was a Japanese screenwriter and film director. He was born in
Kobe and grew up in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
. After leaving school, he began training to become a doctor but dropped out of medical school to take up a career in films. In 1948 he became an assistant director at
Shochiku
() is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not ...
studios. With the support of
Keisuke Kinoshita, he also began writing film scripts. His first filmed script was ''Kojo no tsuki'', based on the song "
Kōjō no Tsuki", filmed in 1954. In 1955 he married actress
Hideko Takamine
was a Japanese actress who began as a child actress and maintained her fame in a career that spanned 50 years. She is particularly known for her collaborations with directors Mikio Naruse and Keisuke Kinoshita, with '' Twenty-Four Eyes'' (195 ...
. He made his debut as a director with a film called ''Na mo naku mazushiku utsukushiku'' in 1961. He continued to work as a scriptwriter for films like ''
Proof of the Man
is a Japanese film from 1977 directed by Junya Satō, starring George Kennedy and Yūsaku Matsuda. It was produced by Haruki Kadokawa.
Plot
A young black man from New York named Johnny Hayward (Joe Yamanaka) receives a sum of money. He buys ...
'' as well as a director. He also wrote the lyrics for a song "Ippon no enpitsu" for
Hibari Misora
was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posth ...
.
Selected filmography
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsuyama, Zenzo
1925 births
2016 deaths
Japanese film directors
People from Kobe