**Masao Mishima (1906-1973)** was a Japanese actor known for his prolific film career as one of the most versatile character actors of the postwar period. His stage presence made him a recognizable figure in numerous masterpieces, working frequently with seminal directors.

With Akira Kurosawa, he gave memorable performances in films such as *Rashomon* (1950), *Seven Samurai* (1954), and especially *Ikiru* (1952), where he played the icy bureaucrat who stands in the way of the protagonist. He also collaborated assiduously with Yasujirō Ozu, appearing in seminal works such as *Tokyo Story* (Tokyo Monogatari, 1953), often in the role of ordinary men, fathers or authoritarian figures with a subtle humanity.

His ability to portray complex characters—from bureaucrats to farmers, officers to ordinary citizens—with measured but incisive acting made him a pillar of Japanese cinema during its golden age.