (制覇) | Masao Tadokoro (田所政雄) | Sadao Nakajima (中島貞夫) | |
| 1983 | Battle Anthem (日本海大海戦 海ゆかば) | Heihachirō Tōgō (東郷平八郎) | Toshio Masuda (舛田 利雄) | |
| 1983 | Theater of Life (人生劇場) | Hyōtarō Aonari (青成瓢太郎) | Junya Satō (佐藤 純彌) Sadao Nakajima (中島貞夫) and Kinji Fukasaku (深作 欣二) | Special appearance |
| 1984 | The Miracle of Joe Petrel (海燕ジョーの奇跡) | Fisherman (漁師) | Toshiya Fujita (藤田 敏八) | |
| 1985 | Legend of the Holy Woman (聖女伝説) | Kōzō Kanzaki (神崎弘造) | Tōru Murakawa (村川透) | Special appearance |
| 1986 | Song of the Genkai Sea (玄海つれづれ節) | Kyūbei Matsufuji (松藤九兵衛) | Masanobu Deme (出目昌伸) | |
| 1987 | Shatterer | Murai (村井) | Tonino Valerii | Italian, Japanese co-production |
| 1987 | Tora-san Goes North (男はつらいよ 知床慕情) | Junkichi Ueno (上野順吉) | Yoji Yamada (山田 洋次) | |
| 1987 | Princess from the Moon (竹取物語) | Taketori-no-Miyatsuko (竹取の造) | Kon Ichikawa (市川 崑) | |
| 1989 | Death of a Tea Master (千利休 本覺坊遺文) | Sen no Rikyū (千利休) | Kei Kumai (熊井 啓) | |
| 1989 | The Demon Comes in Spring (春来る鬼) | Kukkune no jî (くっくねの爺) | Akira Kobayashi (小林 旭) | |
| 1989 | CF Girl (CFガール) | Shūichirō Hase (長谷周一郎) | Izo Hashimoto (橋本 以蔵) | |
| 1991 | Strawberry Road (ストロベリーロード) | Taoka (田岡) | Koreyoshi Kurahara (蔵原惟繕) | |
| 1991 | Journey of Honor (兜 KABUTO) | Ieyasu Tokugawa (徳川家康) | Gordon Hessler | U.S., U.K., Japanese co-production |
| 1992 | Shadow of the Wolf (AGAGUK) | Kroomak | Jacques Dorfmann and Pierre Magny | Canadian, French co-production |
| 1994 | Picture Bride | Kayo Hatta | The Benshi (弁士) | U.S. production |
| 1995 | Deep River (深い河) | Tsukada (塚田) | Kei Kumai (熊井 啓) | Final film role |
The 1999 Danish film Mifune is named after the actor.

### Television

All programs originally aired in Japan except for Shōgun which aired in the U.S. on NBC in September 1980 before being subsequently broadcast in Japan on TV Asahi from March 30 to April 6, 1981.
| Date(s) | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1967.05.11 | He of the Sun (太陽のあいつ) | Himself | 1 episode |
| 1968–1969 | Five Freelance Samurai (五人の野武士) | Jirō Yoshikage Funayama (五人の野武士) | 6 episodes [Ep. 1,2,14,15,17,26] |
| 1971 | Daichūshingura (大忠臣蔵) | Kuranosuke Ōishi (大石内蔵助) | All 52 episodes |
| 1972–1974 | Ronin of the Wilderness (荒野の素浪人) | Kujūrō Tōge (峠九十郎) | All 104 episodes, over two seasons; also producer |
| 1973 | Yojimbo of the Wilderness (荒野の用心棒) | Kujūrō Tōge (峠九十郎) | 5 episodes |
| 1975 | The Sword, the Wind, and the Lullaby (剣と風と子守唄) | Jūzaburō Toride (砦十三郎) | All 27 episodes |
| 1976 | The Secret Inspectors (隠し目付参上) | Naizen-no-shō Tsukumo/Izu-no-kami Nobuakira Matsudaira (dual roles) (九十九内膳正 / 松平伊豆守信明 (二役) | 10 episodes [Ep. 1,2,3,4,7,10,11,18,22,26] |
| 1976 | Ronin in a Lawless Town (人魚亭異聞 無法街の素浪人) | Mister Danna (ミスターの旦那) | All 23 episodes |
| 1977.07.16 | Ōedo Sōsamō (大江戸捜査網) | Yūgen Ōtaki (大滝幽玄) | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Falcons of Edo (江戸の鷹 御用部屋犯科帖) | Kanbei Uchiyama (内山勘兵衛) | All 38 episodes |
| 1979.04.02 | Edo o Kiru IV (江戸を斬るIV) | Shūsaku Chiba (千葉周作) | 1 episode special appearance [Ep. 8] |
| 1979 | Prosecutor Saburo Kirishima (検事霧島三郎) | Chief Prosecutor Mori (森検事正) | |
| 1979 | Akō Rōshi (赤穂浪士) | Sakon Tachibana (立花左近) | 1 episode |
| 1979–1980 | Fangs of Edo (江戸の牙) | Gunbei Asahina (朝比奈軍兵衛) | 3 episodes [Ep. 1, 17, 26] |
| 1979 | Hideout in Room 7 (駆け込みビル7号室) | Gōsuke Saegusa (三枝剛介) | |
| 1980 | Shōgun | Toranaga Yoshii | All 5 parts |
| 1980.12.27 | It's 8 O'Clock! Everybody Gather 'Round (8時だョ!全員集合) | Himself | 1 episode |
| 1981 | Sekigahara (関ヶ原) | Sakon Shima (島左近) | All 3 parts |
| 1981–1982 | Ten Duels of Young Shingo (新吾十番勝負) | Tamon Umei (梅井多聞) | Two of three parts [Parts 1,2] |
| 1981.07.09 | My Daughter! Fly on the Wings of Love and Tears (娘よ！ 愛と涙の翼で翔べ) | | TV film |
| 1981.09.29 | Tuesday Suspense Theater: The Spherical Wilderness (火曜サスペンス劇場 球形の荒野) | Kenichirō Nogami (野上顕一郎) | TV film |
| 1981–1982 | Bungo Detective Story (文吾捕物帳) | Shūsaku Chiba (千葉周作) | 5 episodes [Ep. 5,10,13,18,26] |
| 1981–1983 | The Lowly Ronin (素浪人罷り通る) | Lowly Ronin Shūtō Shunka (素浪人 春夏秋冬) | TV film series, all 6 parts |
| 1982.09.19 | The Happy Yellow Handkerchief (幸福の黄色いハンカチ) | Kenzō Shima (島謙造) | 1 episode [Ep. 4] |
| 1983 | The Brave Man Says Little (勇者は語らず いま、日米自動車戦争は) | Ryūzō Kawana (川奈龍三) | All 4 episodes |
| 1983.11.03 | The Women of Osaka Castle (女たちの大坂城) | Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康) | TV film |
| 1983.11.10 | The Secret of Cruel Valley (魔境 殺生谷の秘密) | Lowly Rōnin | TV film |
| 1984 | The Burning Mountain River (山河燃ゆ) | Otoshichi Amō (天羽乙七) | |
| 1984.04.02 | Okita Soji: Swordsman of Fire (燃えて、散る 炎の剣士 沖田総司) | Shūsai Kondō (近藤周斎) | TV film |
| 1984.08.26 | Toshiba Sunday Theater #1442: Summer Encounter (東芝日曜劇場 第1442回 夏の出逢い) | Takeya Ōnuki (大貫剛也) | TV film |
| 1987.09.10 | Masterpiece Jidaigeki: National Advisor Breakthrough! Hikozaemon Geki (傑作時代劇 天下の御意見番罷り通る！彦左衛門外記) | Hikozaemon Ōkubo (大久保彦左衛門) | 1 episode [Ep. 21] |
| 1990.04.20 | Heaven and Earth: Dawn Episode (天と地と～黎明編) | Nagao Tamekage (長尾為景) | TV film |

## Awards and nominations

Mifune won and was nominated for many awards during his acting career, including six Blue Ribbon Awards, three Mainichi Film Awards, three Japan Academy Film Prize nominations (winning two), and two Kinema Junpo Awards.