Rentarō Mikuni

was a Japanese actor, writer and director, who starred in films of Keisuke Kinoshita, Mikio Naruse, Tadashi Imai, Shōhei Imamura, Tomu Uchida and many others. He received numerous prizes for his performances and was awarded the Jury Prize at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival for his film Shinran: Path to Purity, which he wrote and directed.

Biography
Mikuni was born Masao Sato in Ōta, Gunma Prefecture, and grew up in Nishiizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, the hometown of his adoptive father. After dropping out of Toyo Junior High School in Shimoda, he led a wandering life between Japan, China and Korea (then under Japanese control).

At the age of twenty, Mikuni received call-up papers for the Japanese military. In his autobiography and in interviews Mikuni claimed that he tried to escape the draft as he didn't want to die or kill people, but was caught after his mother had informed the police for fear of ostracism. He was sent to the Chinese front, fell ill, served his time in a unit of unfit and incompetent soldiers, and never fired a weapon at the enemy.

After returning to Japan, he worked in a variety of jobs. His career as an actor started when he participated in a newcomer contest by the Shochiku film studio in 1950, although he originally had no intention of becoming an actor. He gave his debut in Keisuke Kinoshita's The Good Fairy (1951), for which he received the Blue Ribbon Award for best newcomer, and took his stage name from the character he played in the film.

Notable appearances in the following years include The Burmese Harp (1956), Stepbrothers (1957), Night Drum (1958), A Fugitive from the Past (1965), Vengeance is Mine (1979) and the popular  Tsuribaka Nisshi series. In 1972, Mikuni started shooting a film in Afghanistan under his direction which remained unfinished.

Mikuni died in Tokyo on 14 April 2013 of acute cardiac failure. He is the father of actor Kōichi Satō.

Filmography (selected)

Film
 The Good Fairy (1951)
 Husband and Wife (1953)
 Samurai I : Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
 Keisatsu nikki (1955)
 A Hole of My Own Making (1955)
 The Burmese Harp (1956)
 Ryūri no Kishi (1956)
 Stepbrothers (1957)
 Night Drum (1958)
 Ballad of the Cart (1959)
 Kiku to Isamu (1959)
 The Catch (1961)
 Harakiri (1962) as Saitō Kageyu
 Wolves, Pigs and Men (1964)
 Kwaidan (1965)
 A Fugitive from the Past (1965)
 The Threat (1966) as Misawa
 Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967)
 The Profound Desire of the Gods (1968)
 Tabi no Omosa (1972)
 Coup d'État (1973) as Ikki Kita
 Himiko (1974)
 Kiri-no-hata (1977)
 Mount Hakkoda (1977)
 Never Give Up (1978)
 Vengeance is Mine (1979)
 Ah! Nomugi Toge (1979)
 Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981)
 The Go Masters (1983)
 A Promise (1986)
 Shinran: Path to Purity (director, 1987)
 A Taxing Woman's Return (1988)
 Tsuribaka Nisshi (1988)
 Wuthering Heights (1988)
 Rikyu (1989) as Sen no Rikyū
 Tsuribaka Nisshi 2 (1989)
 Tsuribaka Nisshi 3 (1990)
 Tsuribaka Nisshi 4 (1991)
 Musuko (1991)
 Luminous Moss (1992)
 Tsuribaka Nisshi 6 (1993)
 Daibyonin (1993)
 Tsuribaka Nisshi 7 (1994)
 Mitabi no kaikyô (1995)
 Oishinbo (1996) as Yūzan Kaibara
 Will to Live (1999)
 Taiga no itteki (2001)
 The Wind Carpet (2003)
 Chronicle of My Mother (2012)

Television
 Hissatsu Shikakenin (1972) – episode 6
 Akai unmei (1976)
 Sekigahara (1981) – Honda Masanobu

Honours and awards (selected)
 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor in 1960 and in 1989
 Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actor in 1965, 1989 and 1991
 Mainichi Film Award for Best Actor in 1965, 1974 and 1989
 Medal with Purple Ribbon (1984)
 Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (1993)

References

External links
 

1923 births
Japanese male actors
Actors from Gunma Prefecture
2013 deaths
Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon
Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class