Mikijirō Hira (平 幹二朗, Hira Mikijirō, 21 November 1933 – 23 October 2016) was a Japanese actor. Starting as a stage actor in the 1950s, he also worked in film and television and was active until the time of his death. From the 1970s he starred in several of Yukio Ninagawa's productions, including an acclaimed role as Macbeth. Described as "Japan's best Shakespearean actor",[1] Hira received several awards throughout his career, including an excellence award at the 2011 National Arts Festival [ja] hosted by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs.[2]
Mikijirō Hira
Mikiro Taira from the February issue of Women's Life Ltd., "Women's Life" (1966)
Hira's stage performances were heralded throughout his career. In 2009, Tokyo Universityprofessor emeritus of English literature Yushi Odashima [ja] described Hira as Japan's best Shakesperean actor, noting the incandescence he brought to his roles as mythical characters.[1] The range in his performance as King Lear, from solemnness to madness, was praised by Kindai University professor and theatre critic Kojin Nishido [ja].[1] An obituary by the Chunichi Shimbun identified Hira's special ability to deliver profound performances and his high-toned delivery of lines.[3]
On October 23, 2016, he died at his home in Setagaya, Tokyo at the age of 82.[3] At the time of his death he had a role in Fuji Television's Monday night drama Cain and Abel, which was taken over by Akira Terao.[5] Hira's final performance, in the second episode of Cain and Abel, was filmed on 29 September and aired on 24 October, shortly after his death.[6] Hira also had a role in NHK's production of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. Filming of the second season finished earlier in 2016 and premiered in January 2017. In the third season, which premiered in November 2017, Hira was replaced by Takeshi Kaga.[7]
^ abc"選考委員の講評" [Selection Committee Members' Reviews] (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
^"平成23年度（第66回） 文化庁芸術祭賞受賞一覧（参加公演）" [2011 (66th) Agency for Cultural Affairs National Arts Festival List of Awardees (Participating Performances)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. p. 11. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
^ abcdefghi [Mikijiro Hira, star of "Minagawa Macbeth" dead at 82] (in Japanese). Chunichi Shimbun. 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
^ abc"平幹二朗" [Mikijirō Hira] (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
^"平幹二朗さん代役に寺尾聰！「カインと－」主人公の祖父役で第４話から登場" [Mikijirō Hira's replacement is Akira Terao! Will appear as main character's grandfather from 4th episode of "Cain and"]. Sankei Sports (in Japanese). 31 October 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
^ ab [Mikijirō Hira's final scene increases ratings: Second episode of "Cain and Abel" averages 8.6%]. Hochi Shimbun (in Japanese). 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
^ abc"平幹二朗さん代役に鹿賀丈史「想い受け継ぎ、魂込めて」 ＮＨＫ「精霊の守り人」" [Takeshi Kaga to replace Mikijirō Hira in NHK's "Moribito"]. Daily Sports (in Japanese). 31 October 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
^"アトランティス 失われた帝国". The Cinema. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
^"Asahi Performing Arts Awards 2008" (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
mikijirō, hira, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, february, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mikijirō Hira news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mikijirō Hira 平 幹二朗 Hira Mikijirō 21 November 1933 23 October 2016 was a Japanese actor Starting as a stage actor in the 1950s he also worked in film and television and was active until the time of his death From the 1970s he starred in several of Yukio Ninagawa s productions including an acclaimed role as Macbeth Described as Japan s best Shakespearean actor 1 Hira received several awards throughout his career including an excellence award at the 2011 National Arts Festival ja hosted by the Japanese government s Agency for Cultural Affairs 2 Mikijirō HiraMikiro Taira from the February issue of Women s Life Ltd Women s Life 1966 Born 1933 11 21 21 November 1933Hiroshima JapanDied23 October 2016 2016 10 23 aged 82 Setagaya Tokyo JapanOccupationActorYears active1956 2016SpouseYoshiko Sakuma m 1970 div 1984 wbr ChildrenTakehiro HiraWebsitewww wbr k factory wbr net wbr profiles wbr mikijiro hira Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Acting career 1 3 Performance style 1 4 Personal life 1 5 Death 2 Filmography 2 1 Film 2 2 Television 2 3 Theater 2 4 Dubbing roles 3 Awards and honours 3 1 Awards 3 2 Honours 4 References 5 External linksBiography editEarly life edit Hira was born in Hiroshima Hiroshima Prefecture Japan 3 After graduating from Joge High School ja in Jōge Hiroshima Prefecture 4 he studied at the training school of the Haiyuza Theatre Company and officially joined the company in 1956 3 One of his early roles was in a production of Goethe s Faust 4 Acting career edit Hira s television debut in the 1963 series Three Outlaw Samurai in which he played a nihilistic masterless samurai saw his popularity rise 4 In 1968 he played Hamlet with the Shiki Theatre Company a role which received very high reviews 3 Performance style edit Hira s stage performances were heralded throughout his career In 2009 Tokyo University professor emeritus of English literature Yushi Odashima ja described Hira as Japan s best Shakesperean actor noting the incandescence he brought to his roles as mythical characters 1 The range in his performance as King Lear from solemnness to madness was praised by Kindai University professor and theatre critic Kojin Nishido ja 1 An obituary by the Chunichi Shimbun identified Hira s special ability to deliver profound performances and his high toned delivery of lines 3 Personal life edit Hira married actress Yoshiko Sakuma in 1970 and they had a son Takehiro who was born in 1974 and is also an actor The pair divorced in 1984 3 In 1998 Hira received a Medal of Honour from the Japanese government and in 2005 he was appointed to the Order of the Rising Sun 4th Class 3 Death edit On October 23 2016 he died at his home in Setagaya Tokyo at the age of 82 3 At the time of his death he had a role in Fuji Television s Monday night drama Cain and Abel which was taken over by Akira Terao 5 Hira s final performance in the second episode of Cain and Abel was filmed on 29 September and aired on 24 October shortly after his death 6 Hira also had a role in NHK s production of Moribito Guardian of the Spirit Filming of the second season finished earlier in 2016 and premiered in January 2017 In the third season which premiered in November 2017 Hira was replaced by Takeshi Kaga 7 Filmography editFilm edit Year Title Role Director Notes1962 The Inheritance Yasuko s lover Masaki Kobayashi1964 Adventures of Zatoichi Gounosuke Kimiyoshi Yasuda1964 Three Outlaw Samurai Einosuke Kikyo Hideo Gosha1965 Sword of the Beast Gen nosuke Hideo Gosha1966 The Face of Another Psychiatrist Hiroshi Teshigahara1968 The Great Adventure of Horus Prince of the Sun Grunwald the Demon of Ice Isao Takahata Voice1982 Willful Murder Superintendent General Okuno Kei Kumai1982 To Trap a Kidnapper Detective Kenmochi Shunya Itō1985 Early Spring Story Takenaka Shinichiro Sawai1988 Tokyo The Last Megalopolis Yasumasa Hirai Akio Jissoji1994 Rampo Marquis Ōgawara Rintarō Mayuzumi1997 Sharan Q no enka no hanamichi Daisuke Naruto Yōjirō Takita2001 Pistol Opera Gorō Hanada Seijun Suzuki2005 Azumi 2 Death or Love Sanada Masayuki Shusuke Kaneko2005 Princess Raccoon Azuchi Momoyama Seijun Suzuki2008 Aibō the Movie Kimihiko Mikuriya Seiji Izumi2009 Goemon Sen no Rikyu Kazuaki Kiriya2010 13 Assassins Doi Toshitsura Takashi Miike2011 Ninja Kids Headmaster Ōkawa Takashi Miike2012 The Tibetan Dog Tenzing Adult Masayuki Kojima Voice2013 The Eternal Zero Hasegawa Takashi YamazakiTelevision edit Year Title Role Network Notes Ref 1963 1969 Three Outlaw Samurai Einosuke Kikyo Fuji1970 Mominoki wa Nokotta Kai Harada NHK Taiga drama1973 Kunitori Monogatari Saitō Dōsan NHK Taiga drama1979 Fumō Chitai Tadashi Iki TBS1988 Takeda Shingen Takeda Nobutora NHK Taiga drama1992 Nobunaga Zuiten NHK Taiga drama2001 Hōjō Tokimune Hōjō Shigetoki NHK Taiga drama2005 Yoshitsune Emperor Go Shirakawa NHK Taiga drama2006 Kemonomichi Kitō Kōta TV Asahi2007 Mito Kōmon Tokugawa Mitsusada TBS2008 Atsuhime Zusho Hirosato NHK Taiga drama2014 Team Medical Dragon Shuzō Sakurai Fuji2016 Moribito Guardian of the Spirit Season 1 Hibitonan NHK 7 2016 Shizumanu Taiyō The Prime Minister Tonegawa WOWOW2016 Cain and Abel Episodes 1 2 Sōichirō Takada Fuji Final role 6 2016 Moribito Guardian of the Spirit Season 2 Hibitonan NHK 7 Theater edit Antony and Cleopatra Cyrano de Bergerac Faust Hamlet Iliad King Lear Macbeth Medea The Merchant of Venice NINAGAWA Macbeth Oedipus Rex Othello Richard III Rokumeikan The Tempest The Threepenny Opera Twelfth Night The Winter s TaleDubbing roles edit Atlantis The Lost Empire 2001 King Kashekim Nedakh 8 Awards and honours editAwards edit 2008 Asahi Performing Arts Awards Artist Award for his performances in King Lear and Yama no Kyojintachi 9 Honours edit Medal of Honour with Purple Ribbon 1998 3 Order of the Rising Sun 4th Class Gold Rays with Rosette 2005 3 References edit a b c 選考委員の講評 Selection Committee Members Reviews in Japanese Asahi Shimbun 30 January 2009 Retrieved 22 December 2016 平成23年度 第66回 文化庁芸術祭賞受賞一覧 参加公演 2011 66th Agency for Cultural Affairs National Arts Festival List of Awardees Participating Performances PDF in Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs p 11 Retrieved 22 December 2016 a b c d e f g h i 平幹二朗さん死去 ８２歳 蜷川マクベス 名演 Mikijiro Hira star of Minagawa Macbeth dead at 82 in Japanese Chunichi Shimbun 24 October 2016 Archived from the original on 24 October 2016 Retrieved 22 December 2016 a b c 平幹二朗 Mikijirō Hira in Japanese Asahi Shimbun Retrieved 22 December 2016 平幹二朗さん代役に寺尾聰 カインと 主人公の祖父役で第４話から登場 Mikijirō Hira s replacement is Akira Terao Will appear as main character s grandfather from 4th episode of Cain and Sankei Sports in Japanese 31 October 2016 Retrieved 22 December 2016 a b 平幹二朗さん最後の出演シーンで視聴率上昇 カインとアベル 第２話の平均視聴率８ ６ Mikijirō Hira s final scene increases ratings Second episode of Cain and Abel averages 8 6 Hochi Shimbun in Japanese 25 October 2016 Archived from the original on 31 October 2016 Retrieved 22 December 2016 a b c 平幹二朗さん代役に鹿賀丈史 想い受け継ぎ 魂込めて ＮＨＫ 精霊の守り人 Takeshi Kaga to replace Mikijirō Hira in NHK s Moribito Daily Sports in Japanese 31 October 2016 Retrieved 22 December 2016 アトランティス 失われた帝国 The Cinema Retrieved January 30 2023 Asahi Performing Arts Awards 2008 in Japanese Asahi Shimbun 30 January 2009 Retrieved 22 December 2016 External links editOfficial profile in Japanese Mikijirō Hira at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mikijirō Hira amp oldid 1176581110, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
