Japanese Directors
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- Animation Department
- Writer
- Art Department
Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation directors. The entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking visuals in his films have earned him international renown from critics as well as public recognition within Japan.
Miyazaki started his career in 1963 as an animator at the studio Toei Douga studio, and was subsequently involved in many early classics of Japanese animation. From the beginning, he commanded attention with his incredible drawing ability and the seemingly endless stream of movie ideas he proposed.
In 1971, he moved to the A Pro studio with Isao Takahata. In 1973, he moved to Nippon Animation, where he was heavily involved in the World Masterpiece Theater TV animation series for the next 5 years. In 1978, he directed his first TV series, Future Boy Conan (1978). Then, he moved to Tokyo Movie Shinsha in 1979 to direct his first movie, the classic Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979). In 1984, he released Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), which was based on the manga of the same title he had started 2 years before. The success of the film led to the establishment of a new animation studio, Studio Ghibli. Since then, he has since directed, written, and produced many other films with Takahata. More recently, he has produced with Toshio Suzuki. All enjoyed critical and box office success, in particular Princess Mononoke (1997). It received the Japanese equivalent of the Academy Award for Best Film and was the highest-grossing (about USD $150 million) domestic film in Japan's history at the time of its release.
In addition to animation, he also draws manga. His major work was Nausicaä, an epic tale he worked on intermittently from 1982 to 1984 while he was busy making animated films. Another manga Hikotei Jidai, later evolved into Porco Rosso (1992).- Director
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Azuma Morisaki was born on 19 November 1927 in Shimabara, Nagasaki, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Pecoross' Mother and Her Days (2013), Chicken Is Barefoot (2004) and High-School Outcasts (1971). He died on 16 July 2020 in Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan.- Director
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Banmei Takahashi was born on 10 May 1949 in Nara, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Attacking the Girls (1979), Scandal: Pleasure Skin (1979) and Victimized Woman (1981). He has been married to Keiko Takahashi since 8 June 1982. They have two children.- Director
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Gakuryû Ishii was born on 15 January 1957 in Hakata, Fukuoka, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Labyrinth of Dreams (1997), Enjeru dasuto (1994) and Electric Dragon 80.000 V (2001).- Director
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- Animation Department
He was born in Numazu City. Between 1958 and 1961 joined Toei Doga as animator. Here he became a close friend of reputed animation director Osamu Tezuka, and when Tezuka left the company to create his own, Mushi Production, he called Sugii to work with him. So Sugii joined Mushi until 1967. Here Sugii was promoted to animation director and finally director of several animation TV series ("Iron Arm Atom", "Great Adventure of Son Goku"...). After that experience he becomes free-lance, but he worked again in Mushi as animation director in several more films, including the failed last film of the company, "Belladonna" (1973). In 1969 he joined for the first time a little studio, Group Tack. Here he made his most prominent films, debuting as director with "Jack and the Beanstalk" (1974). He specialized in adaptions of manga author Mitsuru Adachi, directing the animation film version of "Nine" (1983), "Touch" (1986-87, co-directed with his personal assistant Naoto Hashimoto), and "A Beautiful Sun Beam" (1988), as well as the TV series of the latter two. Sugii gained a reputation with his "artsy" animation films "Night On the Milky Way Railroad" (1985) and "Tale of Genji" (1987).- Writer
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Hideaki Anno was born on 22 May 1960 in Ube, Japan. He is a writer and director, known for Shin Godzilla (2016), Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) and The Wind Rises (2013). He has been married to Moyoco Anno since 26 March 2002.- Director
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Born in Kinko-cho, Asakuchi-gun (present-day Asakuchi City), Okayama Prefecture. He is most familiar to Western audiences for his work on Japanese horror films such as Ring (1998), Ring 2 (1999) and Dark Water (2002). Several of these were remade in English as The Ring (2002), Dark Water (2005), and The Ring Two (directed by himself).
Graduated from Kinko Gakuen High School and, in 1980, entered the Science Department of the University of Tokyo and graduated from the Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts, although he had been offered a position in the Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering. While studying, he attended Shigehiko Hasumi's film seminar and was greatly influenced by his work. At his favorite bar during college, an acquaintance of Masato Hara, president of Herald Ace, introduced him to an assistant director from Masahiro Shinoda's team, and he began working as an assistant director on Shinoda's medium-length film "Allusion Reincarnation Tan" and corporate public relations films.
In 1985, he joined Nikkatsu Studios. Soon after, Hiroyuki Nasu, a senior at Tokyo University, decided to shoot Be-Bop High School at Toei, and because Nikkatsu Studios was used for studio shooting, two of the four assistant directors came out of Nikkatsu, including the first three Be-Bop High School films and Love Story for You. He worked as an assistant director on many Central Arts films and trained almost exclusively at Toei as an assistant director, making his directorial debut in 1992 with Curse, Death & Spirit
After which he moved to the UK. After returning to Japan, he made his directorial debut in 1996 with Don't Look Up. Subsequently, his film Ring (1998), an adaptation of Koji Suzuki's best-selling novel about the tragedy caused by a cursed video, was a huge success, and he became known as a leading figure in Japanese horror.
In 1998 he completed "Joseph Losey: The Man with Four Names," a documentary about Joseph Losey, which he began producing while in England.
After returning to Japan, he was told by Mitsuru Kurosawa, head of Central Arts, that he could direct a V-Cinema film, and in 1995 he directed "Diary of a Female Teacher: Forbidden Sex". He is now considered one of the representatives of J-horror (Japanese horror), along with Kurosawa Kiyoshi and Shimizu Takashi.
In 2003, he won the Art Encouragement Prize for New Talent for "The Last Scene".
"The Ring" was a remake in the United States by another director (Gore Verbinski), but he directed the sequel, "The Ring 2," making his long-awaited Hollywood debut. The discomfort he experienced during his stay in Hollywood was later compiled into the documentary film "An Introduction to Hollywood Director Studies. Also, "Dark Water" was a remake too.
In 2010, "Chatroom," directed in the UK, was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival.
Other films he has directed include "Dark Water" , "Sadistic and Masochistic", "Ghost Theather", "Sadako", "Death Note: L Change the World", "Stolen Identity", "The Woman Who Keeps a Murderer" and many more.- Director
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Hideyuki Hirayama was born on 18 September 1950 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan. He is a director and assistant director, known for Begging for Love (1998), Family of Strangers (2019) and Turn (2001).- Director
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Born in Tokyo in 1962. Originally intended to be a novelist, but after graduating from Waseda University in 1987 went on to become an assistant director at T.V. Man Union. Snuck off set to film Mou hitotsu no kyouiku - Ina shogakkou haru gumi no kiroku (1991). His first feature, Maborosi (1995), based on a Teru Miyamoto novel and drawn from his own experiences while filming August Without Him (1994), won jury prizes at Venice and Chicago. The main themes of his oeuvre include memory, loss, death and the intersection of documentary and fictive narratives.- Animation Department
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Hiromasa Yonebayashi was born on 10 July 1973 in Nonoichi, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for When Marnie Was There (2014), The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) and Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017).- Director
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Isao Takahata was born on 29 October 1935 in Ise, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Pom Poko (1994) and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013). He died on 5 April 2018 in Tokyo, Japan.- Director
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Isshin Inudô was born on 14 June 1960 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Mezon do Himiko (2005), Zero Focus (2009) and Tatchi (2005).- Director
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Junji Sakamoto was born on 1 October 1954 in Sakai, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Face (2000), Dotsuitarunen (1989) and Someday (2011).- Writer
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Kaneto Shindô was born on 22 April 1912 in Hiroshima, Japan. He was a writer and director, known for Postcard (2010), The Naked Island (1960) and A Last Note (1995). He was married to Nobuko Otowa and Miyo Shindo. He died on 29 May 2012 in Hiroshima, Japan.- Writer
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Kankurô Kudô was born on 19 July 1970 in Miyagi, Japan. He is a writer and actor, known for Go (2001), Too Young to Die! Wakakushite shinu (2016) and Mayonaka no Yaji-san Kita-san (2005).- Producer
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Kazuhiro Sôda was born on 12 June 1970 in Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan. He is a producer and director, known for Mental (2008), Peace (2010) and Theatre 1 (2012). He is married to Kiyoko Kashiwagi.- Director
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Kazuo Hara was born on 8 June 1945 in Yamaguchi, Japan. He is a director and actor, known for The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987), A Dedicated Life (1994) and Sennan Asbestos Disaster (2016).- Director
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Kazuyoshi Kumakiri was born on 1 September 1974 in Obihiro, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Kichiku dai enkai (1997), Hole in the Sky (2001) and Sketches of Kaitan City (2010).- Director
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Kazuyuki Izutsu was born on 13 December 1952 in Yamatokoriyama, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Pacchigi! (2004), Shikijô mesugari (1981) and Akai fukushû: Bôkan (1982).- Director
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Born in Tatebayashi city. After working in a PR firm, joined Shin'Ei Animation Company in 1982. After doing animation tasks for the TV series "Doraemon" (created by Fujiko-Fujio), he was promoted to chief director with others TV series of the same creators, "ESPer Mami" (1987-88) and "21-Emon" (1991-92). Debuted as a film director with the theatrical version of "ESPer Mami, the Starry Sky Dancing Doll" in 1988, followed by a Doraemon spin-off, "Dorami-chan, The Highway Boys Band" in 1991. From 1992 he began to direct, produce and write episodes of the TV series "Crayon Shin-chan", and starting in 1993 also the yearly theatrical films based on its characters.- Writer
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Kenji Uchida was born on 8 September 1972 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. He is a writer and director, known for Key of Life (2012), A Stranger of Mine (2005) and Afutâ sukûru (2008).- Director
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Kichitarô Negishi was born on 24 August 1950 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a director and assistant director, known for What the Snow Brings (2005), Distant Thunder (1981) and Crazed Fruit (1981).- Director
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Kiyoshi Kurosawa was born on 19 July 1955 in Kobe, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Tokyo Sonata (2008), Pulse (2001) and Cure (1997).- Director
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Kiyoshi Sasabe was born on 8 January 1958 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Han-ochi (2004), My SO Has Got Depression (2011) and Dai Tsunahiki No Koi (2021). He died on 31 March 2020 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan.- Director
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The pioneering Kôji Wakamatsu (born Ito Takashi) was a contemporary of Oshima Nagisa and equally controversial, yet not as famous. The man was born in Miyagi Prefecture in the north of Japan before dropping out of agricultural school, some say following a physical altercation, moving to Tokyo at age seventeen, joining the yakuza and landing in prison for a year as a consequence. While with the yakuza he would work for the mob collecting payments on film sets among other thuggery. Upon release and following odd jobs he became an assistant to a film director and eventually make his own pink film erotic feature called Sweet Trap in 1963. Twenty or so films, including several acclaimed ones for Nikkatsu Studio, later he created his own Wakamatsu production where he and crew would push back against norms by shooting softcore pink features, violent movies, left-wing resistance cuts and even internationally bent movies on topics like the oppression of the Palestinian nation and the Japanese underground. His efforts would take him to events like the Berlin Film Festival - occasionally to the annoyance of the official motion picture association of Japan - and have him work with other avant-garde directors like the aforementioned Oshima. He would also be blacklisted by foreign governments like the United States, which imposed a travel ban on him. Both he and the mainstream moved closer to one another eventually and before his death in a car accident where he was hit by a taxi in 2012 several of his films had garnered mainstream interest and miscellaneous Japanese and foreign awards. At the time of his death he was returning from a meeting regarding his latest project, which concerned Japan's nuclear industry lobby and the Tokyo-based TEPCO company. The topical subject matter followed on the heels of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.- Producer
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Kôji Yamamura was born on 4 June 1964 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. He is a producer and director, known for Ikuta no kita (2021), Satie's Parade (2016) and The Mountain Head (2002).- Writer
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Kôki Mitani was born on 8 July 1961 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a writer and actor, known for Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald (1997), The Magic Hour (2008) and The Kiyosu Conference (2013). He was previously married to Satomi Kobayashi.- Director
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Kunio Kato was born in 1977 in Japan. He is a director and cinematographer, known for The House of Small Cubes (2008), Aru tabibito no nikki (2003) and Aru Tabibito no Nikki Special (2006).- Director
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Kunitoshi Manda was born on 1 May 1956 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a director and actor, known for Seppun (2007), Unloved (2001) and Ano tonneru (2004).- Writer
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Makoto Shinkai is a Japanese director, writer, producer, animator, editor, cinematographer, voice actor, manga artist and former graphic designer. Shinkai studied Japanese literature at Chuo University where he was a member of juvenile literature club where he drew picture books. In 1999, Shinkai released She and Her Cat, a five-minute short piece done in monochrome. His best knows films are The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004), 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), The Garden of Words (2013), and Your Name (2016). His favorite anime is Castle in the Sky (1986) by Hayao Miyazaki.- Director
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Makoto Wada was born on 10 April 1936 in Osaka, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Kaitô Ruby (1988), Mahjong Horoki (1984) and Round About Midnight (1999). He was married to Remi Hirano. He died on 7 October 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.- Director
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Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese film director and animator. Formerly employed at Toei Animation, he went to work at Madhouse from 2005 to 2011. Hosoda left Madhouse in 2011 to establish his own animation studio, Studio Chizu. He first came to public attention in the early 2000s with the first two films in the Digimon Adventure series and the sixth film in the One Piece series.
In the later 2000s, he diversified more with other films, including 2006's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, 2009's Summer Wars, and 2012's Wolf Children.- Writer
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Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director and screenwriter. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of popular anime, including Urusei Yatsura (1981-1984), Angel's Egg (1985), Patlabor: The Movie (1989), Ghost in the Shell (1995), and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004).
Oshii was approached to be one of the directors of The Animatrix, but he was unable to participate because of his work in Innocence.- Writer
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Masato Harada was born on 3 July 1949 in Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan. He is a writer and director, known for Chronicle of My Mother (2011), The Last Samurai (2003) and Bounce Ko Gals (1997).- Director
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Masayuki Suô was born on 29 October 1956 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Shall We Dance? (1996), Sumo Do, Sumo Don't (1992) and I Just Didn't Do It (2006). He has been married to Tamiyo Kusakari since 9 March 1996.- Writer
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Miwa Nishikawa was born on 8 July 1974 in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. She is a writer and director, known for Dear Doctor (2009), Sway (2006) and Wild Berries (2003).- Director
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Nagisa Oshima's career extends from the initiation of the "Nuberu bagu" (New Wave) movement in Japanese cinema in the late 1950s and early 1960s, to the contemporary use of cinema and television to express paradoxes in modern society. After an early involvement with the student protest movement in Kyoto, Oshima rose rapidly in the Shochiku company from the status of apprentice, in 1954, to that of director. By 1960, he had grown disillusioned with the traditional studio production policies and broke away from Shochiku to form his own independent production company, Sozosha, in 1965. With other Japanese New Wave filmmakers, like Masahiro Shinoda, Shôhei Imamura and Yoshishige Yoshida, Oshima reacted against the humanistic style and subject matter of directors like Yasujirô Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi and Akira Kurosawa, as well as against established left-wing political movements. Oshima has been primarily concerned with depicting the contradictions and tensions of postwar Japanese society. His films tend to expose contemporary Japanese materialism, while also examining what it means to be Japanese in the face of rapid industrialization and Westernization. Many of Oshima's earlier films, such as A Town of Love and Hope (1959) and The Sun's Burial (1960), feature rebellious, underprivileged youths in anti-heroic roles. The film for which he is probably best-known in the West, In the Realm of the Senses (1976), centers on an obsessive sexual relationship. Like several other Oshima works, it gains additional power by being based on an actual incident. Other important Oshima films include Death by Hanging (1968), an examination of the prejudicial treatment of Koreans in Japan; Boy (1969), which deals with the cruel use of a child for extortion purposes, and with the child's subsequent escapist fantasies; The Man Who Left His Will on Film (1970), about another ongoing concern of Oshima's, the art of filmmaking itself; and The Ceremony (1971), which presents a microcosmic view of Japanese postwar history through the lives of one wealthy family. In recent years, Oshima has repeatedly turned to sources outside Japan for the production of his films. This was the case with In the Realm of the Senses (1976) and Max My Love (1986). It is less well-known in the West that Oshima has also been a prolific documentarist, film theorist and television personality. He is the host of a long-running television talk show, "The School for Wives", in which female participants (kept anonymous by a distorting glass) present their personal problems, to which he responds from offscreen.- Director
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Nami Iguchi was born in 1967 in Tokyo, Japan. She is a director and writer, known for Inuneko (2004), Hito no sekkusu o warauna (2007) and The Tale of Nishino (2014).- Director
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Naomi Kawase was born on 30 May 1969 in Nara, Japan. She is a director and writer, known for Sweet Bean (2015), Still the Water (2014) and Suzaku (1997). She was previously married to Takenori Sentô.- Director
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Noboru Iguchi was born on 28 June 1969 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for The ABCs of Death (2012), The Machine Girl (2008) and Mutant Girls Squad (2010).- Director
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Nobuhiko Ôbayashi was born on 9 January 1938 in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. He was a director and editor, known for House (1977), Turning Point (1994) and The Discarnates (1988). He was married to Kyôko Ôbayashi. He died on 10 April 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.- Director
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Nobuhiro Yamashita was born on 29 August 1976 in Aichi, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Matsugane ransha jiken (2006), Donten seikatsu (1999) and Linda Linda Linda (2005).- Writer
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Hashiguchi Ryosuke directed 8mm-films while still at secondary school. In 1989 his short film "A Secret Evening" won the grand prix at the Pia Film Festival. In 1992 he made his first feature "The Slight Fever of a 20-year old", which was screened in Berlin and broke box-office records at one of the cinemas it was screened in in Japan.- Director
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Ryûichi Hiroki was born on 1 January 1954 in Kôriyama, Fukushima, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Vibrator (2003), Yawarakai seikatsu (2005) and Tôkyô gomi onna (2000).- Writer
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- Visual Effects
Satoshi Miki was born on 9 August 1961 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. He is a writer and director, known for It's Me, It's Me (2013), Adrift in Tokyo (2007) and What to Do with the Dead Kaiju? (2022).- Director
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Akiyoshi Kimata was born on 25 September 1946 in Kyoto, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for On za rôdo (1982).- Additional Crew
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Seijun Suzuki was born in Nihonbashi, Tôkyô, on May 24, 1923. In 1943, he entered the army to fight at the front. In 1946, he enrolled in the film department of the Kamakura Academy and passed the assistant director's exam. For the next few years, he worked as an assistant director at several studios. In 1958, he directed his first film, Victory Is Ours (1956), and from then on he directed three to four films each year. With Branded to Kill (1967), he came into conflict with Hori Kyusaku, who was the president of Nikkatsu Studios at the time. Because of this, he was forced to work in television the next ten years. In 1977, A Tale of Sorrow (1977), his return to theatrically-released films, was released.- Director
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A director known for the thematic and visual bleakness of his work, Aoyama often sets his films in the Kyushu region from which he hails. He graduated from Rikkyo University and became known in 1996, but it was Eureka in 2000, which won him prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. Aoyama would continue in film, but also write novels, contribute to magazines and become a film professor at Tama Art University. Aoyama married actress Maho Toyota and has cast her in his films.- Director
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Shinobu Yaguchi was born on 30 May 1967 in Isehara, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Wood Job! (2014), Swing Girls (2004) and Down the Drain (1993).- Actor
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Shin'ya Tsukamoto was born on 1 January 1960 in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. He is an actor and director, known for Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), Vital (2004) and Tokyo Fist (1995).- Director
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Shion Sono is a Japanese director, writer and poet. Born in Aichi Perfecture in 1961 he started his career working as a poet before taking his first steps in film directing. As a student he shot a series of short films in Super 8 and managed to make his first feature films in the late 80s and early 90s, in which he also starred. The film that helped him reach a wider international audience and establish himself as a cult director is Love Exposure (2008) , released in 2008. Ai no mukidashi is the first installment of Sono's Trilogy of Hate followed by Cold Fish (2010) and concluded with Guilty of Romance (2011). The films of Shion Sono often tell the stories of socially marginalized teenagers or young adults who end up engaging in activities that involve murders, sexual abuse and criminal behavior. Sono's films in most of the cases contain scenes filled with graphic violence and blood that echo the long pinku eiga and anime tradition of Japanese cinema.- Writer
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Having received his education at Yokohama National University, Shunji Iwai started out in the entertainment industry by directing music videos and television dramas, including the likes of Maria, Lunatic Love and Fireworks, for which he received the award for Best Newcomer from the Japanese Director's Association. He eventually moved onto larger things with his short film Undo (1994), later followed by the hit Swallowtail Butterfly (1996) starring Japanese pop singer, Chara.
As his career progressed, he received even more awards, especially for his films Love Letter (1995) and All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) (All About Lily Chou-Chou). Shunji Iwai resides in Japan.- Director
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Shusuke Kaneko (born June 8, 1955) is a Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter. Kaneko began his career at Nikkatsu and would serve as a writer for film and anime. Establishing himself as an up and coming director, Kaneko would win accolades at various film festivals. His film, Summer Vacation 1999, would garner him his first award for best director at the Yokohama Film Festival. As a lifelong Godzilla fan, Kaneko was chosen as the director for Daiei's revival of the Gamera franchise. Kaneko's work on the Gamera films were met with unprecedented critical acclaim. He would be honored with the Director's Award at the 17th Yokohama Film Festival for his work on Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. This film would also go one to top Kinema Junpo's best films of the year list and earn Blue Ribbon awards for best Director and best supporting actress. Kaneko would go on to direct the most successful Godzilla film of the millennium series as well as the live action adaptations of Death Note. Kaneko has also contributed to various documentaries on kaiju films, championing their artistry and imagination.- Director
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Takahiro Nakamura was born in 1975 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Yokohama Mary (2006), Henri Mitowa: Zen to hone (2016) and Yasukuni (2007).- Director
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Takahisa Zeze was born on 24 May 1960 in Matama, Ôita, Japan [now Bungotakada, Ôita, Japan]. He is a director and writer, known for Akai jôji (1996), Kindan no sono: Za seifuku rezu (1992) and Owaranai sekkusu (1995).- Writer
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Takashi Ishii was born on 11 July 1946 in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. He was a writer and director, known for Original Sin (1992), Hello, My Dolly Girlfriend (2013) and Gonin Saga (2015). He died on 22 May 2022 in Tokyo, Japan.- Director
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Takashi Miike was born in the small town of Yao on the outskirts of Osaka, Japan. His main interest growing up was motorbikes, and for a while he harbored ambitions to race professionally. At the age of 18 he went to study at the film school in Yokohama founded by renowned director Shôhei Imamura, primarily because there were no entrance exams. By his own account Miike was an undisciplined student and attended few classes, but when a local TV company came scouting for unpaid production assistants, the school nominated the one pupil who never showed up: Miike. He spent almost a decade working in television, in many different roles, before becoming an assistant director in film to, amongst others, his old mentor Imamura. The "V-Cinema" (Direct to Video) boom of the early 1990s was to be Miike's break into directing his own films, as newly formed companies hired eager young filmmakers willing to work cheap and crank out low-budget action movies. Miike's first theatrically distributed film was Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) (Shinjuku Triad Society), and from then on he alternated V-Cinema films with higher-budgeted pictures. His international breakthrough came with Audition (1999) (Audition), and since then he has an ever expanding cult following in the west. A prolific director, Miike has directed (at the time of this writing) 60+ films in his 13 years as director, his films being known for their explicit and taboo representations of violence and sex, as seen in such works as Bijitâ Q (2001) (Visitor Q), Ichi the Killer (2001) (Ichi The Killer) and the Dead or Alive Trilogy: Dead or Alive (1999), Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000) and Dead or Alive: Final (2002).- Director
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Takashi Shimizu was born on 27 July 1972 in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Ju-on: The Grudge (2002), The Grudge (2004) and Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (2003).- Actor
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Takeshi Kitano originally studied to become an engineer, but was thrown out of school for rebellious behavior. He learned comedy, singing and dancing from famed comedian Senzaburô Fukami. Working as a lift boy on a nightclub with such features as comic sketches and striptease dancing, Kitano saw his chance when a comedian suddenly fell ill, and he went on stage in the man's place. With a friend he formed the comic duo "The Two Beat" (his artist's name, "Beat Takeshi", comes from this period), which became very popular on Japanese television.
Kitano soon embarked on an acting career, and when the director of Violent Cop (1989) (aka "Violent Cop") fell ill, he took over that function as well. Immediately after that film was finished he set out to make a second gangster movie, Boiling Point (1990). Just after finishing Getting Any? (1994), Kitano was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that almost killed him. It changed his way of life, and he became an active painter. This change can be seen in his later films, which are characterized by his giving more importance to the aesthetics of the film, such as in Fireworks (1997) and Kikujiro (1999).- Actor
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Takuji Suzuki was born on 14 February 1967 in Shizuoka, Japan. He is an actor and director, known for Rainbow (1988), I'm a Cat Stalker (2009) and One Piece! (1999).- Director
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He was graduated from Rikkyo University in 1980. In his student time, he belongs to students' movie production circle "Rikkyo SPP" and he collaborated with Kiyoshi Kurosawa who is now one of most talented young movie director in Japan. After graduation, he tried to earn his life as actor and appeared in some movies, but finally he abandoned his actor life. So in 1989, he started to work in a TV program production company. In the company, he made more than 40 TV programs. In October 1995, he stared to make a documentary movie of Japanese notorious religious cult: "AUM Shinrikyo". In 1996, he was fired by his TV production company cause of opposition of the production stance of the documentary between him and the company. In January 1998, he completed his documentary movie: "A".- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Tetsuaki Matsue was born in 1977 in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Flashback Memories 3D (2012), Raibu têpu (2009) and Annyon kimuchi (1999).- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tetsuya Nakashima was born on 2 September 1959 in Fukuoka, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Confessions (2010), Kiraware Matsuko no isshô (2006) and Kamikaze Girls (2004).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Yôichi Sai was born on 6 July 1949 in Nagano, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Blood and Bones (2004), All Under the Moon (1993) and Doing Time (2002). He died on 27 November 2022 in Tokyo, Japan.- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yamada Yoji graduated Tokyo University in 1954, the year he joined Shochiku as an assistant director. In 1969, he launched the popular "Tora-san" series, the world's longest theatrical film series. "The Twilight Samurai" (The Twilight Samurai (2002)) marks his 77th film as well as his 41th year as a director since his first film in 1961: Nikai no Tanin (Stranger Upstairs).- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Born in Takaoka, Toyama, Yojiro Takita came to international audiences' attention with the release of Okuribito ('Departures'), which won the Best foreign Language film awards at the Oscars in 2009. He had begun his directorial career in the 1980s with the 'chikan' ('molester') series depicting gropers in settings like trains. Still in the 'ping eiga' adult sub-genre he also completed the Serial Rape thriller in 1983. He diversified to comedy and TV serial work and, at the turn of the century, directed the mainstream Onmyoji. More recently he has been less prolific.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Yoshimitsu Morita was born on 25 January 1950 in Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for The Family Game (1983), Sorekara (1985) and Haru (1996). He was married to Misao Morita. He died on 20 December 2011 in Tokyo, Japan.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Yoshishige Yoshida was born on 16 February 1933 in Fukui, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for A Promise (1986), Akitsu Springs (1962) and Wuthering Heights (1988). He was married to Mariko Okada. He died on 8 December 2022 in Japan.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Yû Irie was born on 25 November 1979 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Memoirs of a Murderer (2017), 8000 Miles (2009) and Ninja Girl (2021).- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Yuki Tanada was born on 12 August 1975 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan. She is a director and writer, known for One Million Yen Girl (2008), Mourning Recipe (2013) and Moru (2001).- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Yûya Ishii was born on 21 June 1983 in Urawa, Saitama, Japan [now Saitama, Saitama, Japan]. He is a director and writer, known for Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue (2017), The Great Passage (2013) and Okashi no ie (2015). He was previously married to Hikari Mitsushima.