Mikijirō Hira was a Japanese actor. Starting as a stage actor in the 1950s, he also worked in film and television and was active until the time of his death. From the 1970s he starred in several of Yukio Ninagawa's productions, including an acclaimed role as Macbeth. Described as "Japan's best Shakespearean actor", Hira received several awards throughout his career, including an excellence award at the 2011 National Arts Festival hosted by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs.

The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun is a 1968 Japanese anime fantasy adventure film. It is the directorial feature film debut of Isao Takahata and was also worked on by Hayao Miyazaki. Horus marked the beginning of their partnership that would last for the next 50 years across numerous animation studios.