Tomotaka Tasaka (田坂 具隆, Tasaka Tomotaka; 14 April 1902 – 17 October 1974) was a Japanese film director.
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Famous Japanese People: Film Director
Film Director: 429 people
Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎, Yamamoto Kajirō; 15 March 1902 – 21 September 1974) was a Japanese film director…
Kajirō Yamamoto (山本 嘉次郎, Yamamoto Kajirō; 15 March 1902 – 21 September 1974) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor who was known for his war films and comedies and as the mentor of the Three Crows (Akira Kurosawa, Ishirō Honda, and Senkichi Taniguchi). The combined list of his efforts as a director for documentaries, silent, and sound films includes over 90 film titles during his lifetime.
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Heinosuke Gosho (五所平之助, Gosho Heinosuke; 24 January 1902 – 1 May 1981) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter…
Heinosuke Gosho (五所平之助, Gosho Heinosuke; 24 January 1902 – 1 May 1981) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed Japan's first successful sound film, The Neighbor's Wife and Mine, in 1931. His films are mostly associated with the shōshimin-eiga (lit. "common people drama") genre. Among his most noted works are Where Chimneys Are Seen, An Inn at Osaka, Takekurabe and Yellow Crow.
🎓 Keio University🏫 Keio Senior High School📅 Born January 24🎂 Born 1902📍 From Chiyoda, Tokyo💼 Film Director💼 Screenwriter💼 Haiku Poet・Waka Poet
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Ryohei Arai (荒井良平, Arai Ryōhei) (22 October 1901 – 22 October 1980) was a Japanese film director. He directed films…
Ryohei Arai (荒井良平, Arai Ryōhei) (22 October 1901 – 22 October 1980) was a Japanese film director. He directed films from the 1930s to 1950s, especially jidaigeki and ghost movies based on kaidan.
Eiji Tsuburaya (Japanese: 円谷 英二, Hepburn: Tsuburaya Eiji; July 7, 1901 – January 25, 1970) was a Japanese special…
Eiji Tsuburaya (Japanese: 円谷 英二, Hepburn: Tsuburaya Eiji; July 7, 1901 – January 25, 1970) was a Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the Godzilla and Ultraman franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history of cinema. Tsuburaya is known as the "Father of Tokusatsu", having pioneered Japan's special effects industry and introduced several technological developments in film productions. In a career spanning five decades, Tsuburaya worked on approximately 250 films—including globally renowned features directed by Ishirō Honda, Hiroshi Inagaki, and Akira Kurosawa—and earned six Japan Technical Awards. Following a brief stint as an inventor, Tsuburaya was employed by Japanese cinema pioneer Yoshirō Edamasa in 1919 and began his career working as an assistant cinematographer on Edamasa's A Tune of Pity. Thereafter, he worked as an assistant cinematographer on several films, including Teinosuke Kinugasa's A Page of Madness (1926). At the age of thirty-two, Tsuburaya watched King Kong, which greatly influenced him to work in special effects. Tsuburaya completed the first iron shooting crane in October 1934, and an adaptation of the crane is still in use across the globe today. After filming his directorial debut on the cruiser Asama in the Pacific Ocean, he worked on Princess Kaguya (1935), one of Japan's first major films to incorporate special effects. His first majorly successful film in effects, The Daughter of the Samurai (1937), remarkably featured the first full-scale rear projection. In 1937, Tsuburaya was employed by Toho and established the company's effects department. Tsuburaya directed the effects for The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya in 1942, which became the highest-grossing Japanese film in history upon its release. His elaborate effects were believed to be behind the film's major success, and he won an award for his work from the Japan Motion Picture Cinematographers Association. In 1948, however, Tsuburaya was purged from Toho by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers because of his involvement in propaganda films during World War II. Thus, he founded Tsuburaya Special Technology Laboratory with his eldest son Hajime and worked without credit at major Japanese studios outside Toho, creating effects for films such as Daiei's The Invisible Man Appears (1949), widely regarded as the first Japanese science fiction film. In 1950, Tsuburaya returned to Toho alongside his effects crew from Tsuburaya Special Technology Laboratory. At age fifty-three, he gained international recognition and won his first Japan Technical Award for Special Skill for directing the effects in Ishirō Honda's kaiju film Godzilla (1954). He served as the effects director for Toho's string of financially successful tokusatsu films that followed, including, Rodan (1956), The Mysterians (1957), The Three Treasures (1959), Mothra, The Last War (both 1961), and King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962). In April 1963, Tsuburaya founded Tsuburaya Special Effects Productions; his company would go onto produce the television shows Ultra Q, Ultraman (both 1966), Ultraseven (1967–1968), and Mighty Jack (1968). Ultra Q and Ultraman were extremely successful upon their 1966 broadcast, with Ultra Q making him a household name in Japan and gaining him more attention from the media who dubbed him the "God of Tokusatsu". While he spent his late years working on several Toho films and operating his company, Tsuburaya's health began to decline, and he died in 1970.
🎓 Tokyo Denki University📅 Born July 7🎂 Born 1901💼 Film Director💼 Cinematographer💼 Inventor💼 Company President・Entrepreneur
Tamizō Ishida (石田民三, Ishida Tamizō; 7 June 1901 – 1 October 1972) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He is…
Tamizō Ishida (石田民三, Ishida Tamizō; 7 June 1901 – 1 October 1972) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He is most noted for his 1938 historical drama film Fallen Blossoms, which is now regarded as one of the outstanding works of 1930s Japanese cinema.
Koji Shima (島 耕二, Shima Kōji; 16 February 1901 – 10 September 1986) was a Japanese film director, actor, and…
Koji Shima (島 耕二, Shima Kōji; 16 February 1901 – 10 September 1986) was a Japanese film director, actor, and screenwriter.
Minoru Inuzuka (犬塚 稔, Inuzuka Minoru; 15 February 1901 – 17 September 2007) was a Japanese film director and…
Minoru Inuzuka (犬塚 稔, Inuzuka Minoru; 15 February 1901 – 17 September 2007) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Starting out as a screenwriter at Shochiku in 1924, he also participated in the production of Teinosuke Kinugasa's A Page of Madness. When Chōjirō Hayashi (later known as Kazuo Hasegawa) became a jidaigeki star at Shochiku, Inuzuka directed many of his films. After World War II, Inuzuka returned to specializing in screenplays and was known for his scripts for the Zatoichi series. He published his autobiography in 2002, and died in 2007 at the age of 106. When he died, he was called the last surviving director to have directed a silent film in the 1920s. Inuzuka wrote scripts for over 150 films and directed over 50.
Mansaku Itami (伊丹万作; real name Yoshitoyo Ikeuchi 池内義豊; 2 January 1900 – 21 September 1946) was a Japanese film director…
Mansaku Itami (伊丹万作; real name Yoshitoyo Ikeuchi 池内義豊; 2 January 1900 – 21 September 1946) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter known for his critical, sometimes satirical portraits of Japan and its history. He is the father of the director Juzo Itami.
Daisuke Itō (伊藤 大輔, Itō Daisuke; 12 October 1898 – 19 July 1981) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who…
Daisuke Itō (伊藤 大輔, Itō Daisuke; 12 October 1898 – 19 July 1981) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who played a central role in the development of the modern jidaigeki and samurai cinema.
🏫 Ehime Prefectural Matsuyama Higashi High School📅 Born October 13🎂 Born 1898📍 From Ehime Prefecture💼 Film Director💼 Screenwriter
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Tomu Uchida (Japanese: 内田吐夢, Hepburn: Uchida Tomu; 26 April 1898 – 7 August 1970), born Tsunejirō Uchida (内田常次郎), was a…
Tomu Uchida (Japanese: 内田吐夢, Hepburn: Uchida Tomu; 26 April 1898 – 7 August 1970), born Tsunejirō Uchida (内田常次郎), was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Uchida chose the stage name Tomu, a transliteration of the English Tom, written in Kanji characters meaning "to spit out dreams".
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Yasujirō Shimazu (島津 保次郎, Shimazu Yasujirō; 3 June 1897 – 18 September 1945) was a Japanese film director and…
Yasujirō Shimazu (島津 保次郎, Shimazu Yasujirō; 3 June 1897 – 18 September 1945) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, and a pioneer of the shōshimin-eiga (common people drama) genre at the Shōchiku studios in pre-World War II Japan.
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Kiyohiko Ushihara (牛原 虚彦, Ushihara Kiyohiko; 2 March 1897 – 20 May 1985) was a Japanese film director most famous for…
Kiyohiko Ushihara (牛原 虚彦, Ushihara Kiyohiko; 2 March 1897 – 20 May 1985) was a Japanese film director most famous for his gendaigeki of the silent era.
Akira Nobuchi (野淵 昶, Nobuchi Akira, 22 June 1896 - 1 February 1968) was a Japanese stage director and film director. He…
Akira Nobuchi (野淵 昶, Nobuchi Akira, 22 June 1896 - 1 February 1968) was a Japanese stage director and film director. He launched the Elan Vital Shōgekijō little theatre in 1918 while he was at Kyoto Imperial University. He stage-managed plays by Anton Chekhov, Arthur Schnitzler, Lord Dunsany, Lady Gregory, John Millington Synge and Sean O'Casey as well as those by Japanese playwrights including Saneatsu Mushanokōji, Ujaku Akita, Masao Kume and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. Having left the Elan Vital Shōgekijō in 1933, he entered Shinkō Kinema the following year. He made a debut with talkie Nagasaki Ryūgakusei (1935), after which he made more than 30 films until 1955.
🎓 Doshisha University🏫 Mikunigaoka High School📅 Born June 22🎂 Born 1896📍 From Osaka Prefecture💼 Stage Director💼 Film Director
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Teinosuke Kinugasa (衣笠 貞之助, Kinugasa Teinosuke; 1 January 1896 – 26 February 1982) was a Japanese filmmaker and actor.…
Teinosuke Kinugasa (衣笠 貞之助, Kinugasa Teinosuke; 1 January 1896 – 26 February 1982) was a Japanese filmmaker and actor. His best-known films include the silent avant-garde films A Page of Madness and Crossroads and the Academy Award-winning historical drama Gate of Hell.
Yutaka Abe (阿部 豊, Abe Yutaka; February 2, 1895 in Yamoto, Miyagi – January 3, 1977 in Kyoto) was a Japanese film…
Yutaka Abe (阿部 豊, Abe Yutaka; February 2, 1895 in Yamoto, Miyagi – January 3, 1977 in Kyoto) was a Japanese film director and actor.
Minoru Murata (村田 實, Murata Minoru; 2 March 1894 – 26 June 1937) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor…
Minoru Murata (村田 實, Murata Minoru; 2 March 1894 – 26 June 1937) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor who was one of the major directors of the silent era in Japan.
🏫 Tsukuba University Affiliated High School📅 Born March 2🎂 Born 1894💼 Film Director💼 Screenwriter💼 Actor
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Norimasa Kaeriyama (帰山教正, Kaeriyama Norimasa) (1 March 1893 – 6 November 1964) was a pioneering Japanese film director…
Norimasa Kaeriyama (帰山教正, Kaeriyama Norimasa) (1 March 1893 – 6 November 1964) was a pioneering Japanese film director and film theorist.
Yoshinobu Ikeda (池田 義信, Ikeda Yoshinobu; 10 March 1892 – 1 September 1973) was a Japanese film director and film…
Yoshinobu Ikeda (池田 義信, Ikeda Yoshinobu; 10 March 1892 – 1 September 1973) was a Japanese film director and film industry executive.
Sanjugo Naoki (直木 三十五, Naoki Sanjūgo) was a pen name of a novelist in Taishō and Shōwa period Japan. His real name was…
Sanjugo Naoki (直木 三十五, Naoki Sanjūgo) was a pen name of a novelist in Taishō and Shōwa period Japan. His real name was Sōichi Uemura (植村 宗一, Uemura Sōichi).
Yoshirō Edamasa (枝正 義郎, Edamasa Yoshirō; 22 September 1888 – 8 September 1944) was a Japanese film director best known…
Yoshirō Edamasa (枝正 義郎, Edamasa Yoshirō; 22 September 1888 – 8 September 1944) was a Japanese film director best known for Sakamoto Ryoma (1928) and The Great Buddha Arrival (1934). The latter film is one of the earliest tokusatsu movies, which is exemplified by kaiju movies. He was an early pioneer of Japanese cinema who trained many outstanding directors and cinematographers including Eiji Tsuburaya.
Matsunosuke Onoe (尾上 松之助, Onoe Matsunosuke; September 12, 1875 – September 11, 1926), sometimes known as Medama no…
Matsunosuke Onoe (尾上 松之助, Onoe Matsunosuke; September 12, 1875 – September 11, 1926), sometimes known as Medama no Matchan ("Eyeballs" Matsu), was a Japanese actor. His birth name is Tsuruzo Nakamura. He is sometimes credited as Yukio Koki, Tamijaku Onoe, or Tsunusaburo Onoe, and as a kabuki artist he went by the name Tsurusaburo Onoe. He gained great popularity, appearing in over 1,000 films, and has been called the first superstar of Japanese cinema.
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Yuki Iwata (岩田 ユキ, Iwata Yuki; born 1972 in Shizuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese film director and illustrator.
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Hiroshi Koike (小池博史 Koike Hiroshi born on 25 January 1956, in Japan) is a Japanese director, playwright and…
Hiroshi Koike (小池博史 Koike Hiroshi born on 25 January 1956, in Japan) is a Japanese director, playwright and choreographer. After his former performing arts company Pappa TARAHUMARA was dissolved in 2012, he formed the Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project (HKBP). In June, 2023, they added the word, Odyssey, to the organization's name to reflect the director's vision of creating art - Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project -Odyssey. He has conducted physical acting training workshops based on his original method titled “slow movement” all over the world. Up to date, Hiroshi Koike has directed 55 works with Pappa TARAHUMARA and 36 works with Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project -Odyssey.
🎓 Hitotsubashi University🏫 Hitachi Daiichi High School📍 From Hitachi, Ibaraki💼 Stage Director💼 Writer・Novelist💼 Choreographer💼 Film Director
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Ayuko Tsukahara (Japanese: 塚原 あゆ子, Hepburn: Tsukahara Ayuko) is a director from Saitama Prefecture, Japan. She belongs…
Ayuko Tsukahara (Japanese: 塚原 あゆ子, Hepburn: Tsukahara Ayuko) is a director from Saitama Prefecture, Japan. She belongs to TBS Sparkle and has directed many television series for TBS Television and films. Her notable works include the television series Unnatural, La Grande Maison Tokyo, and MIU404. She made her film directorial debut in 2018 with Cafe Funiculi Funicula.
Yasujirō Ozu (小津 安二郎, Ozu Yasujirō; 12 December 1903 – 12 December 1963) was a Japanese filmmaker. He began his career…
Yasujirō Ozu (小津 安二郎, Ozu Yasujirō; 12 December 1903 – 12 December 1963) was a Japanese filmmaker. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. The most prominent themes of Ozu's work are family and marriage, and especially the relationships between generations. His most widely beloved films include Late Spring (1949), Tokyo Story (1953) and An Autumn Afternoon (1962). Widely regarded as one of the world's greatest and most influential filmmakers, Ozu's work has continued to receive acclaim since his death. In the 2012 Sight & Sound poll, Ozu's Tokyo Story was voted the third-greatest film of all time by critics world-wide. In the same poll, Tokyo Story was voted the greatest film of all time by 358 directors and film-makers world-wide. He is the subject of several documentaries, including Wim Wenders's Tokyo-Ga (1985) and Daniel Raim's The Ozu Diaries (2025).
Sadao Yamanaka (山中 貞雄, Yamanaka Sadao; November 7, 1909 – September 17, 1938) was a Japanese film director and…
Sadao Yamanaka (山中 貞雄, Yamanaka Sadao; November 7, 1909 – September 17, 1938) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed about 24 films between 1932 and 1937, all in the jidaigeki genre, of which only three survive in nearly complete form (all of them sound films). He is considered a master filmmaker in his native Japan and one of the greatest talents of his generation alongside Yasujirō Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi. He was one of the primary figures in the development of the jidaigeki (period drama), especially the samurai subgenre. His films are notable for their emphasis on character over action, and on ninjō over giri. Yamanaka died of dysentery in Manchuria after being drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army. He is the uncle of the Japanese film director Tai Kato, who wrote a book about Yamanaka, Eiga kantoku Yamanaka Sadao. Kinema Junpo, Japan's leading film magazine, included two of Yamanaka's films (Tange Sazen from 1935 and Humanity and Paper Balloons from 1937) among the top 25 Japanese films of all time, on a list selected by Japanese film experts in 2009. Interest in Yamanaka's work redeveloped after the restoration and Japanese DVD release of the three surviving films. His most internationally discussed film, Humanity and Paper Balloons, was given its first non-Japanese DVD release in the UK as a Masters of Cinema release.
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Seiji Chiba (千葉誠治, Chiba Seiji; born November 11, 1964) is a Japanese film director and producer.
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Naomi Kawase (; Japanese: 河瀨直美, romanized: Kawase Naomi; born 30 May 1969) is a Japanese film director. She was also…
Naomi Kawase (; Japanese: 河瀨直美, romanized: Kawase Naomi; born 30 May 1969) is a Japanese film director. She was also briefly known as Naomi Sento (仙頭直美, Sentō Naomi), with her former husband's surname. Many of her works have been documentaries, including Embracing, about her search for the father who abandoned her as a child, and Katatsumori, about the grandmother who raised her.