Yōko Yamanaka (山中瑶子, Yamanaka Yōko; born 1997) is a Japanese filmmaker known for her 2017 film, Amiko, and 2024 film…Yōko Yamanaka (山中瑶子, Yamanaka Yōko; born 1997) is a Japanese filmmaker known for her 2017 film, Amiko, and 2024 film, Desert of Namibia.
Makoto Niitsu (新津 誠, Niitsu Makoto; born February 9, 1973), known as Makoto Shinkai (新海 誠, Shinkai Makoto), is a…Makoto Niitsu (新津 誠, Niitsu Makoto; born February 9, 1973), known as Makoto Shinkai (新海 誠, Shinkai Makoto), is a Japanese filmmaker and novelist. A founder of CoMix Wave Films, he is known for his anime feature films enriched with visually-appealing animation and romantic stories depicting teenagers and high school students. Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with the release of the original video animation (OVA) She and Her Cat (1999). Shinkai then released the science fiction OVA Voices of a Distant Star in 2002 as his first feature with CoMix Wave, followed by his debut feature film The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004). Shinkai's films have consistently received highly positive reviews from both critics and audiences, and he is considered to be one of Japan's most commercially successful filmmakers. His three most recent films Your Name (2016), Weathering with You (2019), and Suzume (2022), collectively known as his Disaster Trilogy, are all among the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time, both in Japan and worldwide at the time of their release.
Takashi Yamazaki (山崎 貴, Yamazaki Takashi; born June 12, 1964) is a Japanese filmmaker and visual effects supervisor.…Takashi Yamazaki (山崎 貴, Yamazaki Takashi; born June 12, 1964) is a Japanese filmmaker and visual effects supervisor. Known for his blockbusters featuring advanced visual effects, he is considered a leading figure in the Japanese film industry. Yamazaki is the recipient of multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, eight Japanese Academy Awards, five Nikkan Sports Film Awards, two Hochi Film Awards, and an Asian Film Award. His films have collectively grossed over $560 million worldwide. Yamazaki found employment at visual effects and animation studio Shirogumi in 1986, and has remained there throughout his career. His first directorial features were the science fiction films Juvenile (2000) and Returner (2002), for which he became known as the "Japanese James Cameron". He later gained further notice in Japan by directing film adaptations of popular anime, novels, and manga, including Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005), Space Battleship Yamato (2010), The Eternal Zero (2013), and Stand by Me Doraemon (2014). The latter two films ranked as the highest-grossing Japanese live-action and animated releases, respectively, at the 2014 box office, and together earned a total of nine awards at the 38th Japan Academy Film Prize. Yamazaki's career continued with other film adaptations such as Parasyte: Part 1 (also 2014) and Part 2 (2015), Fueled: The Man They Called Pirate (2016), The Great War of Archimedes, Dragon Quest: Your Story, Lupin III: The First (all 2019), and Stand by Me Doraemon 2 (2020). His 2023 kaiju epic, Godzilla Minus One, became the most successful Japanese Godzilla film of all time and one of his highest-grossing films. Yamazaki and the visual effects team also became the first Japanese crew ever to receive the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. In 2024, Yamazaki was included in Gold House's annual list of 100 Most Impactful Asians. He has since made the Minus One sequel Godzilla Minus Zero (2026), and is developing his first Hollywood productions: Grandgear (2028) and Nue.
George Iida (飯田 譲治, Iida Jōji; born 1 March 1959) is a Japanese film and television director, screenwriter, manga…George Iida (飯田 譲治, Iida Jōji; born 1 March 1959) is a Japanese film and television director, screenwriter, manga author, and novelist. Iida has worked continually in Japan's film, television, anime and manga industries since the early 1980s, predominantly in the genres of horror and science fiction.
Yōichi Sai (崔 洋一, Sai Yōichi; 6 July 1949 – 27 November 2022) was a Korean film director who worked in Japan. He was…Yōichi Sai (崔 洋一, Sai Yōichi; 6 July 1949 – 27 November 2022) was a Korean film director who worked in Japan. He was the president of the Directors Guild of Japan.
Toshio Gotō (後藤 俊夫, Gotō Toshio; 1938 – 22 November 2025) was a Japanese film director. He was born in Ina, Nagano…Toshio Gotō (後藤 俊夫, Gotō Toshio; 1938 – 22 November 2025) was a Japanese film director. He was born in Ina, Nagano, Japan and was primarily known for films about humanity's relationship with nature. Gotō worked as an assistant director of Satsuo Yamamoto from 1962 to 1978. He made his directorial debut in 1978 with Komugīro no tenshi suzume to shōnen. His 2009 film Beauty was entered into the 31st Moscow International Film Festival. Gotō died from lymphoma on 22 November 2025, at the age of 87.
Noboru Tanaka (田中 登, Tanaka Noboru; August 15, 1937 – October 4, 2006) was a Japanese film director known for his Roman…Noboru Tanaka (田中 登, Tanaka Noboru; August 15, 1937 – October 4, 2006) was a Japanese film director known for his Roman Porno films, including three critically respected films known as the Showa trilogy: A Woman Called Sada Abe (aka Sada Abe: Docu-Drama) (1975), Watcher in the Attic (1976), and Beauty's Exotic Dance: Torture! (1977), all three starring Nikkatsu Roman porno queen Junko Miyashita. The first film in this trilogy recounted the story of Sada Abe a year before Nagisa Oshima's internationally released In the Realm of the Senses (1976), which told the same story. Though at the time he was working, his career was overshadowed by directors such as Tatsumi Kumashiro and Chūsei Sone, many critics today judge Tanaka the best of Nikkatsu's Roman porno directors.
Yasuo Furuhata (降旗 康男, Furuhata Yasuo; 19 August 1934 – 20 May 2019) was a Japanese film director. He was a director of…Yasuo Furuhata (降旗 康男, Furuhata Yasuo; 19 August 1934 – 20 May 2019) was a Japanese film director. He was a director of Toei film company and he often worked with Ken Takakura in such films as Eki and the Shin Abashiri Bangaichi series. He won the 2000 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year and 31st International Film Festival of India for Poppoya. He died 20 May 2019.
Kei Kumai (熊井 啓, Kumai Kei; 1 June 1930 – 23 May 2007) was a Japanese film director. After his studies in literature at…Kei Kumai (熊井 啓, Kumai Kei; 1 June 1930 – 23 May 2007) was a Japanese film director. After his studies in literature at Shinshu University, he began work as a director's assistant. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for his second film, Nihon rettō, in 1965. His 1972 film Shinobu Kawa was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival. His 1973 film Rise, Fair Sun was entered into the 24th Berlin International Film Festival. Sandakan No. 8 received widespread acclaim for tackling the issue of a woman forced into prostitution in Borneo before the outbreak of World War II. Kinuyo Tanaka won the Best Actress Award at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival for her performance. The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 48th Academy Awards. Kumai's follow-up film was 1976's Cape of North, starring French actress Claude Jade as a Swiss nun who falls in love with a Japanese engineer on a trip from Marseilles to Yokohama. His 1986 film The Sea and Poison won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1992, his film Luminous Moss was entered into the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival. Other works include Death of a Tea Master starring Toshirō Mifune as Sen no Rikyū (Silver Lion at the 46th Venice International Film Festival), and the 2002 film The Sea Is Watching, based on Akira Kurosawa's posthumous script. Kumai was married to the writer and researcher Akiko Kumai. He died in 2007 at age 76.
Masashige Narusawa (Japanese: 成沢昌茂, Narusawa Masashige; 29 January 1925 – 13 February 2021) was a Japanese screenwriter…Masashige Narusawa (Japanese: 成沢昌茂, Narusawa Masashige; 29 January 1925 – 13 February 2021) was a Japanese screenwriter and director.
Shigehiro Ozawa (小沢 茂弘, Ozawa Shigehiro; 29 August 1922 – 12 October 2004) was a Japanese film director and…Shigehiro Ozawa (小沢 茂弘, Ozawa Shigehiro; 29 August 1922 – 12 October 2004) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his film The Street Fighter. He directed over 110 films between 1954 and 1976.
Shinpei Takagi (高木 新平, Takagi Shinpei; 3 November 1902 – 21 April 1967) was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more…Shinpei Takagi (高木 新平, Takagi Shinpei; 3 November 1902 – 21 April 1967) was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1923 to 1961.
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.
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.
