Mihashi Tatsuya

The son of a wood sculptor, Mihashi entered the Tama Imperial Art School (now Tama Art University) in 1942, but dropped out after one year. He joined a stage troupe in 1944, but the entire troop was subsequently drafted into the army. Mihashi was taken prisoner in Siberia and remained interned until 1947. Because of his traumatic experience in Siberia, Mihashi avoided traveling through Russia for the rest of his life, preferring to fly across the United States to reach Europe.

In 1954, he joined Nikkatsu, where he appeared in comedies, literary adaptations, and action films. Financial troubles at Nikkatsu in 1958 caused him to leave the studio and join Toho instead. He soon rose to prominence with supporting roles in two Kurosawa Akira films: The Bad Sleep Well (1960) and High and Low (1963). During this period, he also began appearing in the spy-action series International Secret Police, partially due to his resemblance to American actor Cary Grant.

One of Mihashi's favorite hobbies was clay pigeon shooting; he served as director of the Japanese Clay Shooting Association and president of the Entertainers' Gun Club.

Mihashi died in 2004. His last film appearance was as a scientist in Kazuaki Kiriya's Casshern, which premiered earlier that year. He was preceded in death by his wife, former actress Anzai Kyôko of Battle in Outer Space fame.