Mikuni Rentaro (1923～2013, Mikuni Rentaro) Japanese film actor. Born on January 20, 1923 in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, into a working-class family. His original name was Masao Sato. He was often bullied when he was a child. When he was in middle school, he ran away from home and smuggled to Qingdao, China. Later, he moved to Busan, South Korea, where he sold lunch boxes at the station. After returning to Osaka, he worked everywhere, including as a painter, a painter of movie theater signs, etc. In 1943, when he was twenty years old, he received a draft order. To avoid military service, he secretly jumped on a freight train and ran away from home again. On the way to escape, he wrote a letter to his mother. After writing a letter, his whereabouts were exposed, he was captured by the police of the Special High School and was forcibly recruited into the army. The unit he was in was dispatched to Hankou, China, in December of that year. He always tried every means to pretend to be ill and avoid going to the front line. In order to survive, he once hid in a excrement bucket for one night during the war. Because he memorized the wine-making formula, he was seconded to a Japanese-owned winery in Hankou. Until Japan surrendered, the Three Kingdoms never fired a single shot on the battlefield. There were thousands of people in his army, and only twenty or thirty people survived in the end.
Returned to Japan in June 1946. He first worked for the Tottori Prefecture Farmers' Association, and then went to Beijing alone in 1950 to do business with his friends without a license. In December of the same year, he was selected by Masaki Kobayashi, assistant director of Keisuke Kinoshita, and joined Shochiku's Ofune Studios. In 1951, he played the role of newspaper reporter Rentaro Mikuni in the first film "The Good Demon", which was a great success. Taking Mikuni Rentaro as his stage name, he co-starred with Kinuyo Tanaka in "Lightning Book" directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, and won the Blue Ribbon Newcomer Award that year. The following year, he once again showed his comedy genius in "Today's Clinic" directed by Minoru Shibuya. After that, he starred in "The Warring States Scoundrel" and "Miyamoto Musashi" directed by Inagaki Hiroshi, "Police Diary" directed by Hisamatsu Seiji, and "The Harp of Burma" directed by Ichikawa Kun.
In 1957, he collaborated with Kinuyo Tanaka in "Stepbrothers" directed by Iejo Miyoharu. Because he accurately expressed the hero's unique character traits and complex psychological state, he became a first-class star in Japan. , the film was selected as one of the top ten films of the year by the "Film Weekly". The starring role in "Distant Journey" in 1959 was a masterpiece in which his acting skills entered a mature stage. He won the "Lan Ribbon Award" and the Japan Broadcasting Association Film Award for Actor. Since then, he has appeared in "The Feeding" (1961), "The Hungry Straits" (1964), "The Story of the Japanese Thief" (1965), "The Tattered Flag" (1974), "Vengeance Is Mine" (1979), "Ah, Wild Oats" He played various roles in famous films such as "The Ridge" (1979).
"Breeding" won the Mainichi Shimbun Film Award for Supporting Actor; "Hungry Straits" and "The Tattered Flag" won the "Mainichi Movie" Award for Actor; and "The Story of a Japanese Thief" won He won the Actor Award at the "Film Weekly" and "Daily Movie" Film Awards; and won the Brazilian "Ribbon Award" (i.e. Best Actor Award); "Revenge Is Mine" and "Ah, Wild Mai Ling" won the "Film Weekend" award. Newspaper's Supporting Actor Award. In 1982, he co-starred with Sun Daolin in the first Sino-Japanese film "An Unfinished Game of Chess". The film was directed by Junya Sato (director of "Pursuit") and won the Japan Best Film Award. , Grand Prize at the Montreal International Film Festival.
Mikuni Rentaro is good at playing characters of various types and life experiences. His characters are believable and have strong character traits. For his outstanding performance in "Son", he won the 1991 "Film Weekly" Best Actor Award. He has acted in about 150 films, and his major works include: "The Song of the Wagon" (1959), "The Island of Execution" (1966), "Desire of the Gods" (1968), "Hakkoda Mountain" (1977) ﹑wait. He is also the author of a long historical novel "The White Road" and other books. This book was adapted into a movie in 1987, in which he played an important role.
Rentaro Mikuni died of acute heart failure on April 14, 2013 in a Tokyo hospital at the age of 90. Mikuni's wife, Tomoko Sato, said that Mikuni, who was in the hospital, ate on the night of April 13, 2013 and was in good spirits. Afterwards, I vomited twice from late night to early morning, and my body temperature and blood pressure dropped. Tomoko died after rushing to the hospital to visit him. Tomoko said that two days before his death, he suddenly said: "I have to leave with everyone, the ship is leaving the port.
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