Emerging from a theatrical lineage-his father the celebrated Rentarō Mikuni and a mother who worked as a geisha-Koichi Sato grew up in Tokyo’s Kagurazaka district and adopted a name that combined characters from directors Hiroshi Inagaki and Kon Ichikawa. After a brief stint in the film department of Tama Art Academy, he left school and made his screen debut in the NHK series Sequel to the Case (1…
