(14 April 1909 – 14 November 1991) was a Japanese

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He wrote for more than 130 films between 1931 and 1989. He is most famous for his work with

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Ugets ...

. He wrote for the film ''

Bushido, Samurai Saga , also titled ''Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai'' and ''Cruel Tale of Bushido'', is a 1963 Japanese drama film, drama and jidaigeki film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival where it w ...

'', which won the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

at the

13th Berlin International Film Festival The 13th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 21 June to 2 July 1963. The Golden Bear was awarded ''ex aequo'' to the Italian film '' Il diavolo'' directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro and Japanese film '' Bushidô zankoku monogata ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Osaka Elegy is a 1936 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It forms a diptych with Mizoguchi's '' Sisters of the Gion'' which shares much of the same cast and production team, and is considered an early masterpiece in the director's career. Plot ...

'' (1936) * ''

Sisters of the Gion or ''Sisters of Gion'' is a 1936 black and white Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi about two geisha sisters living in Kyoto's Gion district. It forms a diptych with Mizoguchi's '' Osaka Elegy'' which shares much of the same cast an ...

'' (1936) * ''

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums , also titled ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum'' and ''The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums'', is a 1939 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Based on a short story by Shōfu Muramatsu, it follows an onnagata (male actor speciali ...

'' (1939) * '' The 47 Ronin'' (1941) * '' Utamaro and His Five Women'' (1946) * '' Miss Oyu'' (1951) * ''

The Lady of Musashino is a 1951 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It is based on the novel by Shōhei Ōoka. Plot Michiko Akiyama is married to Tadao Akiyama, a college professor but a vulgar man with a lower-class background. Towards the end of World ...

'' (1951) * ''

The Life of Oharu is a 1952 Japanese historical fiction film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi from a screenplay by Yoshikata Yoda. It stars Kinuyo Tanaka as Oharu, a one-time concubine of a ''daimyō'' (and mother of a later ''daimyō'') who struggles to escape the s ...

'' (1952) * ''

Ugetsu , is a 1953 Japanese historical drama and fantasy film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi starring Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō. It is based on two stories in Ueda Akinari's 1776 book of the same name, combining elements of the '' jidaigeki'' ( ...

'' (1953) * ''

A Geisha is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, centred on the geisha milieu in post-war Gion, Kyoto. It is based on a novel by Matsutarō Kawaguchi. Plot Eiko is in the search of the okiya (geisha house) run by the geisha Miyoha ...

'' (1953) * ''

Sansho the Bailiff is a 1954 Japanese period film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Based on a 1915 short story of the same name by Mori Ōgai (usually translated as "Sanshō the Steward" in English), which in turn was based on a folktale, it follows two aristocratic ch ...

'' (1954) * '' The Woman in the Rumor'' (1954) * ''

The Crucified Lovers is a 1954 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It was adapted from Monzaemon Chikamatsu's 1715 bunraku play ''Daikyōji Mukashi Goyomi''. The film was presented at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, Plot Mohei is an apprentice to Ishun, t ...

'' (1954) * '' Princess Yang Kwei-Fei'' (1955) * '' Tōjūrō no Koi'' (1955) * '' Stepbrothers'' (1957) * ''

'' (1963) * ''

Nemuri Kyōshirō manji giri is a 1969 Japanese film directed by Kazuo Ikehiro. It is based on Renzaburō Shibata's novel series '' Nemuri Kyoshiro''. The lead star is Hiroki Matsukata. He played the role of Nemuri Kyoshiro as a replacement for Ichikawa Raizō. In this f ...

'' (1969) * '' Ogin-sama'' (1978) * ''

Tempyō no Iraka is a 1980 Japanese historical drama film directed by Kei Kumai, based on Yasushi Inoue's novel of the same name. The film follows a Japanese mission to Tang China during the Heian period. Cast * Katsuo Nakamura as Fushō * Masaaki Daimon as Yō ...

'' (1980) * ''

Death of a Tea Master ''Death of a Tea Master'' ( ja, 千利休本覺坊遺文, ''Sen no Rikyu: Honkakubô ibun'' also known as ''Sen no Rikyū: Honkakubo's Student Writings'') is a 1989 Japanese biographical drama film directed by Kei Kumai. It is based on real life ...

'' (1989)

References

External links

* * 1909 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Japanese screenwriters {{Screen-writer-stub