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Rashomon, which premiered in Tokyo in August 1950, and which also starred Mifune, became, on September 10, 1951, the surprise winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and was subsequently released in Europe and North America.

The commercial and critical success of this film opened up Western film markets for the first time to the products of the Japanese film industry, which in turn led to international recognition for other Japanese filmmakers.

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Kurosawa directed approximately a film a year, including a number of highly regarded films such as Ikiru ( 1952 ), Seven Samurai ( 1954 ) and Yojimbo ( 1961 ).

After the mid-1960s, he became much less prolific, but his later work — including his final two epics, Kagemusha ( 1980 ) and Ran ( 1985 )— continued to win awards, including the Palme d ' Or for Kagemusha, though more often abroad than in Japan.