Mikijirō Hira
| Mikijirō Hira | |
|---|---|
Hira in Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis (1988)
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| Born |
21 November 1933 Hiroshima, Japan |
| Died | 23 October 2016 (aged 82) Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1956–2016 |
| Spouse(s) | Yoshiko Sakuma (m. 1970–84) |
| Children | Takehiro Hira |
| Website | www |
Mikijirō Hira (平 幹二朗 Hira Mikijirō?, 21 November 1933 – 23 October 2016) was a Japanese actor. Starting as a stage actor in the 1950s, he also worked in film and television and was active until the time of his death. From the 1970s he starred in several of Yukio Ninagawa's productions, including an acclaimed role as Macbeth. Described as "Japan's best Shakespearean actor", Hira received several awards throughout his career, including an excellence award at the 2011 National Arts Festival hosted by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Hira was born in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from Joge High School in Jōge, Hiroshima Prefecture, he studied at the training school of the Haiyuza theatre company and officially joined the company in 1956. One of his early roles was in a production of Goethe's Faust.
Hira's television debut in the 1963 series Three Outlaw Samurai, in which he played a nihilistic masterless samurai, saw his popularity rise. In 1968 he played Hamlet in a Shiki Theatre Company, a role which received very high reviews.
Hira's stage performances were heralded throughout his career. In 2009, Tokyo University professor emeritus of English literature Yushi Odashima described Hira as Japan's best Shakesperean actor, noting the incandescence he brought to his roles as mythical characters. The range in his performance as King Lear, from solemnness to madness, was praised by Kindai University professor and theatre critic Kojin Nishido. An obituary by the Chunichi Shimbun identified Hira's special ability to deliver profound performances and his high-toned delivery of lines.
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