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Gojoe
is a 2000 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' action film directed by Gakuryū Ishii. In several English-speaking countries, it was released as ''Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle''. It is a historical fantasy martial arts film set in 12th-century medieval Japan before the Genpei War. Plot After the apparent defeat of the Genji in the war for Japan, a mysterious demon lurking at the Gojoe bridge in Kyoto kills every Heike warrior that tries to cross it. Meanwhile Musashibo Benkei, a samurai turned Buddhist monk out of repentance for his past crimes, receives a divine signal from Acalanatha informing him that he only will be forgiven after slaying the demon. Borrowing a sacred sword from a yamabushi sect, and against the wishes of his mentor Ajari, Benkei sets out to destroy the monster. At the scene of one of the murders in Gojoe, Benkei encounters his old rival Tankai, and also meets a scavenger named Tetsukichi, a former weaponsmith who now survives from looting from battle corpses. One ni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gakuryū Ishii
, formerly known as , is a Japanese filmmaker known for his stylistic punk films, which helped spark the cyberpunk movement in Japan. A number of contemporary filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino have cited Ishii's films as an influence. Early life Born Toshihiro Ishii, ( 石井 聰亙), he grew up in Hakata, and because of all the American military bases in the area, he was exposed to a lot of American rock music. He spent his teenage years a part of the punk rock movement that grew in that region, singing and playing the guitar. In 1977 he enrolled at Nihon University in Tokyo, and founded ''Kyōei-sha'' (Crazy Film Group). He borrowed equipment from the school to shoot his own 8mm and 16mm short films, which featured the style and philosophy of his punk roots. It was difficult for a young person in Japan to make films during that period, and he decided to skip the traditional corporate ladder route to film directing by just making the films himself. Career During his first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jun Kunimura
is a Japanese actor who has performed in Cinema of Japan, Japan, the Cinema of the United States, United States, and Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. He won Best Supporting Actor and the Popular Star Award at the 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards for his performance in the South Korean horror film ''The Wailing (2016 film), The Wailing'', directed by Na Hong-jin. Early life and education Kunimura was born Yoshihiro Yonemura (米村 喜洋 ''Yonemura Yoshihiro'') in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, but his family moved to Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture soon after, before moving again to Osaka when he was two years old. He graduated from a theatre program operated by the Osaka Broadcasting Corporation, a theatre company owned and operated by a local NHK affiliate. He has cited actor Yūsaku Matsuda as an influence. Career Kunimura began his acting career with a bit part in Shirō Moritani's 1973 disaster film Tidal Wave (1973 film), ''Tidal Wave''. He went on to appear in the TV drama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nobuhiro Suwa
is a Japanese film director working in Japan and France. His directorial works and screenplays often make use of improvisation techniques. Currently, Suwa is the President of Tokyo Zokei University. Biography Having graduated from Hiroshima Prefectural Hatsukaichi High School (located in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima), Suwa studied at Tokyo Zokei University, under the tutorship of Nobuhiro Kawanaka. While at the college, he began working producing independent films, of which ''Hanasareru Gang'' was chosen for the Pia Film Festival. After graduating from Tokyo Zokei, Suwa began directing television documentary films, and worked with directors such as Sōgo Ishii and Masashi Yamamoto. In 1996, his feature film directorial debut, was released. Suwa's second film, ''M/Other'', was released soon after in 1999, winning the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and being the subject of several other awards and critical acclaim, both in Japan and internationally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masakatsu Funaki
is a Japanese actor, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler known professionally as , who has previously wrestled in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (PWFG), Newborn UWF (UWF), and Wrestle-1 (W-1). He is also the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations and non-rehearsed shoot wrestling promotions (following five years after the inception of Shooto but predating America's Ultimate Fighting Championship). Funaki was also Pancrase's biggest star; Josh Barnett described him as the "symbol of Japan", Frank Shamrock labeled Funaki "the golden boy" of Pancrase, and Guy Mezger called Funaki "hands down the smartest and most skilled fighter in Pancrase next to Ken Shamrock". Not only the organization's co-founder and most popular fighter, Funaki was also one of Pancrase's most successful fighters to date, scoring submission victories over numerous MMA champions such as Ken Shamroc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daisuke Ryu
Daisuke Ryu (Japanese: 隆大介, Korean: 장명남, Jang Myeong-nam, hanja: 張明男; 14 January 1957 – 11 April 2021) was a Japanese actor of Korean descent. He won the Japanese "best new actor" Blue Ribbon Award for his performance as the warlord Oda Nobunaga in Akira Kurosawa's ''Kagemusha''. His other notable performances include Saburo Ichimonji in another Kurosawa epic, '' Ran'', and the legendary yamabushi, Musashibo Benkei, in Sogo Ishii's critically acclaimed '' Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle''. In 'The Ginger Tree' (based on the novel by Oswald Wynd), Daisuke Ryu played Count Kentaro Kurihama. On March 21, 2015, Ryu travelled to Taiwan, where he was to perform in the Martin Scorsese film ''Silence''. Upon arrival at Taoyuan International Airport Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (Traditional Chinese: 臺灣桃園國際機場) is the main international airport serving Taiwan, particularly the northern region and Taipei. Located in Dayuan District, Dayuan, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masatoshi Nagase
is a Japanese actor and singer. He is best known in the West for his roles in Friðrik Þór Friðriksson's ''Cold Fever'' and Jim Jarmusch's ''Mystery Train (film), Mystery Train''. Nagase was described by Todd Brown of Twitch Film as "one of the great unsung heroes of Japanese film, a hugely reliable character actor with seemingly unerring taste in projects who - despite a huge body of work - remains largely unknown by name." Career Nagase co-starred in Jim Jarmusch's ''Mystery Train (film), Mystery Train'' (1989) with Youki Kudoh. He has starred in films such as Sion Sono's ''Suicide Club (film), Suicide Club'' (2001), Shinji Aoyama's ''Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name'' (2002), and Yoji Yamada's ''The Hidden Blade'' (2004). Filmography Film * ''P.P. Rider'' (1983) * ''Miyuki (manga), Miyuki'' (1983), Masato Wakamatsu * ''Mystery Train (film), Mystery Train'' (1989) * ''Bakayarou! 3: Hen na Yatsura'' (1990) * ''My Sons'' (1991) * ''Autumn Moon'' (1992) * ''Tora-San Mak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tadanobu Asano
better known by his stage name is a Japanese actor, director, and musician, who has had an extensive career working in both Japanese and international cinema. He has been nominated for five Japan Academy Film Prizes, twice for Best Actor and three times for Best Supporting Actor, and winner of its Most Popular Performer award. Among his best-known roles are in Hirokazu Kore-eda's '' Maboroshi no Hikari'' (1995) and ''Distance'' (2001), Hyozo Tashiro in '' Gohatto'' (1999), Kakihara in '' Ichi the Killer'' (2001), Hattori Genosuke in '' Zatoichi'' (2003), Kenji in '' Last Life in the Universe'' (also 2003), and Temujin in ''Mongol'' (2007). He has also appeared in Hollywood films, notably as Hogun in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lord Kira Yoshinaka in '' 47 Ronin'' (2013)'','' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taira No Kiyomori
was a military leader and '' kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Japan, in 1118 as the first son of Taira no Tadamori. His mother, Gion no Nyogo, was wife of Tadamori and a palace servant according to '' The Tale of the Heike''. Family Father: Taira no TadamoriMother: Gion no Nyogo (d. 1147)Concubine(s): Taira no TokikoChildren: * Taira no Shigemori * Taira no Munemori * Taira no Tomomori * Taira no Tokuko * Taira no Shigehira Career After the death of his father in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and ambitiously entered the political realm, in which he had previously only held a minor post. Before that though, in 1156, he and Minamoto no Yoshitomo, head of the Minamoto clan, suppressed the rebels in the Hōgen Rebellion. This established the Taira and Minamoto as the top samurai clans in Kyoto. However, this ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taketoshi Naito
was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1953 and 2003. He died of lymphoma on 21 August 2012. Selected filmography Film * '' Mahiru no ankoku'' (1956) * ''An Actress'' (1956) - Akio Satomi * '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) - Pvt. Kobayashi * '' Lucky Dragon No. 5'' (1959) - Announcer * '' The Scent of Incense'' (1964) - Murata * ''The Snow Woman'' (1968) * '' Coup d'Etat'' (1973) - Army officer * '' Shogun Assassin'' (1980) * ''The Battle of Port Arthur'' (1980) - Narrator * '' Chōchin'' (1987) * '' Luminous Moss'' (1992) - Novelist * '' Kamikaze Taxi'' (1995) - Domon * '' My Secret Cache'' (1997) - Morita * '' After Life'' (1998) - Ichiro Watanabe * ''Samurai Fiction'' (1998) - Kanzen Inukai Television * ''Minamoto no Yoshitsune'' (1966) - Hitachibō Kaison * '' Ōgon no Hibi'' (1978) - Akechi Mitsuhide * ''Tokugawa Ieyasu'' (1983) - Honda Masanobu * ''Sanga Moyu'' (1984) - Taketora Matsui * ''Musashibō Benkei'' (1986) - Hōjō Tokimasa * ''Takeda Shingen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sōhei
were Buddhist warrior monks of both classical and feudal Japan. At certain points in history, they held considerable power, obliging the imperial and military governments to collaborate. The prominence of the ''sōhei'' rose in parallel with the ascendancy of the Tendai school's influence between the 10th and 17th centuries. The warriors protected land and intimidated rival schools of Buddhism, becoming a significant factor in the spread of Buddhism and the development of different schools during the Kamakura period. The ''sōhei'' shared many similarities with the European lay brothers, members of a monastic order who might not have been ordained. Much like the Teutonic Order, the warrior monks of the Holy Roman Empire, and the crusading orders, ''sōhei'' did not operate as individuals, or even as members of small, individual temples, but rather as warriors in a large extended brotherhood or monastic order. The home temple of a ''sōhei'' monastic order might have h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saburo Teshigawara
is a Japanese choreographer and dancer who was born in Tokyo and became known for founding a company named KARAS along with Kei Miyata in 1985. On September 12, 2013, he performed ''Mirror and Music'' at the Kennedy Center which was highly praised by the London Evening Standard. He is teaching at Tama Art University department of Scenography Design, Drama, and Dance as a professor. Honours * Medal with Purple Ribbon (2009) *Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ... (2022) References {{DEFAULTSORT:Teshigawara, Saburo Living people Contemporary dance Japanese male dancers Japanese dancers Japanese choreographers Japanese contemporary artists Persons of Cultural Merit Entertainers from Tokyo Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoshitsune Minamoto
was a commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian period, Heian and early Kamakura period, Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles that toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo, Yoritomo consolidate power. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally and was labelled as a tragic hero. Early life Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo (the third son of Yoshitomo) would go on to establish the Kamakura shogunate. Yoshitsune's name in childhood was or ''young bull'' (). He was born just before the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 in which his father and two oldest brothers were kil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
