Toshiro Mifune is one of best-known Japanese movie stars of all time. He appeared in a number of Akira Kurosawa films such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Red Beard, as well as movies directed by Hiroshi Inagaki such as Samurai Banners and The Rickshaw Man. He is an actor who represents the best of Japan’s post-WWII movies.
The films in which he took the leading role not only broke domestic records one after the other, but he also received the grand prizes at foreign film festivals. He is still highly regarded throughout the world even today and is a highly respected actor among film professionals both in Japan and globally. In particular, his wild-looking demeanor and tall frame were used in creating magnificent action scenes and he has had revolutionary impacts on worldwide movie expression and acting itself.
The Toshiro Mifune award has been newly created for the Kyoto International Film and Art Festival. Although he was an actor that primarily appeared in movies filmed in Tokyo, and his ties to Kyoto are relatively few. However, the award was named after him in spite of this fact, because his mark on the film industry was to aim at creating a place from which to transmit film art to impress the world on the wealth and appeal of Japanese films, and Mifune’s activities left his mark in Japanese filmmaking. This is in accordance with the main philosophy upon which this Film festival is founded.
 
This will be an award given to the actor who is most likely to make international impact on the film industry. The award aims to support actors who play a major roles on the world’s stage, just as Toshiro Mifune did.

Teruyo Nogami
Shinobu Hashimoto
Yoji Yamada
Tadao Sato
Shiro Mifune
Kazuyoshi Okuyama(Film Producer)