Isao Kimura had featured roles in several of Akira Kurosawa's
masterworks. The handsome young actor portrayed a wide range of
characters under the master's guidance. He first played the war-damaged
hoodlum Yusa in Stray Dog with antagonism and palpable pain; then, at
the opposite end of the spectrum but with equal veracity, Kimura played
the innocent, hero-worshiping, faun-like apprentice Katsushiro in Seven
Samurai. Although Kimura was 31 when he did the latter role, he looked
the part perfectly, and portrayed the wide-eyed teenage warrior with
sympathy and passion.
After a long film career in film, Kimura founded and directed an acting
company which ultimately went bankrupt. He worked arduously for years
to pay off all its debts, but shortly after completing this
self-imposed task he became ill, and died much too young at 58 years
old. It is, therefore, fair to say that Isao Kimura led his life with
the same sense of honor that he so often portrayed in his films.
Yokomizo Seishi shirĂŽzu(1977)
Kurosawa Akira: Tsukuru to iu koto wa subarashii(2002)as Self
