A: Sorry, I don't have any
pictures like that.
Q: Was Mifune San as nice in person as I have heard?
He was
often described as self-effacing and humble - with a good sense of
humor.
My impression of him is a man who considered himself very lucky and not
particularly special in any way. What was your impression of
him?
[From Mrs. Rusty Taylor]
A: My
impression was pretty much
what
you heard.
i am looking for mifune shots of the man in Yojimbo can you
please
help me. thanx. [From Phil)
A: All I can suggest is
to look through the
below site (Click on it)-- if you already haven't.
The
Sprout site
FOLLOW UP:
thank you very
much.
it was just what i needed. nice home page too.
A NEW ANSWER:
A poster of Mifune in Yojimbo can now be found on my site at:
Kurosawa Movie
Corner
(Posters for all 30 of Kurosawa's films are here)
Q: One of the things
we found most interesting was your comment
on the difference in acting styles between American and Japanese actors
in terms of expression when each speaks the language of the other in a
part. It's often speculated here in articles on
Mifune that
language problems may have been a factor in muffling his otherwise
powerful
style (in English speaking films). [anonymous]
A: I
don't really know about this
as far as Mifune goes. But one of the things about good
acting is
that you have to believe you are the character you are
portraying.
If you don't know the exact words you are saying, I suppose it could be
a handicap. Many people manage to overcome their handicaps.
Q: You are great! I am looking forward to the
question and
answer page. I am also interested in Minoru Chiaki. [Sherry]
A: Your e-mail
arrived on Sunday JST at
11pm.
Minoru Chiaki passed away on Monday at about noon JST. Is
that
strange?
I actually met him once, but back then I didn't know who he was and
that
he was so famous. Below is the Obituary from Kyodo News:
Actor Minoru
Chiaki, known for his
appearances
in the films of legendary film director Akira Kurosawa, died Monday of
acute respiratory and coronary failure, his family said. He was 82.
Chiaki,
whose real name was Katsuji
Sasaki,
died at 12: 12 p.m. at a hospital in Fuchu in western Tokyo, they said.
Chiaki
is perhaps best known overseas for
his
role as Tahei, one of the two army deserters who became involved in the
rescue of a princess in Kurosawa's "Hidden Fortress."
Tahei
and the other soldier, Matashichi,
were
the inspiration for C3PO and R2D2, characters in George Lucas "Star
Wars"
series of films.
With
Chiaki's death, the last of the
seven
actors who played the title characters in the 1954 masterpiece "Seven
Samurai,"
including other Kurosawa favorites Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura,
has passed away.
Chiaki
also appeared in nine other
Kurosawa
films, including Rashomon the Throne of Blood," "The Lower Depths" and
"Ikiru."
In
1975, Chiaki collapsed from a cerebral
hemorrhage
but he recovered, eventually playing a senile old man in hunya Ito's
"Hana
lchimonme" in 1985, for which he was awarded the Japan Academy Prize
for
best actor. He was also active in television and on stage.
Q: One of the critics
here who considers Mifune to be Japan's
greatest
film actor nevertheless characterized him as (by the early 1970's) "an
actor-for-hire who appeared in undistinguished productions that
never
matched his great abilities." What would you say about that
and
about
his later work? [anonymous]
A: To
be honest with you, before
Mifune
asked me to work for him, I knew little more about him than his
name.
I could speak Japanese by then, but it wasn't up to where I could sit
through
one of his movies and say I could completely understand it.
(the
only movies of his that I could watch didn't have subtitles here in
Japan--
still now) It is just in the last few years that I have
started
to
watch his movies-- because I can kind of understand them now-- they are
still difficult because the language in them is not my everyday
Japanese
language and because most of the classics are old with not such good
sound
tracks. But I am finally managing to see their significance
and
enjoying
them. I have always dearly respected Mifune as a
person and
now I am learning about him as an actor. So it is hard for me
to
comment about his acting talent.
Q: How is it
spelled--JoJinbo or JoJimbo???? which is it?
I see it spelled both ways. I need to learn Japanese. [From Sherry]
A: The
three Japanese characters are
pronounced as follows:
Yoh
jin boh (the Yoh and boh are long
o's)
The usual English spelling is Yojinbo. But some people might
pronounce
the "jin", "jim."
Q:
Did Toshiro Mifune have a family? [From Sherry]
/ What is the name of Toshiro Mifune's second
wife? When
his
daughter born? [From Edwin]
A: Mifune
never had a
second
wife. He had a wife and a mistress. While I was
working for
him, he had a daughter from his mistress, Mika Ohno. The daughter, Mika
Mifune married a man of about 40 or so (she was 16-born September 12,
1982)
a year or two ago. Toshiro Mifune also had two sons. the
oldest
one, Shiro
Mifune, now runs what is left of Mifune productions.
Shiro
had
a leading part in Kurosawa's "Ame Agaru" (After the Rain).
Toshiro
lived with his mistress, but sometime after he became ill the mistress
left and the wife came back and spent the rest of her life with
him.
She died a few years before her husband did. They are in their family
grave
together.
Q: Would you please tell me how tall
Toshiro Mifune
was. [From Georgie-san]
Q:
What was the cause of Toshiro Mifune's death?
[From Edwin]
A: The
official
cause of death was organ failure. He died at a hospital in
Mitaka,
Tokyo. I know he was bedridden for many years before he
passed
away.
I may be wrong, but I think it all started with a stroke he had about
10
years before his death.
Click
here
to go to "A Short Personal Biography of Toshiro Mifune."
This
will give you some more information.
Q:
It may sound stupid, but if you know or can find
out, I'd dearly love to learn where Mr. Mifune's grave is and pay my
respects
there. I'll be in Japan with my wife in late February, in
case
you
are able to find out something about Mifune's grave. [From John E.]
A: It is in
Kawasaki (close to Tokyo)
You take the Odakyu line to Ikuta Station. From the South
exit
there
is a micro bus that goes to a cemetery called Shun-ju-en. It
is a
private cemetery, but the guard will let you in to pay your respects to
Mr. Mifune. Make a copy of the Japanese directions below (His
son,
Shiro wrote them out for me). If you have any
trouble
finding
the place, just show the paper to someone and somehow you will be
helped.
|
| Shiro-san's written instructions on
how to get to Toshiro
Mifune's
grave. Written on the back of an old piece of paper that I
just
happened
to have with me. |
To
read how Red-Baer got the
Japanese directions, click here.
Q: What was Toshiro Mifune's
favorite
brandy?
It doesn't display or print out to be discernible. (regarding pictures
of Toshiro Mifune memorial room in the story "The
Little Pilgrimage") [From Georgie San]
A: Actually, I
don't know. I didn't
really have time to look at or take detailed videos of
things.
Now,
I am not even sure if it was brandy. It might have been some
other
kind of whiskey, but I think it was brandy. I will try and go
back
again someday and take more detailed pictures of the room.
Q:
Would you please describe on which
walls the various pictures of Mifune Sans office (memorial room) are in
relation to the door as one walks into the room? (regarding
pictures
of Toshiro Mifune memorial room in the story "The
Little Pilgrimage") [From Georgie San]
A: (From left
to right and down) If you walk through the door in the first
picture
(the door opening into the inside of the room) the next
picture
would
be on your left side right next to the door. The third
picture is
the next wall on the left. The fourth picture of the desk is
the
next wall on the left (facing the door). The fifth picture is
on
the floor to the right of the desk as you look at it. The
last
picture
(of myself squatting, trying to fit into the frame of the camera) was
taken
from the top of a TV (where I put the video camera) in front of the
wall
I don't have a a picture of.
Q: What was that
across
the hall from the entrance to his office (memorial room)?
(regarding
pictures
of Toshiro Mifune memorial room in the story "The
Little Pilgrimage") [From Georgie San]
A: I don't
know.
It might have been a toilet or something. When I entered from
the
outside of the building, there was kind of a regular office on the
right.
That may have been Shiro's regular working place. Then I was
led
down a short hall to the door on the right that went to his father's
memorial
room (office).
Q:
Did Shiro San (Mifune's eldest
son) have an office & if so what did it look like?
[From
Georgie
San]
A: It
may have been the room on the right mentioned in the above above
answer.
All I can remember was that it was a plain office type of room with a
couple
of plain office type of desks in it. The next time I go there
I
will
try and keep closer attention to details.
Q: Is the
address for Mifune Productions the same and do you
have an e-mail address for Shiro Mifune (Toshiro's eldest son)? [From
Georgie-san]
Q:
I couldn't quite tell from your web page... is the
Mifune
Production Co. still in existence, or has it
folded? [From
Mrs.
Rusty Taylor]
A: It seems
Mifune Productions is just his
son Shiro-san.
I think
he
just handles things like copyrights on their films and things to do
with
his father. The name still exists, but it seems that there is
no
producing.
Q:
When you saw Shiro on your pilgrimage,
did the two of you converse in English or Japanese? [From
Georgie-san]
A: We talked
in Japanese. Sometimes Shiro
would insert something in English-- but just as it was in Mifune
Geijutsu
Gakuin, the staff always spoke in Japanese-- sometimes much to my not
understanding.
After the pilgrimage, on the way back home on the train, I read Shiro's
profile in the "Ame Ageru" program he gave me. I realized
that
maybe
we should have spoke in English-- as I am sure his English was better
than
my Japanese. I wrote him a letter expressing this-- in
English.
I hope he read it.
Q:
Did you happen to tell
Shiro-san
that his father has a following over here in America? [From
Mrs.
Rusty Taylor]
A: I told him,
not only in America, but in other parts of the world, too.
But I
think he knows that, anyhow.
Q: Just curious -what
was it in Shiro's profile which made you
think
he would speak English? [From rather remain anonymous]
A: In Shiro's
profile it says that after he graduated college, he spent a
year
and
a half studying at a language school in Cambridge, England--
Any
Japanese I have met up until now that has spent more than a year in an
English speaking country has been a fairly good English speaker.
Click
here to go to Shiro Mifune's profile (Japanese) and picture.
Q:
Do you possibly know how the
ship's
wheel was chosen for the symbol of the Mifune
Geijutsu Gakuin (acting school)? [From
Georgie-san]
A: This is
easy. As the name I use is
Red-Baer-- red for the color of my hair and my real last
name--
The
Chinese characters (kanji) for Mifune's last name are Mi=three
fune=ship.
So the name Mifune means three ships-- therefore the ship's wheel.
Q:
How has AME AGARU been received
in Japan?
[From
Georgie-san]
A: In the
CINEMA LISTINGS of the English
language
newspaper THE DAILY YOMIURI it says, "Akira Kurosawa wrote the
screenplay
for this samurai flick (Ame Agaru), but it loses luster in the hands of
director Takashi Koizumi."
I went and saw
the movie yesterday
(2/25/2000)
with my new Russian teacher (she is Japanese). We both
thought it
was a beautiful movie. I don't know how Kurosawa would have
directed
it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. In the first scene that
Shiro
Mifune
appears in, he is wearing a helmet and sitting on a horse,
speaking.
At first I could have sworn it was his father, Toshiro-- it was a
really
strange feeling. Although I never got that feeling again In
the
rest
of the movie, I thought Shiro played the character of castle lord
perfectly.
If you have a chance, please watch Ame Agaru.
Q:
You have a very beautiful site
on the internet... I have one question: Can
I buy a big poster
with RED BEARD?
[From Allan]
|
Red-Baer and
Japan Related
|
Q: I've been told that actor Tatsuya Nakadai also teaches
acting
in Japan. I would like to send him a letter, and was
wondering if
you happen to know the address for the school he teaches at? [From
Derik
Onuma]
A: The
school is called Mumei
Juku
or "Not-famous Private School". As soon as I find out there
rest
of the info, I will let you know.
Q: You have many many questions signed
"anonymous." You
made
them up yourself, didn't you? [From Robert Red-Baer]
A: No,
I didn't make them
up.
They really are from some people that wish to remain,
anonymous.
Honest!
Q: How did you learn to speak Japanese? [From Jesse Rai]
A: Mostly through self
study
after I came to Japan and because I have had to use it all the time in
my daily life.
Q: Was it difficult to learn it (Japanese)? [From
Jesse Rai]
A: Yes, it was very
difficult--
and it still is!
Q: What made you want to come to Japan? [From Jesse
Rai]
A: I wanted to
make a lot of money working short hours at teaching English, thus
giving
myself time to do my writing. Things changed quite a bit
after I
got here, though.
Q: It seems from the
article
(with
Red-Baer about Mifune) that English was a real
challenge. My
friends from Europe say the same thing. We seem to have too
many
sound similarities and spelling variances,etc. What's your
experience
been with your students? [anonymous]
A: I think English
(for
communication) is much less of a challenge in Europe than in
Japan.
Please click on the below title and read my Essay.
"English for
Communication
--Why it isn't, and how it can be-- "
Q: Where is
Edogawa University located? [From Georgie-san]
A: In the northwest
part
of Chiba prefecture-- Nagareyama-shi (city)
Q: How did you get from Mifune Geijutsu Gakuin to
there
(Edogawa
University)? [From Georgie-san]
A: I worked for
Mifune
before I worked here. But I lived in Nagareyama, so I used to
take
the train to MIfune Productions-- about a two and a half hour trip.
Another Answer:
I may misinterpreted your question the first time. After the
Acting
school basically closed down, I was still officially employed by a
large
English Conversation School in Kashiwa city (bordering Nagareyama City
where I have always lived). While continuing my work there I
was
asked by the new Edogawa Women's Junior College in Nagareyama City to
teach
for them. I no longer work for the English Conversation
school
and
am now an associate professor at Edogawa. (Click
here to go to a related Q and A)
Q: How did
your interest in Japan get started? [From
Georgie-san]
A: That is a long
story
but I will answer it later.
Q: Where are you from originally? [From Georgie-san]
A: I was born in
Tinton
Falls, New Jersey (USA), but lived in Hawaii for 10 years before I came
to Japan. If you have a chance please look at: "Don't
Waste a Worry"
Q: Have you become a Japanese citizen? [From
Georgie-san]
A: No, I want to keep
my American Citizenship, but I have a permanent residency
visa.
It
is hard to get and gives me all the privileges of Japanese, except the
right to vote.
Q: Were you teaching in Hawaii when you were there?
[From
Sherry]
A: No, I was a
student
at UH and later had my own little theatre group and drove a truck and
sold
peanuts and hotdogs at the old Honolulu Stadium etc..
Q: Curiosity begs
me to ask. What
colour are your eyes? [From Georgie-san]
A: My
eyes kind of vary from blue to green, depending on the
weather
and
my surroundings.
Q: I am looking for the Japanese characters for: black brass
and
table. I know these are some simple words, but I have not
been
able
to find the outlets on the net that give Japanese character
translations.
The only thing that I have found are phonetic translations. If you
could
help me out it would be greatly appreciated. [From Brian Marlowe]
A: If
your computer can handle
Japanese fonts there is no problem, but if it can't there is not much I
can do.
Q: This may come across as an odd request but can you tell
me
how
i can attract more flies into the room. The problem is that the
roommate
I have been assigned with is this real pain in the ass, so i want to
import
some flies and set them in the room. He's a slob who leaves all the
food
open and because of him the room stinks. i can't even get lucky with a
woman cause I'm too embarrassed bringing them into the room! the lucky
point is that this roommate of mine is really scared of insects even
flies.
So now help me get him out cause I've tried everything from voodoo to
the
FBI. Help me Oh bob, your my only hope. [From Tejus Coulagi]
(Click
here to read
about "HOW TO GET RID OF FLIES WITHOUT KILLING THEM")
(Click
here
to read comments about killing flies in "Comments/Requests to Robert")
A:
Your roommate should be
able to attract all the flies you need.
Q:
wussup,
ma names jeff honma.
i live in japan, do you live in japan
too? cuz your email thing says edogawa, and ive hearda dat
place.
anywayz, bout catchin does flies, everyday when ma mom opens da windows
a shit load a flies come in, and ma mom is sprayin a bitch load of the
fly killing stuff, but they keep on comin back, its startin to piss me
of so could you tell me how its done? [From Jeff]
A: skyz up
Ok, Jeff-- da
numba one first thin ya gotta
do is watch all da flies flyin aroun. Den keep yoh eye out
foh
one
dat lands on one flat surface-- like a table or somethin. Den
position
yohself so da fly is walkin in da deerection ub yoh hand.
place
yoh
hand on da table an slide it very slowly toads da fly's face.
an
when you gets real close, whip yoh hand at da fly an grab da mother.
Den
follow da res da deerection on dis web page.
http://www.edogawa-u.ac.jp/robert/howtokilfly.html
(Click
here
to read comments about killing flies in "Comments/Requests to Robert")
Q: I have come across your web site when searching
for
english-japanese
translation. I am very interested in japanese art and at the
moment
I am planning four paintings. I need the japanese symbol for
four
words.... LOVE
PEACE
SERENITY
and HARMONY for my
paintings. I haven't
yet
found anyone kind enough to help. [From Michelle]
A:
Q: What are some vices present in "Song of Roland"?
[From
Jason]
(This concerns Robert's play called "THE SING OF ROLAND.")
A: I don't have
a copy of the SONG OF ROLAND
any more. I re-read the play I wrote just now.
Roland's
obvious
vices were killing and raping-- but probably his biggest vice was
ignorance--
if we can call that a vice.
(Click
here to go
to Robert Red-Baer's play, THE SING OF ROLAND)
RE:
ROLAND DID NOT RAPE ANYONE! [From
Jason]
A:
Sorry
about that. For some
reason I had it happen in my play. Maybe it was because I was
in
middle of a Vietnam war crisis when I wrote the play. I think
I
read
the Song of Roland in a class I had at the University of
Hawaii.
I really have forgotten much of the original legend. If I
have a
chance I will try to find and read the legend again. It was interesting
to read the play again, though. Thanks for inspiring me.
RE:
RE: There is a good on-line version at
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Roland/
Could you please tell me where Roland's greatest vice was ignorance,
where
are some of examples in the song?
A:
Actually
I can't-- It was many
years ago I used Roland's song as a springboard for the play-- the
play,
believe it or not, is a comedy-- kind of a black comedy about the way
people
look up to legends based on rumors. I will look at the Roland
site
you sent me. And hopefully I will see many things I have
forgotten
about. I have a feeling you know a lot more about Roland than
I
ever
did-- however this is kind of interesting. Thanks, I will
look at
the site.
