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, ...
.
Biography
Born in
Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the north ...
, he joined the
Shōchiku studio in 1929.
He debuted as director in 1934, but continued working as an assistant director for such filmmakers as
Yasujirō Ozu
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...
and
Yasujirō Shimazu
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, and a pioneer of the '' shomin-geki'' (common people drama) genre at the Shōchiku studios in pre-World War II Japan.
Biography
Shimazu was born in Tokyo, the second son of merchant Otojirō Shima ...
after that. It was the 1939 film ''Warm Current'' that established his status as a director.
During the
Sino-Japanese war he directed a number of military dramas such as ''
The Legend of Tank Commander Nishizumi'' (1940), for which he toured the actual battlefields in China. His 1947 work ''
The Ball at the Anjo House'', starring
Setsuko Hara
Setsuko (written: or in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, later of Japan
*, actress
*, Japanese volleyball player
*, Japanese actress and model
* Setsuko Klossowska de Rola (born 1942), Japan ...
, was named the best picture of the year by ''
Kinema Junpo
, commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ...
''.
This film marked the start of a long relationship with the screenwriter and film director
Kaneto Shindō. In 1950, the two of them started the independent production company
Kindai Eiga Kyokai.
Yoshimura is credited with furthering the careers of such actresses as
Fujiko Yamamoto
(born 11 December 1931) is a Japanese film and stage actress. She appeared in over 100 films between 1953 and 1963. She won the first Grand Prix of Miss Nippon in 1950.
Career
Yamamoto was born on 11 December 1931, in Nishi-ku, Osaka, to a c ...
,
Machiko Kyō and
Ayako Wakao.
He directed over 60 films during his career,
and received a
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...
(Purple Ribbon) from the Japanese government in 1976.
Selected filmography
* ''Warm Current'' (暖流, Danryū) (1939)
* ''The Legend of Tank Commander Nishizumi'' (1940)
* ''The Spy isn't Dead Yet'' (1942)
* ''The Ball at the Anjo House'' (安城家の舞踏会, Anjō-ke no butōkai) (1947)
* ''
The Tale of Genji'' (1951)
* ''Before the Dawn'' (1953)
* ''
Epitome
An epitome (; gr, ἐπιτομή, from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "t ...
'' (1953) (producer only)
* ''
Life of a Woman'' (1953) (producer only)
* ''Ginza no onna'' (1955)
* ''
Night River'' (1956)
* ''
An Osaka Story'' (1957)
* ''A Woman's Uphill Slope'' (女の坂, Onna no saka) (1960)
* ''
A Woman's Testament'' (女経, Jokyō) (1960) (episode "The Woman Who Forgot to Love")
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshimura, Kozaburo
1911 births
2000 deaths
Japanese film directors
People from Ōtsu, Shiga