Masayuki Yui rose to fame when legendary director Akira Kurosawa cast him as Ieyasu Tokugawa in his 1980 masterpiece Kagemusha. Yui-san subsequently worked with Kurosawa on numerous projects, including Ran, Dreams and Madadayo. Other films of note are the indie hit, To End All Wars, and the short films Jitensha and Persimmon.