was a Japanese

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

who was particularly known for his films on

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the question of personal guilt.

Career

While Kuroki was often listed as being born in

Miyazaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Ku ...

, he was actually born in

Matsusaka, Mie is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 157,235 in 66,018 households and a population density of 250 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is famous for Matsusaka beef. Geograph ...

. He attended

Doshisha University , mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 ...

, but left before graduating, instead finding employment at Iwanami Productions (Iwanami Eiga). There he directed PR films and

documentary films A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

, while also participating in the "Blue Group" (Ao no kai) with other Iwanami filmmakers such as

Noriaki Tsuchimoto (11 December 1928, in Gifu Prefecture, Japan – 24 June 2008) was a Japanese documentary film director known for his films on Minamata disease and examinations of the effects of modernization on Asia. Tsuchimoto and Shinsuke Ogawa have been ca ...

Shinsuke Ogawa (25 June 1935 - 7 February 1992) was a Japanese documentary film director. Ogawa and Noriaki Tsuchimoto have been called the "two figures hattower over the landscape of Japanese documentary." Career Ogawa began his career at Iwanami Productions ...

, and

Yōichi Higashi is a Japanese film director. He began his career working on documentaries at Iwanami Productions but, after going independent, turned to fiction film. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for '' Yasashii Nipponjin'' in 1971, ...

, a group that was exploring new paths in documentary. Kuroki left Iwanami after experiencing conflicts with the sponsors of his '' Hokkaido, My Love'' (1960), and it was his '' Record of a Marathon Runner'' (1964) that helped spark changes in the Japanese documentary world. Kuroki switched to fiction film, independently producing '' Silence Has No Wings'' (1966) and showing it at the

Art Theatre Guild Art Theatre Guild (ATG) was a film production company in Japan that started in 1961 and ran through to the mid-1980s, releasing mostly Japanese New Wave and arthouse films. History ATG began as an independent agency which distributed foreign fil ...

. He became one of the representative figures of ATG and independent Japanese cinema, and was particularly known for a series of works dealing with the atomic bombings of Japan, such as '' Tomorrow'' (1988) and ''

The Face of Jizo is a Japanese play written by Hisashi Inoue. Plays * It was performed by Komatsuza as their 34th Play, from September 3 to 18, 1994, directed by Hitoshi Uyama, starring by Masayo Umezawa and Kei Suma. It has been performed frequently not o ...

'' (2004). These were in part spurred by his growing up near the city of

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

. Kuroki's work also dealt with his own feelings of guilt from the war, as he felt responsible when some of his fellow students, who had been conscripted to work in a local factory, died in Allied bombings and he did not help.

Awards

Kuroki won the best director award at the 2004 Mainichi Film Awards for ''

'' and '' Utsukushii natsu Kirishima'' (2004).

Selected filmography

* '' Hokkaido, My Love'' (1960) * '' Record of a Marathon Runner'' (1964) * '' Silence Has No Wings'' (1966) * '' Cuban Lover'' (1969) * '' Evil Spirits of Japan'' (1970) * ''

Ryoma Ansatsu is a 1974 historical film starring Yoshio Harada, Yūsaku Matsuda, Renji Ishibashi, and Kaori Momoi, and directed by Kazuo Kuroki. It is based on the true story of the assassination of Sakamoto Ryōma was a Japanese ''samurai'', a '' shish ...

'' (1975) * ''

Preparation for the Festival is a 1975 Japanese film directed by Kuroki Kazuo. Plot Tateo (Jun Etô), a mother-dominated young man who realizes that he must leave the place he loves, finding it too closed and constricting. With great affection and insight, Kuroki character ...

'' (1975) * ''

Yūgure made is a 1980 Japanese film directed by Kazuo Kuroki. Release ''Yūgure made'' was received a roadshow theatrical release in Japan on September 20, 1980 where it was distributed by Toho. It received a general release on October 4, 1980. Awards 2nd ...

'' (1980) * '' The Bridge of Tears'' (1983) * '' Tomorrow'' (1988) * '' Rōnin-gai'' (1990) * ''

Pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...

'' (2000) * ''A Boy's Summer in 1945'' (2002) * ''

'' (2004) * ''

The Blossoming of Kamiya Etsuko is a drama written by Masataka Matsuda. Later, a movie version, directed by Kazuo Kuroki and starring Tomoyo Harada and Masatoshi Nagase, was released in Japan on August 12, 2006. Kuroki died several months before it was released. Plot In Kag ...

'' (2006)

References

External links

*
Retrospective in Memory of Shohei Imamura and Kazuo Kuroki
National Film Center, Japan (in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuroki, Kazuo 1930 births 2006 deaths Japanese film directors Japanese documentary filmmakers People from Matsusaka, Mie