Kō Nishimura (Sapporo, January 25, 1923 – Tokyo, April 29, 1997) was a Japanese actor, one of the most recognizable and prolific figures in his country's cinema and television. His film career was marked by numerous collaborations with director Akira Kurosawa, for whom he acted in iconic films such as *Yojimbo*, *The Bad Sleep Well*, and *Red Beard*. He also worked with other important directors, including Kon Ichikawa in *Fires on the Plain* and Shōhei Imamura. In the latter part of his career, he gained immense popularity portraying the second Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the protagonist of the long-running *jidai-geki* television series *Mito Kōmon*, a role he held for nearly a decade. For his performances, Nishimura received prestigious awards, including the Blue Ribbon Award and the Mainichi Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the films *The Insect Woman* and *Unholy Desire*. In 1987, he was awarded the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon by the Japanese government, and, in 1994, the Order of the Rising Sun, in recognition of his significant contribution to the arts.