Takashi Shimura
| Takashi Shimura | |
|---|---|
Shimura in 1956.
|
|
| Native name | 志村 喬 |
| Born |
島崎 捷爾 (Shoji Shimazaki) March 12, 1905 Ikuno, Hyōgo, Japan |
| Died | February 11, 1982 (aged 76) Tokyo, Japan |
| Cause of death | Emphysema |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1934–1981 |
Takashi Shimura (志村 喬 Shimura Takashi?, March 12, 1905 – February 11, 1982) was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1934 and 1981. He is particularly noted for his appearances in 21 of Akira Kurosawa's 30 films (more than any other actor), including as a lead actor in Drunken Angel (1948), Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952) and Seven Samurai (1954).
Takashi Shimura was born in Ikuno, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. His birth-name was Shimazaki Shōji (島崎捷爾). His forebears were members of the samurai class: in 1868 his grandfather took part in the Battle of Toba-Fushimi during the Boshin War. Shimura entered Ikuno Primary School in 1911 and Kobe First Middle School in 1917. He missed two years of schooling because of a mild case of tuberculosis, and subsequently moved to the prefectural middle school in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, where his father had been transferred by his employer, Mitsubishi Mining. At Nobeoka Middle School, he excelled in English and became active on the literary society's magazine, to which he contributed poetry. He also became a star of the rowing club. In 1923, he entered Kansai University, but after his father's retirement the family could no longer afford the fees for a full-time course and he switched to the part-time evening course in English literature, supporting himself by working at the Osaka municipal waterworks. Among the teachers in the English Literature Department were the playwright Toyo-oka Sa-ichirō (豊岡佐一郎) and the Shakespeare scholar Tsubouchi Shikō (坪内士行). These two inspired in Shimura an enthusiasm for drama. He joined the University's Theatre Studies Society and in 1928 formed an amateur theatrical group, the Shichigatsu-za (七月座) with Toyo-oka as director. He began to miss work because of the time he spent on theatrical activities and eventually lost his job. He then left university to try to earn a living in the theatre. The Shichigatsu-za turned professional and began to tour, but got into financial difficulties and folded.
...
Wikipedia