Open Set - the way I saw it

Old Acting School Building Mifune Production is on the right

I had been thinking about visiting the location for the last few years to see if any of the staff I used to know and work with were still around.  Actually, I wasn't even sure if the production company and/or its buildings still existed. But the main reason I decided to finally make the trip was because there were many questions from Mifune fans that I couldn't answer.  And if the company still existed, maybe I could get some of the answers.

Anyhow, I finally got to Seijo Gakkuen Mae station after about two and a half hours on trains.  I knew there was a bus that stopped near Mifune Productions.  The bus stop was even called "Mifune Pro Mae" ("in front of Mifune Productions"), but I couldn't remember what bus to take, or where to get it.  So I asked one of the station employees at a ticket window.  He looked at a paper and said he couldn't find a bus stop called Mifune Pro Mae, but told me I could find the buses at the bottom of the stairs to his right.

Even if the bus stop and company were gone, I still wanted to see what happened to the buildings and open set.  I went down the stairs and found a line of people waiting for a bus.  I asked a couple of people if they ever heard of a Mifune Pro Mae bus stop and they said they didn't.  Then further up the street I saw a bus driver standing beside a bus that was out of service.  I asked him the same question and he told me that the bus stop still existed, but the bus that stopped there started from the other side of the station.  The station employee had mistakenly sent me to the wrong side of the station.

With a small sense of relief, I went to the other side of the station and found the bus that would stop at Mifune Pro Mae.  It was about a ten minute ride.  I got off at Mifune Pro Mae.  The bus stop looked the same as I remembered it.  It even had the same old bench by it.  But I couldn't see any sign of the buildings I once knew.  I walked up the street in the direction of where I thought they had been, but still didn't see anything.  I asked a delivery man nearby and he said if I walked another ten meters or so, I would see it inset on the right.  And sure enough, there was a nice modern sign "Mifune Productions."  And it seemed like a really big modern building.  Completely different from the one I had known.  I looked for the entrance, but all I could find was one locked door with no sign or anything on it.  It was only 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, so I couldn't imagine a big production company being closed.  I saw a doorphone with a buzzer on it.  I buzzed it one time.  I waited a couple of minutes but no one answered.

I was just about to give up and go home, when suddenly a very old man opened the door.  He didn't seem to recognize me, so I figured it wasn't someone I had known-- at least on a regular basis.  I told him that I once worked there and was wondering if anyone was still left from that time.  He said that only Shiro was there.  I had heard that Mifune's son's name was Shiro, so I asked the old man if that was Mifune's son.  And just as he answered yes, a staff member that I had worked with a lot at the acting school, came to the door with a surprised face and said, "Baer Sensei!"  Maybe at the time I worked there, I had known that that man at the door was Toshiro Mifune's son, but I don't remember knowing it.

He invited me in and showed me into an elegant office that was neatly arranged with his father's memorabilia.  We sat in the room and started talking.  I commented on the big modern building that had become "Mifune Productions," but Shiro-san said that they (actually only he) had a few rooms in a large condominium that had since replaced the production and acting company.

Entrance to the room-- looking from the inside.	Hard to see, but on thethe left is Toshiro's riding outfit.
Toshiro's trophy case with all of his awards.	Toshiro's desk.  His favorite brandy etc. on it.
A picture in a corner of the rooom of Toshiro Mifune with a pipe.	Strange picture of Robert half squatting in front of the video camera balanced on a TV, trying to find a good pose for the picture with Shiro-san.  In the end, Shiro-san brought his own camera and took the picture..

During our conversation I told him that I had been meaning to visit there for a long time, but for some reason I just didn't feel right about it (Maybe it was because I knew that so many famous people were coming there-- especially after his father's death-- maybe I didn't feel worthy of myself).  I said that I made a web-page for his father and many fans from around the world were asking me questions that I couldn't answer.  Shiro-san said he would be glad to answer them.  And I truly think he would answer any question I asked, but I didn't want to be an inquisitive reporter (and still don't).  But I asked him some questions that fans had asked me that I felt wouldn't be offensive to him (click here to go to most question answers).
There was one question I wasn't sure I should ask, so I carefully asked him, "Would it be offensive if I asked you where your father's grave is located?"

He replied something like, "Not at all," and he showed me a picture of the grave, told me the details of how to get there, and kindly wrote everything down so I wouldn't make a mistake.
 
 

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.  Click on the image for the English Translation.

From the beginning of our meeting-- especially since I just suddenly popped in after 14 years, I asked him if his time was ok.  And he said it was fine.  But I realized that he had something he had to do but was reluctant to say it, but could communicate it in other ways (this is a common thing in Japan).  I was not pressured at all to do so, but I felt I should leave soon.  On the spur of the moment, I decided it would be nice to have a picture of us together to put on the web-page.  Shiro-san was more than happy to pose with me, but all I had with me was a small (but good) video camera.  I can make stills from the video, but there was no one to take the video of us except the old man (in another room) and he really didn't look like he could handle a video camera.  I tried placing the video camera on something where we could do a two shot in front of it, but it was hard to set the camera properly.  Shiro-san saw my dilemma and said he would take the picture and send it to me.  While he went out to get his camera, I shot some quick videos of the room (He said I could.  Those are the stills above).
 

Shortly Shiro-san came back with his still camera and the old man and set it up so that all the old man had to do was hold the camera, aim and press the button.  The old man (no disrespect meant) had a lot of trouble finding the button-- but finally he snapped the picture.  Then Shiro-san told the old man that my name was Baer-sensei and I used to teach at Mifune Geijutsu Gakuin-- but he never told me the old man's name or his relationship with him (this is another Japanese thing in some circumstances).

During our conversation Shiro-san said that he was in a new Kurosawa movie that would be coming to Japan movie theaters at the end of January.  I was a little surprised, considering that Kurosawa was no longer around.  He said it was from a script that Kurosawa had written just before he passed away.  I then remembered hearing about that script before.  As we talked about the movie he gave me a flyer about it, a nice pamphlet about it, and two free tickets to it-- that can be used in any theater in Japan that is showing the movie!
 
 

Theater ticket Click here for excerpts  and pictures from the  theater program of  Ame Agaru  (After the Rain).

I don't know what kind of actor Shiro-san is, he hasn't acted in twenty-eight years, but as far as a person, I respect him as much as I respected his father.  As great a man as he was, Toshiro Mifune always talked to me as though I were the great person-- And it was the same way Shiro-san talked to me, yesterday.
 

Link to Kurosawa's movie AFTER THE RAIN coming soon.  Also an English translation of Shiro-san's profile (above).  It seems I visited Shiro-san the day before his birthday.

It is the tradition in Japan for the eldest son to take care of his parents when they grow old-- and take care of the family grave after death.  The eldest son is also responsible for any business the family may have, whether it is doing great or deep in debt.  Shiro-san, the eldest son, had it very hard, having to take care of his ailing parents and his father's failing business.  But he shouldered it well.  I consider Shiro Mifune a truly great man.  If his father, Toshiro, is watching him now, I am sure he has a very proud smile on his face.  I am a very lucky person to have met two such great people!
 

Robert Red-Baer

P.S.  I went back again on April 29th, 2000. Click here for the second pilgrimage.