Kurosawa was influencing America directors long before Star Wars, so that is no surprise. Mark Hamill growing up in Japan may have had something to do with his being cast for the Luke Skywalker role, though Lucas was also looking for unknowns, and other than a few minor roles in TV and B films, he was quite unknown.
yeah, and that unknown carpenter named Harrison Ford was not expected to steal the movie from Hamill and the princess, but he did.....and the rest is history.